Most companies already know a welcome kit matters. But the real trouble starts when it is time to actually select what to put inside. Not many businesses put a lot of thought into this. And it shows - the same hoodie, notebook, maybe a nice water bottle.

Don't get us wrong, these gifts aren't bad. But they're done to death.

There's nothing exciting about them. And they definitely don't come across as thoughtful. Your new hires notice this.

To build a standout onboarding kit, you don't need more items or expensive products. All you need are carefully selected items that reflect who the company is and give the new hire something to laugh about, something to eat, or something worth posting.

But worry not, for we've got you covered with this extensive list of ideas that go beyond the same old notebook-and-hoodie combo.

1. Packaging Should Bring the Experience

The box is the first physical touchpoint, before the new hire sees anything inside. How it opens, what is visible first, and how it is presented all shape their impression.

Boxed

Boxed sells wholesale goods. Its shipping boxes are as recognizable as its products. So, when it came to packaging for their welcome kits, the company just scaled that same box down for new hires.

Boxed scaled down its own iconic shipping box to build the welcome kit. Source: MondayMerch

What Gumtoo likes: The box that delivers what they sell is the same box that welcomes their people. This means there is no gap between the brand a customer sees and the brand a new hire sees on day one.

Similarweb

A few days before a new hire's official start date, Similarweb mails a box of sweets and a letter straight to their home. Instead of a kit waiting on their desk on day one, it shows up before they have even stepped into the office.

Similarweb mails a box of sweets to a new hire's home before their start date, so the first impression lands with family. Souce: Academy Ocean

What Gumtoo likes: Sending the onboarding gift early changes where that first impression lands - at home, in front of family, instead of a busy first morning at the office. That gives it more room to register.

ESL

ESL built its welcome kit around a mini-luggage box, an ode to its identity as a shipping company. The box itself is shaped like a small piece of luggage. So, before a new hire even opens it, the packaging is already making a point about what the company does and what it means to "come onboard."

ESL shaped its onboarding box like mini luggage, an ode to its identity as a shipping company. Source: X

What Gumtoo likes: The packaging carries the metaphor on its own. It instantly connects to the company's business without needing any explanation. While it's a small detail, it shows that the welcome kit was thoughtfully designed for the company rather than using a generic idea.

VML

Instead of a box, VML uses a waxed canvas roll case that unrolls flat to reveal everything at once - pens, a notebook, a set of cards, and a local office map. The recipient can roll it back up and close it with a leather strap fastened over an embossed VML patch.

VMLs onboarding kit comes in a waxed canvas roll case with pens, a notebook, and a local office map, one that gets reused long after day one. Source: DerrickWeishaar

2. Bring Your Workplace Culture to These Kits

A logo on a hoodie is a pretty standard gift. But does it tell a new hire anything about the company they just joined? Nope.

The best kits we see are built around something the company actually believes in. This could either be a value, a habit, or just the way the team works.

Clay

When a new hire's onboarding package arrived, it had the basics you'd expect - their work laptop and some Clay swag. But what caught their attention was something very unexpected. A small figurine made to resemble the new hire personally.

Along with a laptop and Clay swag, new hires get a small figurine made to resemble them personally. Source: LinkedIn

What Gumtoo likes: The personalized figurine is what makes this welcome kit stand out. Instead of a generic gift anyone could receive, it's made specifically for that employee, making the experience feel much more personal.

IBM

The employee onboarding kit is centered entirely around coffee and notebooks. The theme is built around thinking things through and writing ideas down as they come.

IBM built its onboarding kit entirely around coffee and notebooks, a simple theme that ties directly to what its people actually do all day. Source: FishoBowl

What Gumtoo likes: It's a simple, low-cost theme, but it ties directly to what the company's people actually do all day.

Sega

Instead of filling the box with the usual office merch, Sega embraces its identity as a video game company. The kit includes comics, a portrait of Sonic, and other nostalgic items that reflect the brand.

Sega fills its onboarding kit with comics and a Sonic portrait, embracing its identity as a video game company. Source: Medium

What Gumtoo likes: They didn't try to look professional at the expense of being themselves. This makes their onboarding kit look a lot more authentic.

Ogilvy & Mather

Tucked inside the kit is a book written by founder David Ogilvy. This book isn't available for purchase anywhere. The only way to get a copy is to work at the agency.

Tucked inside the kit is a book written by founder David Ogilvy that isn't sold anywhere, the only way to get a copy is to work at the agency. Source: MondayMerch

What Gumtoo likes: The value here comes entirely from exclusivity. No amount of money outside the company can buy this item.

Dropbox

The physical kit is just one part of the experience. On day one, the General Counsel personally walks new hires through the company's mission and values.

At Dropbox, the physical kit is only half the welcome, on day one the General Counsel personally walks new hires through the company's mission and values. Source: Pinterest

What Gumtoo likes: This is a good example of sharing the culture alongside the object.

