Ian Kilpatrick

Ian Kilpatrick is a co-founder of Brand Sauce, the company-store and branded merchandise business founded as On Demand Global in 2018.

Brand Sauce builds managed company stores and supports employee gifting, branded products and fulfillment. Meet the team and read our story.

These guides are published by Brand Sauce, a provider of the services discussed. Read our editorial standards for how we distinguish source-backed facts, recommendations and illustrative examples.

Articles by Ian Kilpatrick

• Company shirt fabric weight: GSM is not a quality score

  Compare GSM and ounces per square yard, separate fabric from garment weight, and approve company shirts by use, fit and a clear substitution record.

• Assisted employee gift orders: who can choose and submit?

  Separate checkout help, prepared orders and delegated submission so employees keep control of their gift, address and allowance.

• Employee gift shipment holds: delay dispatch or use carrier pickup?

  Choose between supplier shipment holds, carrier vacation holds and pickup locations, with clear release rules for employees who are away.

• Employee gift refunds: return the payment, restore the right choice

  Separate payment refunds from restored gift eligibility. Plan partial refunds, employee contributions, replacements and usable reselection without duplicate benefits.

• Employee-gift packing slips: hide prices, keep useful details

  Design employee-gift packing slips that protect purchase-price privacy without losing shipment details, support access, payment records or customs accuracy.

• Employee recognition ceremonies: keep gift selection private

  Separate public employee recognition from private gift selection, with ceremony formats, timing decisions, bulk-versus-on-demand tradeoffs and a six-case rehearsal.

• Employee gift wishlists vs. stock reservations: what does “saved” mean?

  Choose saved gift lists or real inventory holds. Define stock, allowance and deadline promises, then test the employee journey before launch.

• Company-store search and filters: help employees find orderable gifts

  Choose company-store search and filters that lead to eligible, orderable gifts. Test size combinations, empty results, funding labels and fulfillment status.

• Stock printed transfers or finished company shirts?

  Compare stored heat transfers, finished-shirt inventory and on-demand production. Plan compatibility, stock ownership, delivery and the true cost of reorders.

• Company-store product photos vs. mockups: what employees need to see

  Choose when company-store mockups are enough and when decorated-sample photos matter. Build accurate variant galleries, useful detail views and an image approval workflow.

• Employee gift allowances: one order or a reusable balance?

  Choose between one-order employee gift allowances and reusable balances. Compare remaining value, repeat delivery costs, recovery rules and checkout tests.

• Employee gift launches: all at once or in invitation waves?

  Compare simultaneous and staggered employee-gift launches. Protect later groups’ choice, size waves around support capacity and set clear release gates.

• Employee gift program measurement: beyond redemption rates

  Evaluate employee-choice gifts with a practical scorecard for participation, delivery, usefulness and cost, plus a worked example and fair campaign comparisons.

• Global employee gifts: equal budgets or equivalent choices?

  Compare four ways to fund employee gifts across countries, with an illustrative pooled budget and a practical country-catalog approval framework.

• Multilingual company stores: what needs more than translation?

  Plan a multilingual employee store with clear language scope, reviewed product information, complete checkout testing and an update process your team can maintain.

• One company store or separate storefronts? How to decide

  Compare a shared company store with separate storefronts using audience boundaries, admin ownership, maintenance costs and a practical acceptance test.

• Employee gift invitations: how to make the offer easy to verify

  Plan trustworthy employee gift invitations with an independent verification route, a campaign fact sheet, message template and support handoffs.

• Employee gift ordering: personal phones, shared kiosks or assisted checkout?

  Choose an ordering route for deskless teams, test shared-device privacy and plan kiosk capacity without limiting employee choice.

• Employee gift opt-outs: how to handle decline, defer and no response

  Make no-gift choices work: define campaign outcomes, stop reminders, prevent unwanted shipments and explain unused allocations without pressuring employees.

• Should employees pay to upgrade a company gift?

  Decide whether to allow employee-paid gift upgrades, protect the no-payment choice, and test split funding, cancellations and refunds before launch.

• One premium employee gift or a bundle? How to choose

  Compare one premium employee gift with a useful bundle, including delivered budgets, equal-status choices, production tradeoffs and a practical pilot checklist.

• Lost or damaged employee swag: who owns the recovery?

  Build a practical recovery policy for missing or damaged employee gifts, separating replacements, carrier claims, evidence and financial ownership.

• Food or nonfood employee gifts? Build a choice program that works

  Decide when food belongs in employee gifting, with supplier evidence, delivery controls, equal nonfood choices and a practical launch checklist.

• Should employee gifts ship to home or office?

  Compare home delivery and office pickup for employee gifts, with a practical cost example, address checklist and receiving plan for hybrid teams.

• How to survey employees about gifts without overpromising

  Use a short employee gift survey to shape your collection without confusing preferences with orders. Includes sample questions, a results worksheet and launch checks.

• Accessible employee gifting: test the journey from invitation to order

  A practical checklist for accessible employee gift selection: invitations, keyboard controls, screen readers, mobile checkout and assisted ordering.

• Company swag size exchanges: build the policy before launch

  Plan employee apparel size exchanges with clear supplier terms, fit guidance, replacement funding and a support workflow that resolves the right problem.

• Employee gift out of stock? A substitution policy that protects choice

  Resolve unavailable employee gifts with recipient-approved alternatives, clear order holds, budget controls and ready-to-adapt communication templates.

• How to run a company swag program through a rebrand

  Coordinate artwork approvals, old-logo stock, open orders and employee communication for a company rebrand—without turning launch day into a guessing game.

• Unredeemed employee gifts: a practical follow-up playbook

  Diagnose unused gift invitations, fix checkout friction and follow up without nagging. A practical employee gifting guide with reminder rules and clear metrics.

• Healthcare employee gifting: reach every location and shift

  Plan employee appreciation across healthcare locations, night shifts and satellite clinics with clear eligibility, gift choice, delivery handoffs and exception handling.

• The best employee gift? Let them choose.

  People are unique. Their gifts should be, too. Why employee choice can mean more appreciation, more everyday use, and less wasted swag.

• Employee Onboarding Swag That Works Beyond the Welcome Box

  Design a useful new-hire gifting program with recipient choice, practical timing, budget rules, delivery fallbacks, and a reusable onboarding worksheet.

• Global Employee Gifting: Plan the Experience Country by Country

  A practical guide to global employee gifting: country readiness, equivalent value, product selection, customs responsibilities, deadlines, and delivery exceptions.