Some companies put their logo on a hoodie and call it a day. Anthropic, meanwhile, takes a different approach to the way it handles its swag program.
Anthropic makes Claude, the AI assistant that a lot of people now use for writing and coding. It only makes sense, then, that Anthropic swag is tied to Claude. What’s different is that the company’s swag items show up only during company events for employees and limited releases, with items that feel more like something from a brand than standard swag. For instance, there’s a washed cap with ‘thinking’ on it in lowercase. If you look at it, you won’t even think it’s a swag item, right?
That approach has made Anthropic swag surprisingly collectible. So, in this blog, we take a closer look at what they're making and why people want it, as well as how you can learn from Anthropic’s approach to swag.
What are some Anthropic swag items?
While Anthropic doesn't publish its own merch catalog, a handful of Claude swag have surfaced publicly over the years, from limited-edition caps and conference giveaways to stickers and employee-only items. That said, here are some of the Anthropic swag items we know.
The “thinking” cap
The most recognizable piece of Anthropic swag is a washed baseball cap with lowercase “thinking” stitched across the front.” The design ties back to “Keep thinking,” the brand campaign Anthropic launched with Mother in September 2025, and it quickly became one of the company's most sought-after pieces of swag.
Mechanical keycaps from Code with Claude
For Anthropic's Code with Claude developer conference, the company produced branded mechanical keyboard keycaps. There, the attendees received keycaps marked with Anthropic and Claude branding. Erik Schluntz posted it on X and even called them the best swag at the conference, which is exactly the reaction a tech company swag giveaway should aim for.
Claude Code stickers
For a period in 2025, Claude Code had an unusual way to give away Anthropic swag: you could ask for stickers. Developers discovered a hidden merch request tool in the code that would send users to a shipping form, and reports from people who tried it suggest the stickers actually arrived in the mail.
That option appears to be gone now, though. When we tried making the same request in July 2026, Claude Code said the tool wasn't available and instead pointed toward conferences and Anthropic contacts. There's no clear changelog entry marking when it disappeared.
Tote bags and Machines of Loving Grace
During the Air Mail pop-up, the Anthropic team also gave away tote bags and copies of Machines of Loving Grace, Dario Amodei's essay about what a positive future with AI could look like.
How do you get Anthropic swag?
There are basically three ways to get your hands on it, and none involves “add to cart”.
Go to an Anthropic event - Code with Claude events are the most straightforward route, if you can get in. Applications open months ahead, and capacity is limited. Pop-ups are more of a gamble. Anthropic can announce them with little notice, and once the popular swag items run out, that's it.
Have a connection at Anthropic - A lot of Anthropic or Claude swag items are only handed out internally to the people who work there. Anthropic also sends swag to partners running Claude Code workshops.
Look at resale markets - When you can't get Anthropic swag directly, eBay is where much of it eventually turns up. Employee shirts, caps, and other limited swag items appear regularly, but authenticity can be difficult to verify. Buyers tend to look for manufacturing tags, original packaging, and other details that connect the item to Anthropic.
What can your company learn from Anthropic’s swag playbook?
Most company swag gets worn a few times and disappears into a drawer. Anthropic's approach works differently. The budget isn't necessarily the difference. The choices are.
Give the branding some personality: The “thinking” cap doesn't need a giant logo to be recognizable. One lowercase word is enough to make it feel like something from the brand.
Make the swag make sense for your audience: Mechanical keycaps work because developers actually use them. Machines of Loving Grace works because it reflects the interests Anthropic wants to associate with itself. These show that the connection between the recipient and the swag is doing most of the work.
Don't underestimate scarcity: The “thinking” caps became more desirable because people couldn't simply order another one. The fact that the caps ran out became part of the reason why it’s sought after.
Free can still feel valuable: Nobody had to pay for the Anthropic hat, but that didn't make it disposable. Limited access gave it a value that a price tag couldn't have created.
Make something people want to participate in: The strongest sign that Anthropic swag worked came afterward, when other tech companies started making their own versions of the “thinking” hat. At that point, the idea had moved beyond the original giveaway and into the community around Anthropic.
