Start a Licensed Greek Life Apparel Brand

1. 1

   Understand the licensing rule before you print anything

   Greek letters, crests, mottos, badges, and organizational names are trademarks owned by the national fraternities and sororities, and most of them license their marks through designated licensing agents. Producing merchandise with those marks without a license is trademark infringement, and the organizations actively enforce it. Getting licensed usually means an application, proof of insurance, sample approval, royalty payments on sales, and design approval for each product.

2. 2

   Decide which organizations to license

   Licenses are typically granted per organization, and the fees, royalty rates, and approval processes differ. Starting with a small number of organizations that have a strong presence on the campuses you can actually serve is smarter than licensing broadly and selling nothing.

3. 3

   Learn the chapter buying calendar

   Orders cluster predictably: recruitment and rush in late summer and January, philanthropy events through the year, formals and semi-formals, family and parents weekends, homecoming and game days, big and little reveal, initiation, and graduation. Building your product and outreach calendar around theirs is most of the sales strategy.

4. 4

   Sell to the officer, and re-sell every year

   The buyer is usually a merchandise chair, social chair, or recruitment chair, and that position turns over annually. That is both the challenge and the opportunity: it means constant new relationships, so build a handoff-friendly process, keep past designs and order histories on file, and make reordering effortless for whoever inherits the role.

5. 5

   Solve production and minimums

   Screen printing, embroidery, and print-on-demand each fit different order sizes. Chapters order in bulk for events, which suits screen printing, but individual member sales suit on-demand. A hybrid, bulk for chapter orders and on-demand for the member storefront, covers both without holding dead inventory.

6. 6

   Give chapters a store instead of a spreadsheet

   Collecting sizes and money from eighty members is the part chapter officers hate. A hosted per-chapter online store with a set order window, individual payment, and bulk delivery solves their actual problem and is why they will use you again next semester.

7. 7

   Expand into the adjacent products

   Once licensed and trusted, the same relationship sells jewelry and accessories, gifts for big and little reveal, event and philanthropy merchandise, and alumni and parent items. Note that some product categories require separate licensing approval.

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