Teal Packaging is a US-based packaging supplier for event swag bags, where one vendor handles both the printed packaging and the fulfillment. Teal supplies the custom swag bags and boxes, then kits and assembles the finished bags at its West Chicago, Illinois fulfillment center. Custom packaging starts at 50 units (specialty rigid from 100), from $0.44 per unit at volume, with free dieline design, free US shipping, and a digital proof with 2 revision rounds before print. Production runs from about 7 business days after proof approval, complex jobs longer, plus 2 to 5 business days US delivery. Teams use it for booth handouts, seat drops, VIP speaker gifts, and post-event sends to attendee addresses.
Questions or ready for a quote? Contact Teal Packaging at info@tealpackaging.com or (224) 546-8325.
Event and Conference Swag Bags: Ideas, Assembly at Volume, and Shipping to Your Venue from Teal Packaging: 50-unit standard MOQ (100+ units for specialty rigid boxes), 2-5 business day delivery in the US (express and economy options available), free design help included on every order, free generic sample kit ($19.99 shipping, credited toward your first order). Standard production runs from about 7 business days after digital proof approval; complex or high-volume orders take longer.
Materials and certifications: FSC-certified paper stock, soy-based inks, kraft / corrugated / rigid paperboard / mylar / tin / vinyl substrates.
Contact Teal Packaging: Call (224) 546-8325, email info@tealpackaging.com, or request a free quote at tealpackaging.com/contact-us. We reply within one business day.
Updated July 30, 2026 · Teal Packaging operates a US facility in West Chicago, Illinois.
The Short Answer
An event swag bag works when three things line up: contents people actually keep, packaging that carries your brand, and logistics that land on time. With Teal Packaging one vendor covers both halves: it supplies the custom printed swag bags and boxes from 50 units, then kits and assembles the finished bags at its West Chicago, Illinois fulfillment center and ships them in bulk to your venue or individually to attendees after the show.
What Should Go in an Event Swag Bag?
Build each bag around five roles: the carry, the keeper, the useful, the consumable, and the pointer. One strong item per role beats ten forgettable trinkets, and a lighter bag is cheaper to assemble, ship, and fly home with.
- The carry. The bag or box itself. Every attendee who takes one shows it around the show floor, so treat the print as ad space, not an afterthought.
- The keeper. One hero item worth keeping: a quality notebook, an insulated bottle, a tee in real sizes, good socks.
- The useful. Conference survival gear: a charging cable, lip balm, a pen that writes well, badge clips.
- The consumable. A wrapped snack or coffee sachet. It gets used the same day and gives booth staff an easy opener.
- The pointer. A printed insert card with a QR code to your demo, offer, or booth schedule. Without it the bag is a gift; with it the bag is a funnel.
Skip anything heavy, fragile, or full-size liquid if attendees are flying home. Whatever gets left in the hotel room was budget wasted.
Bag or Box: Which Format Fits Your Event?
Pick the format by the moment of handoff, not by looks alone. Bags suit high-traffic handouts where load speed matters; boxes suit seat drops, VIP gifts, and anything that ships to an address after the show.
| Format | Use it for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Printed paper swag bag (300-400gsm kraft or 14-18pt white SBS) | Booth handouts, registration lines | Light, quick to load, full-color print on every panel |
| Corrugated mailer box (E-flute or B-flute) | Post-event sends to attendee addresses | Ships on its own without an outer carton |
| Rigid magnetic-closure box (1.5-2.5mm chipboard) | VIP, speaker, and executive gifts | Premium unboxing; specialty rigid starts at 100 units; see custom magnetic closure boxes |
| Vendor-supplied tote plus printed inserts | When your merch vendor provides the bag | Teal supplies the printed insert cards and sleeves and kits everything at assembly |
Every format prints full color on every panel, and recyclable kraft and paperboard stocks are available by specification. For the bag itself in depth (styles, sizes, and print options), see swag bag packaging.
How Does Assembly Work at Conference Volume?
One vendor handles both sides of the job: Teal supplies the printed packaging and builds the finished bags, so you brief one team for the print run and the assembly instead of a printer plus a separate kitting vendor. You supply the merch and the build order; Teal handles receiving, assembly, and pack-out at its West Chicago, Illinois fulfillment center.
- Lock contents and counts. Final quantities, plus overage for walk-ups and damaged units.
- Approve the packaging. Free dieline design, a digital proof, and 2 revision rounds before anything prints.
- Route your merch to West Chicago. Tees, bottles, and tech items ship from their vendors straight to the fulfillment center.
