Granola's Spoon Strategy: A Lesson in Smarter Company Swag
Granola, an AI note-taking startup, gives customers branded spoons instead of the typical tote bags and baseball caps. Rob Denton, the company's head of marketing, outlined why this approach works in a recent LinkedIn post that garnered over 1,400 likes.
Denton distilled his approach into two rules for company swag that apply across industries.
Rule 1: Make It Different, But Relevant
Unusual swag gets remembered and shared. A kite, garlic press, or nail scissors are all uncommon choices-but they don't work for every business.
The hard part is relevance. Granola's spoon makes sense because the company is named after a breakfast cereal. The startup reinforces this connection through its marketing copy, comparing the spoon's thoughtful design to how the product itself is engineered to be invisible in use.
"Pick it up. You'll notice the weight, the balance, the way it sits in your hand," the accompanying note reads. "We think about Granola the same way. A tool that disappears into the doing, so you can stay in the conversation."
Rule 2: Make Something People Actually Want to Use
Swag should be both useful and well-made. Skip overdone items like pens and notepads, and avoid functional-but-boring options like umbrellas and bags.
Quality matters. Use small logos over large ones and embroidery instead of print-ons. Denton's benchmark: would you pay for this in a shop?
The Company Behind the Spoon
Granola was founded in 2023 by former Google product lead Chris Pedregal and product designer Sam Stephenson. Since its 2024 launch, the startup counts Vanta, Asana, Cursor, and Lovable among its customers.
Last month, Granola announced $125 million in Series C funding from Index Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed, Spark, and NFDG.
AI for Marketing professionals can apply these principles beyond physical swag to any customer touchpoint where brand perception matters.
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