Jarne Brauns - East Merch Textile Printing

How long has East Merch been around and how did you get into textile printing?
Jarne: East Merch has been around since 2016. We started out as an agency and later merged with an already existing print shop. The reason we started this company was the increased demand for good merchandise from bands we were friends with. Most of them weren’t satisfied with the quality and service of their previous providers. That’s where we came in. We focused on very high quality, better customer relations and reliable logistics management.

On your homepage, in addition to band merchandise, you also offer the production of professional, sports, and leisure clothing. When I look at your website, it seems your main focus is on the band business. Is that the case and if so, why? What percentage of your business is band merch?
Jarne: Yes, we specialize in band merchandise because working with those customers is so much fun. But we also do a lot of work for companies, clubs and municipalities. In fact, the volume of orders from both sides is about equal. All our clients have very individual requests, but bands usually want very colorful designs printed. That’s where our hearts as printers beat faster, since we can be more creative. Clubs, companies and municipalities typically have much simpler designs, which has its own appeal too.

After Corona, the Ukraine-Russia war came directly. How have all these crises affected your business? I could imagine that Corona in particular, without touring bands, was a challenging turning point for you and East Merch. How have you experienced these times and how has the industry developed so far?

Jarne: The loss of tours and concerts was obviously devastating and meant smaller order quantities. Still, many bands had support merchandise made, which helped cushion the blow a bit. I think we can all agree that no company found this time particularly exciting and we were all relieved when it was finally over.

Release date: 31st of August, 2025

Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/eastmerch_germany/