Labels and Packaging have emphasised our Sportstiks brand in their latest publication.
Niche sports brand
While most of the business is selling to the trade, there are some exceptions (and I don’t just mean the reels of labels supplied to the local vet on a quid-pro-quo basis for treating the family’s dog). Baker has developed a fast-growing niche brand, Sportstiks, to supply a range of bibs and numbers for athletes. The products are developing to produce temporary tattoos and hip numbers that print the numbers onto a natural skin look carrier for runners, cyclists and swimmers, using medical grade adhesives to make sure there is good durability and totally safe products.
It was originally developed because Steve Baker, a keen tri-athlete, could not get good competitor numbers and kit labels. This developed into a significant business, supplying into the 2012 Olympics and is now a selling into events globally with the forthcoming Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku during May using the products.
There are opportunities for race and event organisers to sell sponsorship and raise funds for the benefit of athletics clubs to promote the sport. Rather than just having a single number bib, the organisers could sell individual races to sponsors for local or televised events that could generate much needed funds and have the sponsor logo on the athletes as they compete. It has been a long gestation period, but www.sportstiks.com is now a very interesting website. It is also a significant part of the company’s growth and offers a route into totally new markets. Printed wearable electronics, for example?