What Chelsea Flower Show tells us about the future of branded merchandise
Chelsea has always been about more than gardens. It's about craftsmanship, storytelling and design - and increasingly, that extends to the products visitors take home.
This year, SW2 Creative produced the official bags for RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026. 100% recycled cotton, digital print on the front and back panels, screen print on the sides, and contrast piping around the edge. The kind of construction detail that takes a bag from functional to finished.
Not all bags are equal
I was at Chelsea this week. There were a lot of bags. Most of them were forgettable - generic totes that will go straight into a drawer, or worse, a bin bag. The kind of product that ticks a box without doing anything for the brand behind it.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show bags sold out on day one.
That doesn't happen by accident. It happens when someone has thought carefully about the design, the materials, the construction, the print quality - and made something people actually want to own. A bag that earns its place in someone's life rather than ending up at the back of a cupboard.
That's the standard worth aiming for.
Merchandise has grown up
For years, event merchandise was an afterthought. Low-cost, short-lived, quickly forgotten. That's changing. Audiences now expect products that reflect the quality of the event itself - things they'll actually keep and use.
At Chelsea, branded merchandise is part of the visitor experience. It carries the identity of the show out into the world. That's a different brief to filling a goody bag.
Sustainability means longevity
The most important sustainability question isn't about materials alone. It's whether someone will still be using the product in three years. A well-made bag that lasts is more sustainable than a cheaper one that doesn't.
Buyers are increasingly asking where products are made, what they're made from, and whether they reflect the values of the organisation behind them. These are the right questions.
Merchandise as brand communication
The most effective branded products sit within a wider ecosystem - retail environments, exhibitions, visitor experiences, cultural storytelling. Done well, a bag isn't just a bag. It's a signal of how much an organisation cares about the details.
Chelsea is a strong example of where that thinking is heading. As expectations around quality and considered production continue to rise, branded merchandise will only become more strategically important.
If you're planning branded bags for an event, exhibition or retail environment and want help getting it right - from design through to production - we'd love to talk.