Everything you need to know about promotional Koozies and Coozies...also what's the difference between them again? IS there a difference? And what exactly is the difference between scuba foam and neoprene? I get asked these questions pretty often so I decided to put together a blog post showing the differences in promotional can coolers. It does get a big confusing honestly! It’s one of the first things I have to teach new staff.
Custom can coolers, which is what I call them, do make great giveaways. Their imprint space and full-color customization options are big reasons why. They’re also really useful! But you have to do them right.
First, let’s look at the difference in terms. Koozie is a trademarked brand name. You know how we all yell “where’s the scotch tape?” at holiday time? But what we’re really looking for is transparent adhesive tape. Doesn’t have to be Scotch brand. That’s Koozie. Unless we are selling you the official Koozie brand, we cannot call them Koozies. But Koozie is a can cooler and so that's why the terms can coolers, or even more colloquially, koolies/coolies came into being. I call them can coolers.
So, what’s the difference? There really aren’t any at this point, because there are now top-quality producers of can coolers in every category. More important than the brand, is the material. Let’s look at those.
At the usual price points you are going to be choosing between a Neoprene can cooler and a Scuba Foam cooler.
First, let’s look at the cheapest option, which is the scuba foam cooler:
These are insulated with scuba foam. They are cheap and look and feel it. This is a cheap promo item that is not going to appear more expensive than it is. I never recommend these. I think that if you are a local school who needs something to sell or giveaway at a school game, and this is what your budget is, fine. But for corporate giveaways? It’s best to upgrade to neoprene, like this one:
Neoprene offers better insulation and also feels more high-quality to the touch. The basic one color neoprene can cooler is available at what is still a great price point, and is worth the extra small amount of money for your brand.
Those are the two most common materials (we will get into the big trend in stainless steel coolers further down). But there are so many choices available in the basic neoprene category. Here is a versatile favorite:
That is the awesome four-color neoprene cooler with side-stitching. These give you an amazing amount of design choices and a huge imprint space for maximum brand impact. If your budget allows, this is what I would recommend.
And of course, the slap-wrap:
The slap-wrap is something a bit different and is just a really cool promotional item idea.
Now, let’s talk sizes.
Other than the slap-wrap, the coolers I have linked to above are all the standard 16oz can sizes. Once the White Claw craze hit, coozies slimed down to fit the ubiquitous 12oz can. These are known as “seltzer coolies”. Here is your basic one-color option:
And your maximum impact full-color option:
But, wait, there’s more! Ha, I always wanted to say that. So promotional can coolers really leaned into retail trends and usefulness. There’s perhaps no better example than the magnet coozie, available in the standard 16oz:
And the slim, seltzer 12oz size
These are so awesome because the magnet holds your can to barbeques, cars (imagine these at a tailgating party), anywhere a magnet would hold.
This year, a new option was released that we are really excited about here; the Torch Coolie. These light up with LED. Awesome for night time, but we highly recommend getting these for your big Vegas trade shows as well. Both the 16oz and 12 oz Torch Coolies can change from constant glow, to slow strobe, to fast strobe lighting with one touch. These are fun, useful, and will get attention. The standard 16 oz:
And the slim 12oz:
Now, let’s talk about the OG can cooler and the only line that can be called Koozies. Because maybe, for whatever reason, you want the actual brand name. If that is the case, you will need to be ordering early, well before your event date. There are no rushes available, and standard production time, since Covid and enduring until now and the foreseeable future, is 3 weeks.
Here is the basic foam Koozie:
And the deluxe Koozie, made of vinyl:
Koozie also has the magnet Koozie and several other options. If you would like to see the full line, just email us and we will get that for you the very same day.
Recently, stainless steel can coolers made a huge splash on retail and in the promo industry. They are elevated swag, on trend, and hot on retail. These would not really be trade show giveaways, unless your event budget for swag allows for it. Mostly these serve as fantastic corporate gifts for clients, golf sponsorship gifts, and employee gifts. They are great to include in with your new employee welcome kits as well. Here are a few amazing choices:
Here is the Urban Peak 3-in-1 Stainless Steel Insulator:
Here is a great vacuum insulated stainless steel can cooler that can also be used as a tumbler:
We have more options on these of course, but above are two great products that exemplify this category in stainless steel coozies.
I could do this all day as Cap says, and bore just about anyone. I still get invited to parties, maybe because I bring cool swag with me? But I think this should answer a lot of your questions about can cooler swag, and if you have anymore call or email me! I will bore you too, it's not a problem. I love it. I'm weird that way.