The Dispatch

In the month of June, our CEO Angelina Garcia attended Cannes Lions-the world's premier festival for creativity, innovation, and brand excellence. What started as a trip to experience the keynotes, conversations, and ideas has evolved into something deeper: a collection of insights that reinforce why Y-Not Collective exists and what we believe about the role of physical products in brand strategy. The Merch Stays—Everything Else Fades. Ask ten people what they remember best about a major event like Cannes. Most will tell you about the merch. Over a month later, the experience has become a collection of great memories—the conversations, the keynotes, the ideas. But there's something tangible we're all holding onto from Cannes: it's the merchandise. This is the paradox of modern branding. We spend billions on digital campaigns, sponsored content, and ads that scroll past in seconds. Yet what people actually remember—what they carry home, use daily, and associate with your brand—is often something physical they can hold.

One thoughtful design detail transformed a simple scarf into something far more versatile.

After working on branded products for the biggest names in the world, Y-Not Collective approaches each product with a single guiding question: Will I use it? Would I love it? Is the quality so good that someone would choose to wear it again tomorrow? If the answer is yes, you've created more than merchandise. You've created something worth keeping. Here's the truth that Cannes reinforced: a brand isn't what you see on a screen. It's what you remember. It's what's in your hand on the way out. The products that matter most are the ones people choose to keep—not because they were forced to, but because they're genuinely useful, beautifully designed, and worth using again tomorrow. That's the Y-Not difference.