A logo is a delicate matter, as anyone in the branding world knows. Years of reliable and professional services and partnerships can build up a lot of equity in a business’s logo. That’s certainly been the case for Goldstar (PPAI 114031, Platinum), PPAI 100’s No. 16 supplier in 2024, which earned high marks in Innovation, Growth, Professional Development and Employee Happiness and is a five-time honoree of PPAI’s Greatest Companies To Work For.

But the Tennessee-based company has evolved significantly over the past decade. It has expanded nationally and globally, eventually combining its North American and European presences into one unified team. The priorities haven’t flipped, but they have crystalized, in a sense: simplicity when it comes to culture and pricing, transparency when it comes to sustainability, better made products and better practices in order to be gracious stewards of not just the promo industry but the planet. In addition to all of that, in 2024, Heather Smartt took over the top leadership position as global head of Goldstar, representing a new chapter.

So, it was time to debut a fresh look, for the future.

“The idea of a rebrand had been simmering for a while, but the timing felt right when I stepped into this role,” Smartt says. “Our legacy brand didn’t truly capture the essence of who we are or where we’re headed.”

At first glance, you might see it just as a simple, clean and modern logo. But when you look closer, it has layers of meanings within its design. It tells a deeper story. It’s a symbol of progress.”

Federica Gentile

Global Senior Brand Manager, Goldstar

The rebrand was accomplished entirely in-house, a fact that Smartt and her team are quite proud of, suggesting that it reflects the values that the broader Goldstar family have not only learned but helped shape on an individual level. Federica Gentile, global senior brand manager, led the project of revamping Goldstar’s look.

“At first glance, you might see it just as a simple, clean and modern logo,” Gentile says. “But when you look closer, it has layers of meanings within its design. It tells a deeper story. It’s a symbol of progress.”

That progress goes beyond the individual stories that Goldstar wants to help its partners tell. The deeper story is a collective one that emphasizes sustainable development. The supplier is truly a global company, and Smartt is leading the company from Lisbon, Portugal, where she is based. Europe’s culture of focusing on sustainability has had an impact on the company’s priorities.

“Living in Europe has really shown me how much people here care about sustainability,” says Smartt. “It’s not just a buzzword; it’s part of everyday life. We’ve learned so much from the European approach, and we’re excited to bring those lessons into our global practices.”

  • In 2024, Goldstar achieved a Forest Stewardship Council certification and made significant investments in Life Cycle Assessment testing across the entire product range.
  • Last October, the company signed on to British Promotional Merchandise Association’s Step Forward Pledge to prioritize responsible practices.
  • It also partnered with UK-based drinkware brand Ocean Bottle to fund the collection of thousands of ocean-bound plastic bottles.


A big part of what meshes Goldstar’s focuses on simplicity and sustainability is the supplier’s goal of increased transparency. To be transparent is to simplify things for partners of Goldstar and maps the supply chain so those partners can more easily join in on the mission for sustainability.

“Partnerships are at the core of Goldstar’s success, and we take our role as a manufacturer seriously,” says RJ Hagel, global director of marketing at Goldstar. “Our distributors depend on us to lead with transparency, ethical business practices and a commitment to keeping our industry relevant with more sustainable solutions.”

Our distributors depend on us to lead with transparency, ethical business practices and a commitment to keeping our industry relevant with more sustainable solutions.”

RJ Hagel

Global Director of Marketing, Goldstar

While Gentile and her team were compiling the messaging a rebrand should convey, Goldstar was actively tracking and refining its manufacturing and purchasing practices and upping its dedication to using recycled, natural and certified materials.

How do you convey that in a logo? You start by deciding that a symbol for this world should be synonymous with the company itself. Inside of the “O,” you see a small, stylized leaf, meant to symbolize growth, renewal and a commitment to environmental responsibility.

“It’s a subtle touch, but it carries a big message: Even the smallest details, when chosen with care, can inspire meaningful change,” Gentile says of the leaf. “That’s what our brand is all about.”

The process of a rebrand, however, is more than just brainstorming. It can mean tough decisions, and sometimes, parting ways with what’s become familiar and comfortable. For more than 10 years, Goldstar had included its signature swirl as part of its branding. The new standalone logo replaced that swirl with a stylized “G” featuring the previously mentioned leaf.

“From font research to color sourcing to inspiration ideation, it was truly a labor of love for Federica and her team,” says Goldstar’s global marketing manager Lane Hokanson, who also admitted “I’ve never looked closer at a ‘G’ before.”

Gentile spoke of a “strong foundation” built out of the mission, vision and values that were built up over the company’s history and honed with Smartt’s leadership. That was the design team’s sense of direction at every step of the process.

I just want to emphasize how much of a human element there was to this rebrand.”

Lane Hokanson

Global Marketing Manager, Goldstar

“I just want to emphasize how much of a human element there was to this rebrand,” Hokanson says. “It would be understandable to assume that this was motivated by aesthetic or even for financial reasons, to keep up with other businesses, but the reality is that it was driven by a desire to honor the people who make up our team and inspire us daily.”

Smartt proclaims that the rebrand not only refines Goldstar’s vision but also creates a forward-thinking approach. The supplier is no longer just looking to the future; it’s becoming the company that it strives to be.

The logo is meant to inspire simplicity, but Smartt is in the unique position of already having seen and thought about it hundreds of times at this point, creating subliminal associations, almost like seeing an old friend proudly in a new phase of their life.

It’s a constant reminder of how much we’ve grown as a company.”

Heather Smartt

Global Head of Goldstar

“It’s a constant reminder of how much we’ve grown as a company,” Smartt says. “It’s exciting to see something so fresh and dynamic representing us. It makes me feel even more connected to what we’re doing and where we’re headed.”