3. Think Outside the Box

Not every onboarding kit has to be serious. These brands embraced a playful side, and the result was onboarding kits that new hires are unlikely to forget.

Become

This 12-item rebrand kit skips the usual corporate items and builds around personalized illustrations and character cards instead. This makes it feel like it was made specially for the person opening it.

Become's 12-item rebrand kit skips corporate basics for personalised illustrations and character cards, making it feel made specifically for the person opening it. Source: Become

What Gumtoo likes: Fun, silly gifts don't need a big budget. All you need is a bit of creativity and a willingness not to be bland.

Clay

The kit includes a green cap, embroidered with the line "ever since I was young I wanted to transform unstructured data into actionable business insights." No kid grows up dreaming about unstructured data, which is exactly what makes the line funny sitting on a cap like it's some kind of life motto.

Clay's kit includes a cap embroidered with a line about dreaming of transforming unstructured data, a joke that only lands with the exact audience. Source: LinkedIn

What Gumtoo likes: It pokes fun at framing corporate work as a lifelong calling. It works because everyone in the target audience can relate to the sarcasm.

MOZ

This is probably the only company on this list that gives out a towel as part of its onboarding kit. Dig deeper into the bag, and there's a chance you'll also find a hat referencing "the SEO Mom," a nickname the founder gave herself.

MOZ's onboarding kit includes a towel and a hat referencing "the SEO Mom," a nickname the founder gave herself. Source: AcademyOcean

What Gumtoo likes: Using an internal nickname as a product detail is quite a unique quirk.

Social Chain

The kit comes with a bottle of Bacardi. Yes, you read that right. It's definitely not the kind of item that most companies would think to include, let alone lead with.

Social Chain's kit comes with a bottle of Bacardi, signalling a fun, social, after-hours culture rather than a traditional workplace. Source: AcademyOcean

What Gumtoo likes: The brand positions itself as young, creative, and less corporate. The Bacardi signals a fun, social, after-hours culture rather than a traditional workplace.

4. How Will They Use Your Gift Every Day?

Most kits are full of items that get admired once and then sit in a drawer. A better approach? To pick things that employees will actually reach for on a random Tuesday, weeks after the kit was opened.

Wrike
Instead of picking one hero item and calling it a day, Wrike hands new hires a full desk setup, a mug for coffee, socks for those long work-from-home days, a planner to - you guessed it - plan the week, and a pen and pencil for anything that needs writing down.

Wrike hands new hires a full desk setup, mug, socks, and planner, so the day-one experience feels complete rather than partial. Source: MondayMerch

5. Gift them something they can eat & share

Most items in a kit take time to matter. A new hire has to use the notebook, wear the hoodie, or set up the desk toy before it means anything. Food skips all of that. It gets opened, eaten, and remembered within the hour.

Fossa Chocolate

Fossa is a Singapore bean-to-bar chocolate maker. It sources its cacao from farms where it is grown alongside native trees and food crops instead of in large single-crop plantations. This helps protect wildlife, keeps the land healthy, and supports farmers with a more sustainable income.

Gift them Fossa's bean-to-bar chocolate, sourced from farms that protect wildlife and support local growers. Source: Fossa

What Gumtoo likes: It is a sustainable brand with a real story behind it. Plus, new hires can open this at their desk and share it with colleagues on day one.

Ferrero

Instead of picking a random chocolate brand off a shelf, Ferrero simply hands new hires an assortment of what the company already makes, straight from its own product line.

What Gumtoo likes: This is the simplest version of "give them your own product." It works because people actually like the product.

Percolate

The kit covers the basics - notebooks, pens, a water bottle. But the standout is a batch of homemade granola, made rather than bought off a supermarket shelf.

Percolate's kit includes notebooks and a water bottle, but the standout is a batch of homemade granola, the detail that makes the whole kit feel curated, not bulk-ordered. Source: MondayMerch

What Gumtoo likes: "Homemade" is the detail that matters here. It immediately makes it feel like you put in effort to curate the kit, and it's not another bulk order.

PepsiCo

On arrival, new hires get to try PepsiCo's own snacks and drinks firsthand, paired with a fitness tracker. It's a smart way to balance out all that chip-and-soda indulgence.

PepsiCo new hires get to try the company's own snacks and drinks firsthand, paired with a fitness tracker to balance out all that indulgence. Source: LinkedIn

What Gumtoo likes: Same idea as Ferrero. It works because the products are actually good.

6. Make It Something They’ll Actually Wear

No, we're not talking about a standard hoodie. That will probably end up as a gym shirt or a sleep shirt. If you want new hires to actually wear something, it needs to be well designed enough that they'd have picked it out themselves.

Dweck Properties

Instead of shipping out a preselected jacket, Dweck Properties includes a QR code that takes new hires to a shop. Here, they can pick a branded jacket themselves, one that fits the company's values.

