Greg Hrinya, Editor10.11.22
www.stickermule.com
www.stickermule.com
Sticker Mule, a New York-based label converter that was established in 2009, prides itself on creating “custom printing that kicks ass.” The company’s wide breadth of product offerings spans labels and packaging to magnets, stickers, and t-shirts.
Sticker Mule’s vision extends beyond printing, too, as its co-founder and CEO, Anthony Constantino, has prioritized innovation in numerous fields. In addition to labels, Sticker Mule offers tagless t-shirts featuring extra-soft, 100% ring spun cotton designed for comfort and durability, as well as a brand of hot sauce. In 2019, Sticker Mule launched Mule Sauce, its “kick-ass” brand of hot sauce, and the company produces more than 40,000 bottles a month.
The creativity did not stop during the pandemic, either. In 2021, Sticker Mule opened Combat Mules, a combat sports training facility in the former Mohawk Dairy processing plant in Amsterdam, NY. The facility was expanded this year to include Mule Fitness, a community-focused fitness center. This year, Constantino also founded Stimulus, a new social media platform. Stimulus users must be verified to ensure they are real people – there no bots on Stimulus. There are currently 11,000 verified users (and growing) and another 30,000 casual users not yet verified. Instead of buying ads on Stimulus, companies and brands offer giveaways that users can like, share and comment on. Sticker Mule refers to this as “stimming.” Whenever a user “restims” a brand post, they are entered in the giveaway.
Initially, Constantino and his co-founder recognized an opportunity to capitalize on the potential of print. “Sticker Mule was founded in December 2009 when my co-founder, who was then 72, got his first computer, saw the internet and decided we should build an internet manufacturing company together,” explains Constantino. “We settled on making stickers and launched three months later. We had 18 orders on our first day and realized immediately that Sticker Mule would be a success.”
Sticker Mule had the foresight to capitalize on the future of digital printing for its labels and stickers. This trend was on display at Labelexpo Americas, September 13-15, 2022, as all the presses on working display were digital or digital hybrid production units. Sticker Mule found a partner in Epson, with which it has enjoyed numerous successes.
Most recently, Sticker Mule purchased the 100th SurePress digital label press in North America. The 100th unit was a SurePress L-6534VW UV press.
“Epson helped us take over the online label market, and it’s a great honor to install the 100th Epson SurePress printer sold in North America,” says Constantino. “No one can touch the combination of Sticker Mule magic and Epson print quality. Not only is the SurePress a great machine, but the Epson team behind it is an innovative powerhouse. They deserve a big congratulations for reaching such a major milestone. I only wish we owned all 100.”
Constantino is a strong believer in Epson, as he notes that the digital press manufacturer shares Sticker Mule’s passion for making customers happy. “Sticker Mule exclusively uses digital printing because giving people the freedom to print anything makes them happy,” says Constantino. “Epson shares our passion for making customers happy. Far too many manufacturing technology firms are owned by investor groups that only care about profits and, for that reason, struggle to make their customers happy. Epson is a unique company who, despite its size and age, remains very concerned with innovating to make customers happier.
“We think it’s crazy when manufacturers disclose their partners and machines for press hits that likely generate no orders,” he adds. “We only disclosed the Epson relationship because Sticker Mule, for many reasons, is far superior to the competition and we felt Epson deserved credit for being a great company in an industry of underperformers.”
Sticker Mule has created an innovative online ordering platform that simplifies the process for its customers. Users can order their labels – or multiple other products – in 60 seconds and the company will transform the designs and illustrations into custom stickers, magnets, buttons, labels and packaging in days. Sticker Mule also boasts free online proofs, free worldwide shipping, and fast turnaround times.
“We are the dominant label printer on the internet and will likely become the dominant packaging vendor very soon,” states Constantino. “The other internet packaging vendors mostly take orders and outsource to manufacturers. We combine an incredible purchasing experience with superior manufacturing for all our products.”
According to Constantino, Sticker Mule has no investors, so the company is free to prioritize making its customers and coworkers happy above all else. This has led to an extremely tight-knit group in Amsterdam and a positive workplace culture. Since its inception, Sticker Mule has hired “incredible talent” from all over the world, which makes it easy for the company to succeed on a global stage.
Sticker Mule has also emphasized giving back to the local community. In August, the company donated more than 2,600 t-shirts to the Amen Place Soup Kitchen in Amsterdam. The donation is part of Sticker Mule’s larger commitment to provide at least another 10,000 t-shirts to Amen Place this year. Amen Place is distributing most of the shirts to families in need throughout Montgomery County, with others going to local community organizations such as the Inman Senior Center and Creative Connections Community Center.
“The Amen Place Soup Kitchen deeply appreciates the donation from Sticker Mule and our ongoing partnership with the company to help families throughout the area,” said Amen Place Soup Kitchen community liaison Chris Carpenter. “We’re grateful for Sticker Mule’s continued support in helping us with our ongoing mission to provide support for people in need without stigma while treating them with the passion and dignity they deserve.”
