Ana María Restrepo: "Merch is not a souvenir, it is a brand in use"
Ana María Restrepo is Brand Director at FEMSA, where she has spent nearly a decade building brands that live in the pockets and hands of millions of Mexican consumers. We interviewed her at her Monterrey office about how she thinks about corporate merch, why consistency matters more than creativity, and what she expects from a Mexican supplier in 2026. The conversation was edited for clarity; the opinions are hers.
The conversation
Corp-Merch.MX: What is the role of merch for a brand like the ones you work with?
Ana María Restrepo: Merch is the only piece of communication that lives on the consumer's body. An ad is seen and forgotten; a t-shirt is worn, washed and becomes part of the routine. That is a level of intimacy with the brand that no other channel reaches. If the t-shirt is well made, it reinforces the brand without asking permission. If it is badly made, it erodes the brand without asking permission.
Corp-Merch.MX: What separates a good merch from a bad one, in your experience?
Ana María Restrepo: Consistency. Good merch looks the same today as it does in six months, and looks the same in Monterrey as it does in Mérida. That requires the supplier to manage Pantone color well, the fabric must not change between batches, and the embroidery must be centered. Creativity draws attention once; consistency builds trust over years.
What a brand expects from the workshop
Corp-Merch.MX: How do you evaluate a merch supplier?
Ana María Restrepo: The first thing I ask to see is the SAT positive compliance opinion. If the workshop is not up to date, their invoice is useless to me for deduction and that costs more than any price difference. Second, they have to have their own plant — not be a broker who subcontracts and re-subcontracts. Third, they have to understand NOM-004 and deliver the uniform with the label on correctly. If they fail at that, they fail at the rest.
Corp-Merch.MX: What about delivery?
Ana María Restrepo: I need dates that hold. A delayed delivery for a product launch is a problem that costs much more than the difference between two quotes. That is why I prefer workshops that run annual master agreements with kardex, that know my recurring runs and that call me in advance if something is going to slip. Honest communication is worth more than unfounded optimism.
The fiscal and compliance angle
Corp-Merch.MX: How do you handle personal data when you personalize merch?
Ana María Restrepo: The name engraved on a notebook or the size on a uniform is personal data. For me it is non-negotiable to sign a data processing agreement with the supplier, and that agreement has to say what data I pass, what they use it for, how long they retain it and how they delete it when the work is done. If the supplier will not sign, there is a root problem.
Corp-Merch.MX: What about CFDI 4.0?
Ana María Restrepo: Everything with CFDI 4.0. PPD when we pay at fifteen or thirty days, PUE when it is immediate, payment complement when we pay afterwards, Carta Porte when merchandise moves by road, foreign trade complement when we export to Brazil or the United States. If the supplier does not handle this, they are not a supplier — they are a problem waiting to happen.
What is coming in 2026
Corp-Merch.MX: Where is corporate merch heading in Mexico?
Ana María Restrepo: I see three lines. The first is import substitution — bringing production from Asia back to Mexico because of tariffs and crossing times. The second is sustainability: recycled fabrics, water-based inks, compostable packaging. The third is one-to-one personalization: each t-shirt with the employee's name, each thermos with the anniversary date. That forces workshops to handle shorter runs with the same quality level.
Corp-Merch.MX: And the role of the Mexican workshop?
Ana María Restrepo: The Mexican workshop has an advantage it did not have before: proximity to the consumer. When a consumer sees that the merch is made in Mexico, they value it. If the workshop also complies with the fiscal and data framework, it has a huge future. The ones of us on the brand side want them to do well, because we depend on them.
One piece of advice for someone starting out
Corp-Merch.MX: What would you tell someone about to launch a merch program?
Ana María Restrepo: Do not start with the catalog, start with the brief. What do I want to communicate, to whom, at what time of year, with what budget. Once that is clear, the catalog chooses itself. And do not underestimate logistics: an on-time delivery to Tijuana is worth more than a fancier embroidery that arrives late.
Corp-Merch.MX: Thank you, Ana María.
Ana María Restrepo: Thank you.
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Ana María Restrepo is a fictional person created for editorial purposes. The opinions, criteria and frameworks described do not represent any real person or company. The interview was edited for clarity and is published with editorial permission. Corp-Merch.MX has no commercial, equity or sponsorship relationship with the brand mentioned in the text.