Employee Welcome Pack: What It Is, What to Include and Ideas
A guide to the employee welcome pack: what it is, what to include for office, remote or field roles, 10 catalogue ideas, a budget per person and ordering lead times.
By Zintora Team
An employee welcome pack is the set of items and messages a company gives someone when they join: usually a garment, something for the desk or everyday use and a welcome note, presented with the brand's identity. Its role is both practical and symbolic: it helps people get started and makes it tangible that the team was expecting them.
This guide explains what a welcome pack is, what to include by role, ten ideas with real products from the catalogue, how much to budget per person and how far in advance to order.
What a welcome pack is: kit, pack and onboarding
The three terms are used almost as synonyms, but it helps to tell them apart when you prepare a request:
- Welcome pack or welcome kit: the physical items the person receives. It can come in a branded box or an envelope, and be delivered to the office or to their home.
- Ready-made pack: a fixed composition from the catalogue, with an indicative price per kit and a minimum number of kits. It is the quickest way to decide.
- Onboarding: the whole process of joining (contract, access, training, introductions). The welcome pack is only one part; it works best when it arrives on the first day.
If you are looking for the service to order one, go straight to the employee welcome packs page: it compares products, minimums and packs.
What to include in a welcome pack by role
A single kit for the whole workforce simplifies logistics, but the contents should serve the real work of the person receiving it. A useful rule: every item should have a clear use in the first few weeks.
Office roles
A notebook and pen for the first meetings, a mug or bottle for the workstation and a garment that can be worn day to day. If there is initial training, add the printed material that will be used; our guide to custom stationery for training courses details options.
Remote working and remote teams
The kit arrives at home, so the packaging has to protect the contents and the address has to be collected in good time. Desk accessories, a mug and a sweatshirt fit well, and the sweatshirt also shows up on video calls. Plan individual shipments and confirm countries and postcodes before production.
Field, retail or event work
Prioritise what is used outside the office: a cap, a sturdy bottle and a backpack or bag for carrying equipment. If the garment is part of a uniform, treat sizes and colours as a corporate clothing order, not a gift.
10 welcome pack ideas with real products
Each product has its own minimum, and personalisation, packaging and delivery are quoted separately. Check each product page for its current starting price.
- Sweatshirt with an embroidered logo: the Summit Hoodie (minimum 20 units). It is a garment that is also worn outside the office.
- T-shirt in cotton: the Core Cotton Tee (minimum 25 units).
- Mug for the workstation or home: the Ember Mug, in matt ceramic (minimum 36 units).
- Reusable bottle: the High-Grade Steel Bottle (minimum 25 units).
- Notebook for the first meetings: the Executive Notebook (minimum 25 units).
- Pen: the Linea Gel Pen (minimum 100 units).
- Desk mat: the Terrain Cork Desk Mat (minimum 30 units).
- Power bank for people who travel or work away from the office: the Relay Power Bank (minimum 25 units).
- Backpack for everyday use: the Traverse Backpack, with a padded laptop compartment (minimum 15 units).
- Stickers for a laptop or bottle: the Loop Sticker Pack (minimum 100 units).
To present it all, there is the Printed Kraft Box (minimum 50 units). Remember that adding up starting prices does not give you the cost of a kit: each product has its own minimum and technique, and assembly and delivery are added in the proposal. You can see the full range in the catalogue.
The New Hire Kit: a ready-made welcome pack
If you would rather not put the kit together piece by piece, the New Hire Kit brings together a Core Cotton Tee, an Atlas Steel Bottle, a Forma Notebook, a Linea Gel Pen and a Loop Sticker Pack in a Printed Kraft Box, with a minimum of 10 kits.
Other compositions in the catalogue: the Remote Team Kit (Summit Hoodie, Ember Mug, desk mat and Relay Power Bank; minimum 10 kits) and the Day One Essentials Kit (T-shirt, mug, notebook and stickers in a kraft envelope; minimum 15 units).
What a welcome pack costs per person
The budget depends on how many items you include, their range and how they are delivered. As a guide, these are the example compositions in the catalogue:
| Approach | Catalogue example | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Day One Essentials Kit | 15 units |
| Complete | New Hire Kit | 10 kits |
| Extended | Welcome Kit Pro | 10 units |
| Remote team | Remote Team Kit | 10 kits |
To adjust the cost, reduce the number of pieces before you reduce the quality: two items used every day leave a better memory than five that end up in a drawer. Always ask for the total with personalisation, packaging, transport and taxes broken down, and compare it using the starting prices on the product pages.
When to order: lead times and logistics
As a guide, standard production is 10 to 20 working days after you approve the digital proof; the exact lead time is confirmed in the quote, and some product pages state their own (the Welcome Kit Pro, for example, 10 to 15 working days). On top of that comes the time to collect sizes and addresses, and transport.
- A one-off hire: start preparing it as soon as the hiring is signed.
- Continuous hiring: the minimums (for example, 10 kits) often cover several months of new starters. Ask in the quote about the feasibility of storage and staggered shipments.
- International deliveries: we deliver to EMEA, APAC and the Americas; state the countries and number of addresses so we can assess transport and paperwork.
Welcome pack examples by company size
These scenarios are indicative, to help you prepare your request, not client cases.
- Startup with few hires a year: a ready-made pack with a low minimum (10 kits) and delivery to a single address; surplus kits are kept for the next starters.
- Small or medium business with monthly hires: a bespoke composition with a garment, a bottle and a notebook, ordered for a quarter or six months, with a range of sizes.
- Large company or one with several sites: a common kit with variants by role (office, remote, field) and deliveries by site or to home addresses, planned around the HR calendar.
Welcome gifts for new employees
A welcome gift does not have to be a full kit. For companies with few new starters, a single well-chosen item, such as a sweatshirt or a backpack, with a card signed by the team, does the same job. What matters is that it arrives on time and that the message is personal: name, team and some reference to their first project.
If you are looking for options with a lower environmental impact, see our guide to sustainable employee welcome kits.
Frequently asked questions about the employee welcome pack
What goes in an employee welcome pack?
The usual contents are a garment, an item for the desk or everyday use (mug, bottle, notebook and pen) and a welcome card. Adjust the contents to the role: someone working remotely does not need the same as someone working in the field.
How much does a welcome pack cost?
The total depends on the composition, the quantity, the personalisation and the delivery, and the quote confirms it. The ready-made packs and kits in the catalogue are a quick way to compare, and each product page shows its starting price.
What is the minimum number of kits to order?
It depends on the pack or the products: the New Hire Kit asks for 10 kits and each individual product states its own minimum. There is no single minimum for the whole catalogue.
How far in advance should I order?
Allow 10 to 20 working days of production after you approve the proof, as a guide, plus the time to collect sizes and the transport. The exact lead time is confirmed in the quote.
Can it be sent to each employee at home?
Yes, state the addresses and countries in the request so we can assess transport. We deliver to EMEA, APAC and the Americas.
Prepare your welcome pack
Compare products, minimums and packs on the employee welcome packs page, look at the options for custom hoodies and branded water bottles, and request a quote with the number of people, the budget per person and the start date. Requesting a quote does not require payment.