Produce Swag People Would Line Up For with PerkUp
Anthropic's swag works because the items and ideas are specific to the people receiving them. Despite that, though, turning a good idea into real swag takes more than a clever concept. Keycaps need to be sourced, custom items need to be sampled, and event swag still has to reach the right place on time. PerkUp handles that operational side, from sourcing and production to fulfillment and tracking.
Global warehousing: PerkUp stores swag across the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Europe, India, China, and Australia, so most swag orders can ship domestically with customs and duties covered. This makes it easier to run the same swag program across multiple countries without sending everything from one location.
Flexible fulfillment: Combine bulk and On Demand swag in the same program or swag store. Stock limited-run items, event giveaways, and collectibles in bulk, while offering apparel through On Demand so your recipients can choose their own size and style. Additionally, PerkUp also offers 5,000+ gift cards if you feel like physical swag isn’t the right fit.
Automated milestone gifting through 200+ integrations: Thanks to PerkUp’s integrations to 200+ HRIS tools (as well as SSO, Amazon Business, and Slack), you can automatically send out swag items and/or kits during onboarding, work anniversaries, and birthdays.
Custom sourcing: Source specialty products not available in the standard catalog, including custom keycaps, plushies, and other unusual items. PerkUp's in-house design team can also support artwork, proofs, and customization.
Event swag management: Manage your event swag production, delivery, tracking, and inventory from one platform. Whether you're preparing swag for a developer conference or a pop-up, you can track the order from production through delivery and see when it's expected to arrive.
Custom swag PerkUp clients ordered
Custom camping chairs for a summer swag drop
For its 2026 summer drop, PUBG went with custom-branded camping chairs the team could take anywhere. Furniture is not a normal swag category, which is the point and the reason why it stands out.
Neck gaiters
ProphetX skipped typical swag for custom-branded neck gaiters with the logo front and center. A UFC audience actually wears them, so the item matched the crowd the way Anthropic’s keycaps matched a room full of developers.
A brand mascot as a collectible plushie
Vectra AI brought its mascot to life as a custom plushie. No catalog carries a soft toy of your own character, so it had to be made from scratch.
The one underlying pattern here is that if your swag looks and feels like a retail item instead of swag, people will want to have and use it, just like with Anthropic swag.
Start With A Good Swag Idea
Anthropic doesn’t need a swag store or a traditional swag campaign to make people want its swag. A simple idea, a limited run, and the right audience turned a plain cap into something people were willing to chase down.
The same idea can be applied to your swag. Start with something your recipients would genuinely want to wear, use, or keep. PerkUp can help turn that idea into a real swag item, from sourcing and samples to production and delivery. Check out how it works today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can PerkUp source custom swag that isn’t in a standard catalog?
Yes. PerkUp can source unique, artisan, and specialty items outside the standard catalog, including the kind of stuff AI companies hand out at events: keycaps, plushies, printed booklets, and more. Your dedicated CSM coordinates the process, while PerkUp’s in-house designers handle the artwork.
What’s the best swag platform for developer conferences and pop-ups?
PerkUp is the best swag platform for conferences and pop-ups. This is because event swag runs on fixed deadlines and often needs to reach several locations at once, and PerkUp’s event swag workflow covers bulk fulfillment, kit assembly, inventory mapped to event dates, and ships directly to venues. Plus, it has a global warehouse network that supports events outside the US and around the world.
How long does custom swag take to produce?
With PerkUp, On Demand swag takes about three weeks because each item is produced after the order comes in. Bulk runs take longer: three weeks for production, one week for kitting, and one week for approvals, putting a bulk order at about five weeks before it ships. Custom packaging and certain decoration methods can add proofing time on top of that, too.
Which countries can PerkUp ship company swag to?
PerkUp ships to 65+ countries. Most orders ship from a warehouse inside your recipient’s region, which keeps them out of cross-border customs altogether. For orders that do cross borders, duties are prepaid wherever possible, and if you or your recipients have to pay anything, PerkUp reimburses them in full.
