Custom Apparel Business

6 Custom Apparel Business Success Stories [2024]

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Updated: September 6th, 2024

If you want to fuse creativity with entrepreneurship, consider launching a custom apparel business. In simple terms, this venture involves designing and selling personalized clothing items like t-shirts, hoodies, and caps.

The appeal lies in the ability to cater to niche markets, from fan merchandise to corporate gear. You'll need to invest time in mastering design software, sourcing quality materials, and partnering with reliable printing services.

With platforms like Etsy and Shopify, you can set up your online storefront relatively quickly. Marketing requires a strategic approach, leveraging social media and influencer collaborations to reach your target audience.

Starting a custom apparel business is not just financially rewarding; it's a fulfilling way to express your creativity while meeting market demands.

In this list, you'll find real-world custom apparel business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a custom apparel business that makes money.

1. NG Apparels ($16M/year)

Arpit Aryan Gupta, the founder of NG Apparels, came up with the idea for his garment export business after his father lost a significant amount of money in the 2008 US market crash. Seeing the potential in Ludhiana's clothing manufacturing ecosystem, Gupta decided to establish a clothing manufacturing unit in 2012. With a turnover of 12cr ($1,581,547), NG Apparels has experienced exponential growth and serves clients in the US, UK, Australia, and other countries.

How much money it makes: $16M/year
How much did it cost to start: $10K
How many people on the team: 42

How We Bootstrapped A $1.4M/Year Clothing Manufacturing Business [From Ludhiana]

NG Apparels is a garment export unit based in Ludhiana that caters to the clothing segments worldwide, boasting a turnover of $1,581,547 without loans or credit card limits.

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2. Stone ($1.2M/year)

Stefan Johnson, co-founder of STONE, came up with the idea for their business while photographing a two-Michelin-star chef using a regular notebook that kept sliding on the kitchen surface. Together with his client Eliot, they brainstormed and came up with the concept for a chefs notebook with unique features, including stone paper, which led to the launch of their successful Kickstarter campaign and the creation of STONE.

How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How many people on the team: 5

How We Launched A Notebook For Chefs That Went Viral On Kickstarter

Cookbook designers, Stefan Johnson and Eliot Dudik launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2018 hitting its funding target in 24 hours, thus kickstarting the business that has 6 new products, a monthly revenue of around $40,000, and over 45,000 products sold with plans to double its turnover by 2020 by expanding product line and corporate offering.

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3. Hippy Feet ($1.06M/year)

While studying at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls, the founder of Hippy Feet, Michael Mader, suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him unable to work and provide for himself. Inspired by the support he received from his friends and family during his recovery, he decided to start a business that could act as a support group for individuals experiencing homelessness. This led to the creation of Hippy Feet, a sock and apparel company that provides transitional employment to homeless youth.

How much money it makes: $1.06M/year
How much did it cost to start: $30K
How many people on the team: 2

How We Bootstrapped A $720K/Year Sock And Apparel Company That Supports The Homeless Community

Hippy Feet, a Minneapolis-based sock and apparel company, has created jobs for over 160 individuals experiencing homelessness with a 6-month job readiness program and has grown 2020 revenue by 156% over 2019, using sustainable materials and practices while providing sales of custom, branded socks and apparel.

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4. Life and Limb Printing ($960K/year)

Adam Tanaka, founder of Life and Limb Printing, was inspired by his love of music and his experience working in the merch industry to start his own screen printing company. After honing his skills and building relationships with customers, he expanded his business, leading to a record-breaking month in October 2018 with $80,000 in revenue. With a focus on providing high-quality products and exceptional customer service, Tanaka is on track to hit $1 million in revenue by the end of 2019.

How much money it makes: $960K/year
How many people on the team: 3

From Scrubbing Floors To Running A $1M Screen Printing Business

This case study features an entrepreneur who started a screen printing company with no financing or investors, and despite struggling for the first few years, was able to grow his business to hit $80,000 in revenue in October 2018 and is set to hit $1 million by the end of 2019.

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5. LVLS Sportswear ($60K/year)

Brandon Rogers, the founder of LVLS Sportswear, came up with the idea for his business while traveling as a basketball coach and noticing athletes cutting their compression gear for an asymmetrical leg sleeve-like style. After returning home due to the pandemic, he used his savings and unemployment checks to develop his product, the Men’s & Women’s Single Leg Tights, which beat Nike to market by 17 months. Despite being a recent college graduate with no fashion or entrepreneurial experience, Rogers has scaled his business to $5,000 a month in recurring revenue and gained interest from national retailers.

How much money it makes: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3K
How many people on the team: 0

How This Solo Founder Created A $5K/Month Sportswear Brand Without Previous Experience

LVLS Sportswear founder, Brandon Rogers, has created a line of unique and high-quality sportswear inspired by his global basketball training experiences, with products selling out in a matter of months and generating over $5,000 in recurring revenue a month, attracting attention from key athletes and social media followers, with SEO and TikTok user engagement serving as key drivers of customer attraction and retention.

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6. Be Kind Apparel ($5.4K/year)

to look. We wanted it to be clean, simple, and user-friendly. We wanted our logo to be prominent and for customers to easily navigate through the different product options. It took us about a week to design and build the website, and we made sure to include high-quality product photos to showcase our clothing.

How much money it makes: $5.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3.6K
How many people on the team: 1

On Launching An Apparel Brand With A Positive Message

Be Kind Apparel is an ethical and sustainable Irish leisurewear brand that focuses on spreading kindness and supporting mental health, selling tee shirts, hoodies, and sweatshirts in a variety of colors and sizes with recycled materials being used in production and 5% of profits donated to local charities, making a profit of 450 euros per month.

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