Custom Hoodies for Employee Welcome Kits That Get Worn
By The Velocity Wear Team
Welcome kits often include a water bottle, a notebook, some stickers, and a hoodie. A year later, the hoodie is the only thing still in use. If you're building an onboarding kit, it's worth getting the hoodie right, and worth setting up a way to have one ready for every new hire.
Design something people wear on weekends
The goal is a hoodie employees choose to wear, not one they tolerate. That usually means restraint.
- A small embroidered logo or wordmark on the chest.
- Maybe a subtle detail: the founding year on the sleeve, or a short internal motto inside the hood.
- A good color: black, heather gray, navy or a muted brand color.
- A decent weight, around 10 oz or more, so it feels like a real gift.
Skip the giant logo, the URL across the back and the conference-swag look. The more it looks like a brand people buy, the more they'll wear it.
The stock problem
Hiring doesn't happen in batches of 20. The practical approach is to order a stock of hoodies sized across the range, keep them in a closet or with a kitting partner, and pull one for each new hire. Our minimum is 20 per design with sizes mixed, and pricing improves at 50 and 100, so estimate how many people you'll hire over six to twelve months and order to match.
Which sizes to stock
If you have size data from past hires, use it. If not, a typical adult unisex spread leans heavily on M, L and XL, with fewer S and 2XL. Keep a small buffer in the most common sizes and a couple of the extremes. Running out of mediums is the classic failure.
Sizing remote hires
Ask new hires for their size in a pre-start form, with a size chart in inches. Include a note on fit, like relaxed unisex fit, choose your usual size. Getting the size right first time matters more when shipping an exchange across the country costs money and time.
Packaging the kit
Fold the hoodie neatly in branded packaging with a short welcome note from the team. First impressions of a company are made in that unboxing. Branded packaging is available as an add-on.
Keep a spec for reorders
Write down the hoodie style, weight, color, logo size and position, and thread color. When stock runs low, a reorder should look identical to the original batch. Employees who joined in March shouldn't have a slightly different hoodie from those who joined in October.
What else goes in the kit
Popular additions include a tee, a cap, a notebook, a water bottle and a handwritten welcome card. Keep it useful. Fewer, better items feel more thoughtful than a box of cheap swag.
Measuring the impact
Ask new hires in a thirty-day check-in what they thought of their welcome kit. If people mention the hoodie, it's working. If nobody remembers it, rethink the design.
Budgeting for growth
Tie hoodie stock to your hiring plan. If you're hiring fifty people this year, order stock accordingly and reorder as hiring accelerates.
Timeline and ordering
Production is 10 to 15 working days from artwork approval, plus shipping. Reorder when you're down to your last few in common sizes. Start with custom hoodies, or see our corporate uniforms page if you're building a fuller staff wardrobe.
