Branded Cooler Bags: History & Buying Guide
Last Updated: 23 September 2026
Key Points
- Modern cooler bags have developed from portable ice chests into flexible insulated carriers for food and drinks.
- We prefer PEVA-lined coolers for staff gifts and outdoor events to prevent spilling.
- Choose the size, liner and decoration method based on what recipients will carry.
Promotional cooler bags combine insulated storage with a large area for company logos. We supply them for staff gifts, outdoor events, retail promotions and food campaigns across Australia. From July 2025 to June 2026, we supplied 11,634 cooler bags across 83 purchase orders.
Who Invented Cooler Bags?
There is no single recognised inventor of the modern cooler bag. Richard C. Laramy filed a portable ice chest patent in 1951. Flexible insulated designs followed, including W. Dale Hollingsworth’s 1988 cooler bag patent. His design used an outer shell, waterproof layer and insulation, which remain basic features in many modern cooler bags.
What Makes a Cooler Bag Different?
A cooler bag uses an insulated liner to help maintain the temperature of food and drinks. The liner is one of the main features we check when comparing products. Our retained Why Choose Branded Cooler Bags article covers foil and PEVA options, which suit different budgets and uses.
Which Cooler Bag Liner Should You Choose?
Choose foil insulation for budget-focused orders and PEVA for regular use, drinks or food that could leak.
Foil-lined coolers suit simple lunches and large event quantities where the per-person budget is lower. PEVA is our stronger choice for drinks, chilled food or items likely to leak.
What Cooler Bag Do We Prefer?
We prefer PEVA-lined lunch or picnic coolers for most staff gifts and outdoor events because they handle regular food and drink use well. Charles Liu, our founder and Marketing Director, particularly enjoys working on outdoor events and asks clients exactly what they will carry. Tell us whether the bag needs to hold lunch, cans, wine bottles or a picnic so we can choose the right capacity and liner.
What Size Cooler Bag Should You Buy?
Choose a lunch cooler for individual meals, a medium bag for drinks, and a larger cooler for picnics or shopping.
Our range includes lunch, picnic, shopping, wine, and backpack coolers, with capacity varying considerably by style. Decide what recipients need to carry before choosing the final size.
Why Do Businesses Choose Promotional Cooler Bags?
Businesses choose cooler bags because recipients can use them for lunches, shopping, picnics, sporting days and travel. Their outer panels also offer plenty of visible space for company logos. Food brands, outdoor events, staff programs and family campaigns are especially well suited to this type of merchandise.
Which Decoration Method Works Best?
Screen printing suits simple logos, digital transfers suit detailed colour artwork, and embroidery works on selected fabric cooler bags.
We match the decoration method to the bag material, logo and available print area. Digital transfer usually reproduces detailed artwork more clearly, while simple logos work well with screen printing.
What Should You Send Us Before Ordering?
Send us the quantity, budget, contents, event date and logo artwork before choosing a cooler bag. If attendees will carry six cans and lunch, tell us that upfront so we can choose the right capacity. Drinks or wet food also point us towards PEVA-lined options with better leak resistance.
