About ezCater

ezCater is the #1 food tech platform for workplaces in the US. With a remote-hybrid workforce, they are intentional about maintaining a strong company culture and helping deepen relationships by creating experiences for its employees to connect. Their annual “Summer Sweetness” offsite was designed to do just that—and Brilliant was tapped to help make the magic (and the merch) happen.

The Mission: Celebrate Team Culture at Scale

ezCater’s “Summer Sweetness” offsite started as a pandemic-era holiday alternative and evolved into a full-scale in-person experience. For 2025, they flew over 500 employees to Minnesota for three days of team bonding and fun.

The goal was clear:

• Create a gamified merch experience that feels fun, inclusive, and true to the brand

• Reinforce culture and appreciation across all levels through meaningful, high-quality merch

• Keep it seamless for the internal team, while sparking real connection among employees

The Challenge: Event Merch Logistics Are Usually a Nightmare

ezCater had big plans for giveaways — they wanted it to energize the event, not just sit in a pile near registration. But with limited bandwidth and a highly diverse crowd, making merch feel special (and manageable) wasn’t going to be easy.

They needed:

• A simple, on-site system to handle inventory, purchases, and sellouts

• Kid- and pet-friendly options to reflect employees' full lives

• A way to make merch feel earned, not just handed out

• Real support, so their team could focus on people — not logistics

And most importantly: they wanted merch that sparked joy — not stress.

The Solution: A Pop-Up Store With a Carnival Twist

Brilliant designed a custom storefront experience modeled after a local fair prize counter. Here’s how it worked:

• Ticket redemption model: Mugs = 10 tickets, Sweatshirts = 40 tickets

• Point-of-sale enabled: Employees could buy items outright if they ran out of tickets

• Family-friendly merch: Plushies and baby tees gave parents something fun to bring home, reinforcing thoughtfulness across all attendee types

• Inventory tracking in real time: Crewnecks and plushies sold out quickly, prompting on-the-spot restock lists

• Out-of-stock items were re-ordered and shipped post-event, no extra lift required

The Results: A Seamless Experience with Real Impact

Partnering with Brilliant allowed ezCater to:

• Deliver a merch experience that employees loved — and asked to see more of

• Eliminated internal lift by using a Brilliant team for setup, staffing, fulfillment, and follow-up

• Reinforced culture and employee appreciation through thoughtful, high-quality giveaways

Bonus Win: A Star Is Born

Among the crewnecks and collectible mugs, one item stole the show: the raccoon plushie.

It became the unofficial event mascot, made surprise social media appearances, and earned instant cult status among attendees.