PromoKitchen Podcast: A Digital First Sales and Marketing Model with Original Favorites
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In today’s episode, we explore the way some suppliers in our industry are throwing out the old playbooks for sales and marketing by employing digital first tactics. Our guests today are Evan Toporek and Pete Drago with Colorado based, Original Favorites.
Original Favorites is known for their high end blank Tshirts, sweats and polos made primarily from Supima cotton. While they do sell within the promotional products industry, they cut their teeth selling private label solutions to digitally native clothing brands. It’s from this experience that they developed many of their digital go to market strategies.
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A little background on Evan and Pete ...
Evan Toporek joined apparel brand, Alternative, as employee number five in 1998, the company’s first year expanding into apparel. Over the next 22 years, including the last ten as CEO, Toporek helped grow the business from a blank t-shirt manufacturer into an international lifestyle brand. Alternative reached its biggest milestones during Toporek’s tenure: getting recognized as one of Inc. 500’s fastest growing companies; launching its eco fashion label Alternative Earth; and breaking ground on its first flagship store in Venice Beach, CA.
In 2017, Alternative was acquired by Hanesbrands Inc, giving the brand a massive sourcing and distribution platform to explode globally.
In January 2020, Evan left Alternative to launch Thread Ventures, an investment and advisory firm focused on helping early stage consumer products companies reach their potential.
Pete Drago began his journey into the apparel business in 2003 as co-founder and Managing Director of the snow sports clothing label, Jiberish. From its early days as more of a creative “hobby” for he and his partners, to its current position as a cult-brand with a global following, the company has always produced a unique and diverse collection of tightly allocated garments and accessories under he and his partner’s leadership. Today the brand releases 10-12 new collections per year, all exclusively online at Jiberish.com.
In June of 2016 Pete co-founded and currently serves as President of Original Favorites, a wholesale blanks business that is focused on producing exceptionally high-quality garments. The company is built on a digital model that forgoes traditional distribution channels and in-person sales in favor of a more transparent and seamless e-commerce platform. Original Favorites uses technology to empower brands and corporations by providing them with the assets to grow their business paired with a product that echoes sentiments of “quality over quantity”. Today Original Favorites has a growing roster of like-minded clients ranging from small street wear startups to global fashion groups and corporations. Their products are revered for their raw material selection and attention to detail.