Dweck Properties includes a QR code that lets new hires pick their own, one that actually fits their style.Source: Summitmg

What Gumtoo likes: Instead of including a standard jacket, the brand lets new hires choose what they want, so they can choose something they would actually wear.

ASML

The grey hoodie in the kit features the ASML logo along with the phrase "a relatively obscure Dutch company." It's a playful nod to a 2020 BBC article, even though ASML builds the machines that make nearly all of the world's advanced semiconductor chips.

ASML grey hoodies spoke a language as an inside joke. Source: OfficeChai

What Gumtoo likes: The joke only lands if you understand how wrong the original description was. It works as recruitment marketing too, since the people most likely to get the joke are exactly who ASML wants to reach.

7. Add a little fun to the Desk

Not everything on a desk needs a serious job. Sometimes the best item is one that just gives people a reason to step away from their screen for a minute.

Google (interns)

A Nerf gun again. But instead of handing it out on day one, Google waits three months into the internship before giving interns their own Nerf guns. This is separate from the initial welcome kit.

Google waits three months into the internship before handing interns their own Nerf guns, a reminder that gifting doesn't have to stop after onboarding. Source: Reddit

What Gumtoo likes: A reminder that gifting doesn't have to stop after onboarding. A second gift later keeps people engaged.

8. Give Their Workspace the Basics It Needs

It takes more than a laptop to create a proper workspace. These everyday essentials help transform an empty desk into a functional and comfortable place to work.

Laptop or monitor screen clips

These handy clips attach directly to a laptop or monitor. They give you a convenient place to keep notes, reminders, or your daily to-do list within easy view.

Screen clips give new hires a place to keep notes and reminders in view, a tiny addition that keeps the essentials visible without cluttering the desk.Source: Amazon

What Gumtoo likes: It's a tiny addition, but it keeps the important stuff visible without cluttering the actual desk space.

Magnetic wireless charging phone stand

This is a small stand that holds a phone upright using magnets while it charges wirelessly. It removes the hassle of managing multiple cables.

A magnetic wireless charging stand removes the hassle of a phone lying flat with a cable in the way, solving a small daily annoyance most people never bother fixing. Source: Designinfo

What Gumtoo likes: It solves a small daily annoyance (a phone lying flat, screen down, charging cable in the way) that most people never bother fixing themselves.

9. Give Them Something Worth Posting

Do you want employees to share a photo of their onboarding kit online? Then give them something unexpected. The kind of item nobody's expecting to pull out of the box.

Make

What started as an April Fool's joke turned into a pair of branded office slides that employees actually wanted to wear. They weren't a one-time gag either. The slides stuck around and became a regular part of office life.

What started as an April Fool's joke at Make became a pair of branded office slides employees actually wanted to wear, and some still wear them after leaving the company. Source: X

What Gumtoo likes: It's the kind of gift employees wouldn't normally buy for themselves but end up using every day. The fact that people still wear them after leaving the company says everything about their quality.

Binance

One of the most talked-about items was a full-size branded rug. Even though it wasn't the most valuable gift, it became the one people kept posting online. The surprising part is that Binance never gave it away as part of an onboarding kit. It wasn’t a gift merch, and it went viral anyway.

The most talked-about item from Binance wasn't even part of an official onboarding kit, it was a full-size branded rug that people kept posting online anyway. Souce: X

What Gumtoo likes: Every onboarding kit has predictable essentials. What makes people remember it is the one item they never expected to receive.

Here’s What To Do Next

The best onboarding kits aren't always the most expensive ones. Sometimes it's something as simple as a batch of homemade granola, or even a rug nobody planned to give away, that ends up being the one thing employees still talk about weeks later.

The common denominator is not the budget, but the intent.

A good onboarding gift should have a purpose. It might reflect the company's identity, make everyday work a little easier, create a memorable experience, or become something employees continue to use for months.

If you're building a kit and want help picking items that do more than just fill space, that's exactly what we do at Gumtoo. Get in touch today to build an onboarding kit that employees can't stop talking about.

FAQs

1. What to include in an onboarding pack?

There's no fixed gift that you must include in an onboarding kit. Instead, include a mix of useful everyday items, something that represents your company's personality, apparel people will actually want to wear, and a small fun or edible gift to make new hires feel welcome.

2. What is an onboarding kit?

An onboarding kit is a set of items a company gives a new employee, usually on or before their first day. It can include anything from notebooks and hoodies to snacks and branded merchandise. The goal is to make new hires feel welcome while introducing them to the company's culture.

3. What are some unique welcome kit ideas?

Instead of filling the box with the usual office items, mix in something more unique. A personalized gift, products that tie back to your company's identity, an edible gift, or one unusual item like a rug or oversized slippers can make the whole experience far more memorable.

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