Diver Says Merchandise Is the Most Powerful Way to Experience a Brand

South Korean startup Diver wants companies to stop treating merchandise as simple promotional giveaways. Its chief operating officer, Kang Dong-gyun, argues that branded products can make a company’s identity tangible.

Diver combines work that is often split between design agencies and manufacturing plants. It analyzes intellectual property and brands, plans and designs products, produces them through its own infrastructure, and handles delivery and store operations. The company says it can ship to 20 countries.

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Merchandise is the most powerful tool for experiencing a brand.

Kang said the company has its own printing equipment and overseas sourcing network, allowing it to offer product categories that can be difficult to obtain in South Korea. It has completed more than 3,000 projects over six years and uses the resulting data to recommend product combinations to clients.

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Diver is a creative studio with its own manufacturing infrastructure and technology, and a company that helps intellectual-property holders with branding.

The company has worked with major domestic and international brands, including the operator of a well-known national game, a leading K-pop entertainment agency and a global coffee brand. It recently produced merchandise for “Yamada”, a character created by martial artist Choo Sung-hoon, for a pop-up store at The Hyundai Seoul.

Kang said he joined Diver formally in December after previously working with its founder, Kim Jun-bae, on a welcome-kit project for the startup event COMEUP. He cited the company’s self-funded growth as a reason for joining. Diver says revenue rose 1,840% in five years without outside investment, while repeat business and referrals drove growth with almost no marketing spending. The company formed an external sales team for the first time this year.

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a branding partner