How to Make Merch That Doesn’t Suck
Here are the top 10 key takeaways from Chef PK's approach to building a sustainable creator business through strategic physical product development rather than relying solely on traditional sponsorships and AdSense revenue.
1. Self-sponsored products provide greater creative freedom than traditional sponsors
Working with sponsors often comes with significant creative restrictions that can limit a creator's authentic voice. Traditional sponsors require approval processes, conversion tracking, and brand safety guidelines that constrain how products are presented. Many sponsors also prohibit creators from demonstrating or using their products in videos, which defeats the purpose of authentic marketing.
Self-sponsorship through original products eliminates these barriers entirely. Creators can seamlessly integrate their products into content because they genuinely use them. They control pricing, promotions, and messaging without external approval. This approach also provides emotional satisfaction, as creators feel more authentic when promoting something they've actually created and believe in.
2. Look outside your niche for product inspiration and business models
Staying within your content niche severely limits product opportunities and innovation potential. Chef PK discovered his card concept by studying Sarah Renee Clark's color cube and examining Magic: The Gathering's proxy card community. He learned about printing processes from the gaming community rather than the food space.
Most creators make the mistake of only researching within their immediate content category. This approach leads to copycat products or impossible competition with established players. True innovation happens at the intersection of different industries and communities. Successful creators study business models from completely unrelated fields and adapt them to their audience's needs.
3. Create products that match your audience's lifestyle and budget constraints
Understanding your audience goes beyond demographics and viewing habits. It requires deep knowledge of their spending power, living situations, and daily routines. Chef PK used AI tools to analyze hundreds of comments and discovered his audience couldn't afford a $300 chef knife but would invest in affordable recipe books.
His manga-sized cookbooks weren't just creative—they solved a practical problem. Young anime fans often live in small spaces where full-sized cookbooks don't fit well on shelves. The compact format allowed his books to slot naturally next to manga collections. This attention to lifestyle details transformed a simple cookbook into a coveted collectible that felt native to his audience's world.
4. Physical products create lasting emotional connections that digital content cannot
Digital content, no matter how valuable, remains ephemeral in consumers' minds. Physical products occupy real space in people's homes and create tangible reminders of the creator's brand. Chef PK's customers regularly use his cookbooks in their kitchens, creating repeated positive associations with his content.
Physical products also justify higher price points than digital alternatives. A cookbook with the same recipes available free on YouTube sold for $40 because the physical format provided additional value. The tactile experience of flipping through pages, the ability to cook without screens, and the permanence of ownership all contribute to perceived value that digital products struggle to match.
5. Design products for infinite expansion rather than one-time purchases
Traditional product thinking focuses on single transactions, but smart creators build expandable product ecosystems. Chef PK's cooking cards deliberately mirror Magic: The Gathering's expansion model, allowing customers to start with a base set and add themed packs over time. This approach increases customer lifetime value significantly.
The expansion model works because it transforms products from purchases into collections. Customers develop emotional investment in completing sets or trying new combinations. Rather than selling one $40 cookbook per customer, Chef PK can potentially sell a $37 base set plus multiple $20 expansion packs. This strategy requires upfront design thinking but creates sustainable recurring revenue streams.
6. Target broader audiences than your existing fanbase for maximum growth potential
Many creators make the mistake of designing products exclusively for their current audience, which limits growth potential. Chef PK intentionally designed his cooking cards for families with children, not anime fans. When he tested prototypes with parents in Idaho, they immediately wanted to purchase them without any connection to his channel.
This broader approach opens doors to retail partnerships and mainstream distribution. Products designed only for niche audiences rarely achieve shelf space in major retailers. By creating universal appeal while maintaining enough uniqueness to satisfy core fans, creators can scale beyond their digital audience limitations and tap into much larger markets.
7. Validate demand through direct audience feedback before significant investment
Smart product development requires validation before major financial commitments. Chef PK didn't blindly assume his audience wanted cookbooks. He used AI tools to analyze comment patterns and identified clear demand signals. The requests came consistently across multiple videos over extended periods, not just occasional mentions.
Kickstarter and similar platforms provide excellent validation mechanisms by requiring customers to pay before production begins. This approach eliminates inventory risk while proving genuine demand. Chef PK's first book campaign generated $40,000 with only 100,000 subscribers, proving the concept before scaling production. Pre-orders also provide working capital for manufacturing without requiring external investment.
8. Immerse yourself in your audience's physical spaces to understand their true needs
Online analytics reveal what audiences do, but physical presence reveals who they are. Chef PK attends six or more anime conventions annually, not for business networking but to genuinely understand his community. These interactions provide insights that comment analysis cannot capture.
Physical presence allows creators to observe behavior patterns, spending habits, and social dynamics. Convention attendees helped Chef PK understand that his audience values collectible items, appreciates detailed craftsmanship, and often makes group purchasing decisions. These insights directly influenced his product design, pricing, and marketing strategies in ways that digital research never could have revealed.
9. Maintain publishing consistency while developing long-term projects
Balancing content creation with product development requires strategic sacrifice and planning. Chef PK reduced his upload frequency from weekly to bi-weekly, then sometimes three weeks between videos. This decision temporarily reduced AdSense revenue but provided necessary time for product development.
The trade-off proved worthwhile because his longer production cycles resulted in higher quality videos that performed better long-term. His analytics showed videos didn't gain significant traction until day 21 anyway, making frequent uploads less valuable than assumed. The key insight is that sustainable creator businesses require periods of reduced content output to build scalable revenue streams beyond platform dependency.
10. Build collaborative relationships that extend your capabilities without requiring full teams
Solo creators often assume they need large teams to execute complex projects, but strategic partnerships can provide similar capabilities more efficiently. Chef PK leveraged his parents' printing background, collaborated with layout designers, and worked with other chefs for recipe testing. These relationships provided specialized skills without ongoing overhead.
The collaboration approach works best when partners have complementary skills and shared interests in project success. Rather than hiring employees, Chef PK built a network of freelancers and advisors who contributed expertise as needed. This model provides access to professional capabilities while maintaining the flexibility and cost structure that solo creators require for sustainable growth.