A bulk order of insulated tumblers for employees runs roughly $8.50 to $12.50 per unit depending on quantity and spec. The order I quote most often, 100 units of a 20-ounce double-wall stainless tumbler, powder coated in your brand color and laser engraved, lands around $11.00 per unit, about $1,100 total. Standard production is 7 to 10 business days. The full tier ladder, the spec I recommend, individual name engraving, and the tax question every HR manager asks me are all below.
I am Steve Goddu. An employee gift that goes wrong is worse than no gift at all. I have seen 300 tumblers show up in the wrong shade of blue and go straight into a supply closet, because the vendor never asked for a Pantone number and nobody caught it on a proof. After 28 years of managing production for brands like JetBlue and Royal Caribbean, and now for community banks, credit unions, and HR teams across NH and northern MA, I quote the number, I proof the art, and the tumblers show up right. Here is exactly how the order works.
What a bulk tumbler order costs at 50, 100, 250, and 500 units
These are the tiers I quote against for a 20-ounce double-wall insulated stainless tumbler with a powder-coated barrel and a laser-engraved logo. Your exact number moves with lid style, packaging, and imprint, which is why the written quote is the real number.
- 50 units: about $12.50 per unit. The right size for a leadership team or a small-company holiday gift.
- 100 units: about $11.00 per unit, roughly $1,100 total. The most common employee-recognition order I run.
- 250 units: about $9.75 per unit. Typical for a company-wide gift at a 100 to 250 employee business.
- 500 units: about $8.50 per unit. Multi-branch banks and credit unions ordering for every location at once.
Three line items move those numbers, and I disclose all three before the PO. An individual gift box adds roughly $1.00 to $1.50 per unit and is worth it for recognition gifts. A second imprint location or a full-color wrap adds cost over a one-location laser engrave. And shipping is quoted separately, because 500 stainless tumblers are heavy and freight to one office costs far less than drop shipping to 500 doorsteps.
The spec I recommend for an employee order
The 20-ounce double-wall vacuum-insulated stainless tumbler with a sliding lid is the workhorse. It fits a car cup holder, it keeps coffee hot through a morning of meetings, and it lives on a desk instead of in a cabinet. Powder coat the barrel in your brand color with a Pantone match, laser engrave the logo, and it looks like retail, not like a giveaway. The 30-ounce version adds $2.00 to $3.00 per unit and makes sense for field crews and anyone who lives out of a truck. For a breakroom handout, skip the gift box and ship in bulk cartons. For service anniversaries and recognition, pay for the box. Presentation is half the gift.
Why laser engraving beats a printed logo on an employee tumbler
A pad-printed logo chips, and it chips fastest at dishwasher temperatures. On an employee tumbler that goes through a wash cycle twice a week, a printed logo can look rough inside a year. Laser engraving cuts the logo into the steel through the powder coat. It is permanent for the life of the tumbler, it cannot peel or fade, and on a powder-coated barrel the engraving shows the brushed stainless underneath, which reads sharp and premium. It is the standard I quote for employee drinkware, and it is why the tumbler still looks right in year three.
Can you put each employee's name on their tumbler?
Yes. Variable-data laser engraving puts your logo on the front and each employee's name on the back, from a spreadsheet you send me. It adds roughly $1.50 to $2.50 per unit and 3 to 5 business days to production. It is the single best upgrade on an employee order for two reasons. A tumbler with your own name on it does not get left in a cabinet, and it ends the breakroom mixup problem on day one. I need the name list in a clean spreadsheet, one column, spelled the way each person wants it spelled. I proof the name list the same way I proof art, because the fastest way to ruin a recognition gift is to misspell someone's name on it.
Are employee gift tumblers taxable? The de minimis question
HR managers ask me this on almost every order, so here is the plain-language version. Under IRS rules, occasional non-cash gifts of low fair market value can qualify as de minimis fringe benefits, which means they are not counted as taxable wages to the employee. Traditional holiday and birthday gifts of property with a low value are the textbook examples in the Treasury regulations. There is no official dollar limit, but the IRS has ruled that items around $100 do not qualify, and many employers use an informal comfort zone well under that. A $9 to $13 branded tumbler given once a year sits comfortably in that territory. Two cautions. Gift cards and cash never qualify, no matter how small, they are always taxable wages. And I sell tumblers, not tax advice, so confirm your program with your accountant. But this is a real, practical reason HR teams choose a quality tangible gift over a $25 gift card.
Why a tumbler earns its cost
The Advertising Specialty Institute's Ad Impressions research tracks this category every year. Their data shows logoed drinkware generates over 3,000 brand impressions across its lifetime, and 63 percent of people keep and use branded drinkware for at least a year. An employee tumbler works the same math from the inside. It sits on a desk in every meeting, it rides in the car, and it shows up in the background of every video call. For a bank or credit union where employees meet members face to face all day, matching drinkware is a small uniform detail that reads as a team that has its act together.
Timeline, and what I need from you to quote it
Standard production is 7 to 10 business days after art approval, with 5-day rush available on in-stock colors. Individual name engraving adds 3 to 5 business days. To send you a written quote, I need five things.
- Your headcount, plus about 10 percent extra for new hires and replacements. Reorders of small quantities cost more per unit than ordering the spares up front.
- The date you need them in hand, and the occasion, whether that is a holiday gift, a service-anniversary program, or onboarding kits.
- Your logo as a vector file, and your brand color's Pantone number if you have one. If you do not, I will pull it from your brand guide or match it from your printed materials.
- Whether you want names engraved, and if so, the spreadsheet.
- Where it ships: one office, multiple branches, or drop shipped to home addresses for remote employees.
If you have an employee gift or recognition program to scope, call (603) 890-2406 or email SteveGoddu@GodduImprint.com. Tell me your headcount and your date, and I will send a written quote within 24 hours with the 100, 250, and 500 unit tiers side by side so you can compare. Every fee is on the quote before the PO. We keep your name in their hands, and on an employee order, that includes the names of your own people.