Another way Sticker Mule has given back to the community is through sports. The company purchased a former dairy building at the beginning of 2021 and invested $800,000 in converting it into the current Combat Mules training facility. The facility is over 20,000 square feet and includes male and female locker rooms, a trainer’s room, and an outdoor training area. Half of the facility features Combat Mules, which exists within Mule Fitness, a community-focused gym and fitness center that was opened to provide a fitness center for the Amsterdam community when another locally-owned gym was closed earlier this year. Membership is free to students. Mule Fitness officially opens later this fall. Meanwhile, Combat Mules is still open and operating while the build-out of Mule Fitness wraps up.
“Our goal is to bring more excitement to Amsterdam while helping our youth become future community leaders,” says Constantino. “Not every kid learns well in the classroom, and Combat Mules is our way to help kids learn the principles of success, including how to perform self-assessments and build a competitive advantage through sports.”
In the future, Constantino and his dedicated team at Sticker Mule will continue to push the envelope of innovation. “Sticker Mule fosters a win-win relationship with its customers by using its resources to build the coolest stuff that’s within our power to make,” he says. “Most recently, we created a free design app called Studio, which is perfect for people who don’t want to waste their time or money on Adobe Creative Suite. It’s fully integrated with Sticker Mule so you can go from idea, to design, to purchase in minutes.”
Constantino has been at the forefront of addressing the workforce challenge, too, another topic that is top-of-mind in the label industry. Sticker Mule hosted a job fair at the Rivers Casino & Resort Event Center on September 22, 2021, as the company was filling a number of remote customer service positions, which will allow potential employees to work from home.
“We understand the job market is very competitive and that we have to offer potential applicants something they probably aren’t going to be offered at another company,” remarks Constantino. “Remote workers are not new to Sticker Mule; we’ve had people working remotely all over the world for the better part of a decade. Having the ability to offer remote employment opportunities allows us to get the best possible candidates because we are not constrained by geography. Currently, we have remote workers in almost 20 countries.”
Sticker Mule’s customer service agents must be able to respond to inquiries in a clear, concise and comprehensive manner. Their customer service agents provide support via e-mail and even use social media, primarily Twitter, at times to assist customers.
Sticker Mule, which is also a strong proponent of small business, has strong plans for its Stimulus platform. “Our happy social network called Stimulus is still in beta-testing but will eventually become a superior alternative to Facebook or Twitter for businesses and anyone else who wants a happier internet that better reflects humanity’s good nature.”
www.stickermule.com
Sticker Mule, a New York-based label converter that was established in 2009, prides itself on creating “custom printing that kicks ass.” The company’s wide breadth of product offerings spans labels and packaging to magnets, stickers, and t-shirts.
Sticker Mule’s vision extends beyond printing, too, as its co-founder and CEO, Anthony Constantino, has prioritized innovation in numerous fields. In addition to labels, Sticker Mule offers tagless t-shirts featuring extra-soft, 100% ring spun cotton designed for comfort and durability, as well as a brand of hot sauce. In 2019, Sticker Mule launched Mule Sauce, its “kick-ass” brand of hot sauce, and the company produces more than 40,000 bottles a month.
The creativity did not stop during the pandemic, either. In 2021, Sticker Mule opened Combat Mules, a combat sports training facility in the former Mohawk Dairy processing plant in Amsterdam, NY. The facility was expanded this year to include Mule Fitness, a community-focused fitness center. This year, Constantino also founded Stimulus, a new social media platform. Stimulus users must be verified to ensure they are real people – there no bots on Stimulus. There are currently 11,000 verified users (and growing) and another 30,000 casual users not yet verified. Instead of buying ads on Stimulus, companies and brands offer giveaways that users can like, share and comment on. Sticker Mule refers to this as “stimming.” Whenever a user “restims” a brand post, they are entered in the giveaway.
Initially, Constantino and his co-founder recognized an opportunity to capitalize on the potential of print. “Sticker Mule was founded in December 2009 when my co-founder, who was then 72, got his first computer, saw the internet and decided we should build an internet manufacturing company together,” explains Constantino. “We settled on making stickers and launched three months later. We had 18 orders on our first day and realized immediately that Sticker Mule would be a success.”
Sticker Mule had the foresight to capitalize on the future of digital printing for its labels and stickers. This trend was on display at Labelexpo Americas, September 13-15, 2022, as all the presses on working display were digital or digital hybrid production units. Sticker Mule found a partner in Epson, with which it has enjoyed numerous successes.
Most recently, Sticker Mule purchased the 100th SurePress digital label press in North America. The 100th unit was a SurePress L-6534VW UV press.
“Epson helped us take over the online label market, and it’s a great honor to install the 100th Epson SurePress printer sold in North America,” says Constantino. “No one can touch the combination of Sticker Mule magic and Epson print quality. Not only is the SurePress a great machine, but the Epson team behind it is an innovative powerhouse. They deserve a big congratulations for reaching such a major milestone. I only wish we owned all 100.”