- Kitting and assembly. Each bag is built to your packing order and checked against the build sheet, insert cards placed last so they sit on top.
- Pack-out. Finished bags are packed into labeled shipping cartons for the venue, or staged for individual sends.
Swag platforms typically sell a software subscription on top of the goods, with assembly and storage bundled into a recurring plan. Teal quotes the packaging and the fulfillment directly, project by project, with no membership and no per-seat license. For the assembly service on its own, see kitting services.
Should You Ship to the Venue or to Attendees Afterwards?
Ship bulk to the venue when the bag is part of the on-site experience; ship to attendees afterwards when follow-up matters more than foot traffic. Plenty of teams split one run across both.
| Ship to the venue | Ship to attendees afterwards | |
|---|---|---|
| How it arrives | Bulk cartons to the convention center, hotel, or advance warehouse | One bag or box per person, shipped from West Chicago to each address |
| What you supply | Exhibitor-kit shipping instructions, booth number, delivery window | An address list: registration export, badge scans, or a QR form at the booth |
| Watch-outs | Many venues route freight through an advance warehouse with hard cutoff dates and bill material handling on inbound shipments; read the exhibitor kit early | Address quality decides everything; collect addresses during the event, not weeks after |
| Good fit for | Booth giveaways, seat drops, registration gifts | VIP follow-ups, no-show outreach, leads who earned a real gift |
The afterwards model has a quiet advantage: nothing gets abandoned in hotel rooms, and every bag lands with someone who handed you an address. Ship-to-recipient fulfillment handles the individual sends, and branded box and swag fulfillment covers ongoing swag programs beyond a single event.
How Far Ahead of Your Event Should You Order?
Work backwards from the venue's delivery deadline, not the event date. Production runs from about 7 business days after proof approval, with complex or high-volume jobs taking longer, US delivery adds 2 to 5 business days, and assembly needs its own window once the last component arrives.
- Find the real deadline. The advance-warehouse cutoff in your exhibitor kit usually falls before the event itself.
- Reserve the assembly window. Kitting starts when the final component lands, so your slowest merch vendor sets the schedule.
- Add production and transit. From about 7 business days after proof approval for the printed packaging, with complex or high-volume runs longer, plus 2 to 5 business days US delivery.
- Add approval time. Dieline and proof rounds go faster when logos and artwork are print-ready on day one.
- Buffer it. Freight delays and vendor slips happen. A spare week costs nothing; a missed venue cutoff costs the activation.
On a tight date, flag the event day in your quote request so the schedule is built around it, and ask how tight the schedule can realistically be before you commit.
Swag Bags Are One Piece of the Event Kit
If the same shipment includes badges, booth collateral, speaker gifts, or demo units, event and conference kit fulfillment runs the whole program: storage between shows, kit builds per event, and venue or attendee shipping from the Chicago-area fulfillment center. Startups heading into a demo day or first trade show should start with startup conference swag, which covers the small-batch version of this play. Ready to price a run? Request a quote, call (224) 546-8325, or order the free sample kit ($19.99 shipping, credited toward your first custom order) to feel the materials before you commit.
Event Swag Bag FAQs
What is the minimum order for event swag bags?
Standard custom bags and boxes start at 50 units, which fits regional meetups and single-track conferences, not just big trade shows. Specialty rigid boxes, a common pick for VIP and speaker gifts, start at 100 units.
Can Teal assemble bags with items we bought from other vendors?
Yes. Have your merch vendors ship tees, bottles, tech, and anything else straight to the West Chicago fulfillment center, and send a build order listing what goes in each bag. Teal supplies the printed packaging and insert cards, kits everything to that order, and packs the finished bags for the venue or for individual sends, so one vendor covers the packaging and the pick-pack.
Can you ship finished swag bags directly to a convention center or hotel?
Yes. Finished bags are packed into shipping cartons labeled to your exhibitor-kit instructions, including booth number and delivery window. You supply those venue instructions; many shows route freight through an advance warehouse with a cutoff date, so pull that date from the exhibitor kit before locking your production schedule.
What happens to leftover bags after the event?
They do not need to fly home in someone's checked luggage. Leftover inventory can stay in storage at the West Chicago center and ship out later, to new leads, no-shows, or the next event on the calendar, through the same ship-to-recipient service.
How much do event swag bags cost?
The printed packaging starts at $0.44 per unit at volume, with free dieline design, free US shipping on production orders, and a digital proof with 2 revision rounds included; every job is quoted to spec. Total per-bag cost depends mostly on what you put inside, and assembly and shipping are quoted per project rather than through a monthly platform fee.
