Bakeries and cafes turn to branded merchandise, from totes to condoms

Branded merchandise has spread beyond bookshops and supermarkets to independent food outlets across the UK, the writer observed after spotting a Trader Joe’s tote in Norwich and noting bakeries selling a range of goods including a limited run of branded condoms. Tote bags have shifted from generic eco-signalling to personal statements, with items from Daunt Books, Shakespeare and Company, the London Review of Books, the New Yorker and others conveying reading credentials, and Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods suggesting familiarity with North American produce.

Merch now includes hats, socks, scarves and tea towels; Jolene sells hats and caps, St John offers tea towels and a pig-shaped pin badge (£5), Yard Sale Pizza has a football-style scarf, and Greggs’s ranges with Primark include bum bags, shoes, cycling shorts and a jewellery line with 22-carat gold-plated sausage roll earrings (£36) and a signet ring (£48).

The most unusual example cited was Camberwell’s Toad Bakery, which ran a Valentine’s Day stunt selling branded condoms — "a world-first for a bakery," owner Oliver Costello told the writer — and kept the limited-edition run low-key, with 100% of the funds going to charity. Costello said "Merch is big now in the bakery world," adding that Toad makes T-shirts and caps in large part "because they kept selling out." Merch is also used to display local pride and extend the street cred of Instagram-famous places.

Key Topics

Culture, Branded Merchandise, Trader Joe's, Toad Bakery, Greggs, Daunt Books