Constantino is a strong believer in Epson, as he notes that the digital press manufacturer shares Sticker Mule’s passion for making customers happy. “Sticker Mule exclusively uses digital printing because giving people the freedom to print anything makes them happy,” says Constantino. “Epson shares our passion for making customers happy. Far too many manufacturing technology firms are owned by investor groups that only care about profits and, for that reason, struggle to make their customers happy. Epson is a unique company who, despite its size and age, remains very concerned with innovating to make customers happier.
“We think it’s crazy when manufacturers disclose their partners and machines for press hits that likely generate no orders,” he adds. “We only disclosed the Epson relationship because Sticker Mule, for many reasons, is far superior to the competition and we felt Epson deserved credit for being a great company in an industry of underperformers.”
Sticker Mule has created an innovative online ordering platform that simplifies the process for its customers. Users can order their labels – or multiple other products – in 60 seconds and the company will transform the designs and illustrations into custom stickers, magnets, buttons, labels and packaging in days. Sticker Mule also boasts free online proofs, free worldwide shipping, and fast turnaround times.
“We are the dominant label printer on the internet and will likely become the dominant packaging vendor very soon,” states Constantino. “The other internet packaging vendors mostly take orders and outsource to manufacturers. We combine an incredible purchasing experience with superior manufacturing for all our products.”
According to Constantino, Sticker Mule has no investors, so the company is free to prioritize making its customers and coworkers happy above all else. This has led to an extremely tight-knit group in Amsterdam and a positive workplace culture. Since its inception, Sticker Mule has hired “incredible talent” from all over the world, which makes it easy for the company to succeed on a global stage.
Sticker Mule has also emphasized giving back to the local community. In August, the company donated more than 2,600 t-shirts to the Amen Place Soup Kitchen in Amsterdam. The donation is part of Sticker Mule’s larger commitment to provide at least another 10,000 t-shirts to Amen Place this year. Amen Place is distributing most of the shirts to families in need throughout Montgomery County, with others going to local community organizations such as the Inman Senior Center and Creative Connections Community Center.
“The Amen Place Soup Kitchen deeply appreciates the donation from Sticker Mule and our ongoing partnership with the company to help families throughout the area,” said Amen Place Soup Kitchen community liaison Chris Carpenter. “We’re grateful for Sticker Mule’s continued support in helping us with our ongoing mission to provide support for people in need without stigma while treating them with the passion and dignity they deserve.”
Another way Sticker Mule has given back to the community is through sports. The company purchased a former dairy building at the beginning of 2021 and invested $800,000 in converting it into the current Combat Mules training facility. The facility is over 20,000 square feet and includes male and female locker rooms, a trainer’s room, and an outdoor training area. Half of the facility features Combat Mules, which exists within Mule Fitness, a community-focused gym and fitness center that was opened to provide a fitness center for the Amsterdam community when another locally-owned gym was closed earlier this year. Membership is free to students. Mule Fitness officially opens later this fall. Meanwhile, Combat Mules is still open and operating while the build-out of Mule Fitness wraps up.
“Our goal is to bring more excitement to Amsterdam while helping our youth become future community leaders,” says Constantino. “Not every kid learns well in the classroom, and Combat Mules is our way to help kids learn the principles of success, including how to perform self-assessments and build a competitive advantage through sports.”
In the future, Constantino and his dedicated team at Sticker Mule will continue to push the envelope of innovation. “Sticker Mule fosters a win-win relationship with its customers by using its resources to build the coolest stuff that’s within our power to make,” he says. “Most recently, we created a free design app called Studio, which is perfect for people who don’t want to waste their time or money on Adobe Creative Suite. It’s fully integrated with Sticker Mule so you can go from idea, to design, to purchase in minutes.”
Constantino has been at the forefront of addressing the workforce challenge, too, another topic that is top-of-mind in the label industry. Sticker Mule hosted a job fair at the Rivers Casino & Resort Event Center on September 22, 2021, as the company was filling a number of remote customer service positions, which will allow potential employees to work from home.
“We understand the job market is very competitive and that we have to offer potential applicants something they probably aren’t going to be offered at another company,” remarks Constantino. “Remote workers are not new to Sticker Mule; we’ve had people working remotely all over the world for the better part of a decade. Having the ability to offer remote employment opportunities allows us to get the best possible candidates because we are not constrained by geography. Currently, we have remote workers in almost 20 countries.”
Sticker Mule’s customer service agents must be able to respond to inquiries in a clear, concise and comprehensive manner. Their customer service agents provide support via e-mail and even use social media, primarily Twitter, at times to assist customers.
Sticker Mule, which is also a strong proponent of small business, has strong plans for its Stimulus platform. “Our happy social network called Stimulus is still in beta-testing but will eventually become a superior alternative to Facebook or Twitter for businesses and anyone else who wants a happier internet that better reflects humanity’s good nature.”