The promotional products industry is a funny thing. It’s one of those industries that you don’t even know is a thing until you’re in it – despite using promotional products every day. And whenever I ask anyone else how they got into promotional products, they all say the same thing: they sort of just fell into it.
The same can be said for Jake Pan, the owner and founder of Yorkn. He didn’t expect to get into the promotional products industry, but no one ever really does. Jake was born in China and grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and businesspeople. He was constantly surrounded by those who went into business and thrived. He moved from China to Nova Scotia, Canada, in the early 2000s for University and obtained a couple of degrees, one of which was computer science.
But Jake wanted more. He knew that Canada was the perfect place to start a business and his familial ties to the business world back home made it easy to get a foot in the door. After talking with a few family members, he learned about the promotional products industry. Although he would have never expected to start a business in the industry while attending university, he knew that it was his calling as soon as he learned more about it. Jake opened Yorkn for business in 2012. Yorkn is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. The company has grown quite a bit since its doors opened ten years ago. From starting in Jake’s home office to having offices in Canada, the United States (right here in Dallas!), and China.
I always ask about sustainability and how suppliers have given back to their community. For Jake, Nova Scotia is his home now, and he loves it. The community, and Canada as a whole, has welcomed his business with open arms. Their support has made it easy to thrive as a business owner and continue to grow. He was proud to give back to his community and show his appreciation for the support and success that they have given him. So much so that Yorkn recently donated over thirty thousand hand sanitizers to his community and alma mater. The company also contributed $10,000 to Ukrainian relief efforts – which will go a long way.
Yorkn prides itself on being made-to-order. Every product is made and printed as soon as the order is received. Then it is packed up and shipped to the waiting customer directly from the factory after going through a rigorous quality control process to ensure everything is perfect.
As for the future of Yorkn, well, Jake has no plans to stop! They add about ten new products daily to their lineup, ensuring they have what you need and when you need it. Jake is also looking to increase his office footprint by expanding to a warehouse with additional printers in Canada so they can have more products on hand with an even quicker turnaround time. He also plans on using his computer science degree to help bring some cool new stuff to Yorkn’s already super impressive product lineup and online presence.
We’re looking forward to seeing how Yorkn continues to grow – especially since the promotional products industry is expanding exponentially. For more information on Yorkn (US SAGE# 69488, Canadian SAGE# 51602), you can check out their website here. Do you want to catch up on past Supplier Spotlights? Click here!
Source: https://www.sageworld.com/blog/index.php/2022/09/28/supplier-spotlight-the-international-superstar-yorkn