Scaling a Custom Merchandise Business: Key Tools and Strategies for Growth

Dreaming of turning your custom merchandise business into something more than a hobby?

Want to take your side hustle to serious profit margins?

Look no further. In this guide, you will learn exactly how to scale your merchandise business with efficiency and purpose.

Scaling a custom merchandise business can be tricky. You want to produce enough product to reach customers and grow profit margins. But jumping into overproduction as soon as business starts picking up is a recipe for disaster.

Instead, scaling has to be approached with the right systems in place.

The tools you use to produce product at higher volumes. The resources needed to keep your production lines organized. And the marketing strategies that will convert more customers without breaking your budget.

Let’s dive in

Table of Contents

• Why Custom Merchandise Is a Growth Opportunity
• The Tools That Drive Scalable Production
• How To Create Durable Heat Press Designs That Sell
• Smart Strategies for Growing a Merch Business

Why Custom Merchandise Is a Growth Opportunity

Simple.

Everyone wants custom merchandise. The market is growing every year and there is room for your business to grow with it.

The global custom apparel market was valued at $55 billion USD in 2025. It is expected to grow by $53 billion USD by 2034. That’s over $1 billion USD in revenue every single year through the next decade.

With numbers like that there will be opportunities for merch businesses to snatch up.

Whether it’s funny t-shirts or athletic leggings. Hoodies, hats or home goods. Customers want merch that reflects their interests. They are also willing to pay more for something that feels unique and high-quality.

In fact…

Professional quality custom merchandise sells. The right audience will find your products and be more than happy to pay what you’re asking.

But before you start growing your business. You need to make sure you have the right tools for production.

Not only will you need a way to produce high-quality product at scale. But your tools need to create merchandise that will stand the test of time.

Hang on tight. This guide is about to cover everything you need to know about efficiently scaling your merch business.

The Tools That Drive Scalable Production

You can’t run a successful merchandise business without the right tools. Whether it’s a hungry workhorse of a heat press or reliable design software, scaling your business means having resources that grow with you.

Let’s start this section with a tool you may not have considered.

DTF Transfers!

Love them or hate them. Direct-to-film garment transfers are changing the way merch businesses approach production.

Producing vibrant, long-lasting results on nearly any kind of fabric. Merch businesses that have made the switch to DTF have never looked back. For high-quality DTF transfers that produce professional results, check out what is available here: https://www.shirtmax.com/dtf-transfers

Here are the must-have tools for any scalable merchandise business:

• Heat press machine
• Design software
• Order management system
• Inventory management software

Don’t feel like you need to run out and purchase all of these things right now. Each of these tools will be covered throughout the article.

One thing to note about heat presses. Demand is growing across the board for high-quality heat press machines.

According to Verified Market Research, the heat press market reached $829 million dollars in 2024 and is projected to grow to $1.3 billion dollars by 2032. That means more and more entrepreneurs are getting into the merchandise game every year.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale your existing business. Rest assured that investing in a professional heat press is never a waste.

How To Create Durable Heat Press Designs That Sell

Great tools are important. But understanding how to use them to create durable, quality heat press designs is what brings home the sales.

Here are the top tips for building long-lasting heat press designs that will sell like crazy.

• Use Durable Transfer Methods

DTF (direct-to-film) transfers are the top choice when it comes to durability. The ink lasts longer and the finishing detail is unparalleled.

That being said, there are multiple ways to transfer heat press designs onto your blank apparel or goods.

Whichever method you choose, make sure you are familiar with best practices for each variety. Heat, pressure, pre-press cleaning and peel times are all variables that can make or break your design durability.

The more care you take in each production step. The more likely you are to avoid cracked, bubbled or faded designs.

• Invest In Software

Using Adobe Illustrator is not required when designing heat press merchandise. However, if you plan on scaling your business to higher volume. You need to have professional-grade design tools.

The benefit of software like Adobe Illustrator is the ability to create crisp vector designs. These scale to any size without losing quality or detail.

• Streamline Your Production Steps

One of the biggest causes of inconsistency with small businesses. Is not having set procedures for production.

Create standardized step-by-step guides for each product your business produces. Include time and temperature settings, placement guides, and any other important notes.

By streamlining your process. Everyone involved in production will know exactly what to do every step of the way.

Bonus points if you create how-to videos for each product. That way if a team member is ever away from work. You can avoid knowledge silos and keep production moving.

Smart Strategies for Growing a Merch Business

Now that you have got the production side of your merch business down. It’s time to learn some killer growth strategies to put your product in front of more customers.

Niche Down First.

When you first start brainstorming merch ideas. It can be easy to come up with a never-ending list of possibilities.

But selling everything to everyone is not a viable strategy to build a business.

Take action: Pick a niche and own it. For several months dedicate your time to marketing products that fall into one specific niche.

You will learn more about your ideal customer during this time. And your marketing will be far more effective when you speak directly to your target demographic.

Once you have fully saturated one niche category. Then start another merchandise line in a different niche.

Scale Your Advertising Spend

While there are plenty of free ways to grow your merch business. Investing in ads is one of the best decisions you will make.

Yes, you should absolutely have social media accounts for your brand. But if you want hundreds to thousands of new leads each month. You have to pay to play.

The best approach is to start small. Test multiple ad sets with different targeting, audiences, products, and creatives.

Then, scale your spend on the winners and discontinue programs that do not perform well.

Figure Out Fulfilment

Imagine this…

You have finally grown your business enough that you are getting 100 orders a day. But instead of making $500/day you are making $100/day.

Why?

Because your fulfilment process is not cut out for that kind of volume.

Take the time to either organize logistics for in-house fulfilment. Or research third-party logistics companies that fit your budget.

Customers expect fast, reliable shipping these days. Make sure your fulfilment process is ready for increased production before you start scaling.

Build Repeat Customers

You know how they say it costs 5x more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one?

Well, it’s true.

That is why you need to build processes and programs to keep your customers coming back for more.

Follow-up emails after each purchase. Discounts on future orders. Having exceptional customer service and product consistency are musts.

Wrapping Up

There you have it. Now you know everything you need to scale your merchandise business.

Remember…

• The custom apparel market is growing every year
• Quality tools and processes are needed to create durable product
• Durable merch equals happy customers and repeat sales
• Ad spend, niche markets and organised fulfilment are your best friends when scaling

Growth comes to those who put in the work. Now get out there and scale that merch business.