WARREN, Ohio — Demand for America250 merchandise is giving Warren-based Berk Enterprises access to new customers while driving strong sales of its licensed souvenir cups ahead of this year’s fair and festival season.

Berk Enterprises has an agreement with America250, the national organization established to celebrate the semiquincentennial. The company is selling licensed 32-ounce souvenir cups with the official America250 branding.

Reilly Berk, president and CEO, said earlier this year she was inspired to seek the America250 license when she visited various fairs in California last year.

As of late May, Berk had sold more than 150,000 of the souvenir cups, according to John McDermott, director of concessions and hospitality.

“At least for the Midwest, we’re kind of early in terms of fair and festival season,” McDermott says. June, July and August are “key months,” so he anticipates greater sales, perhaps 400,000 units or more.

In some cases, existing customers are purchasing the semiquincentennial-branded cups instead of cups they otherwise would have bought, but other customers have increased purchases over what they have ordered in previous years because of encouraging signs for this fair season.

“They just anticipate more demand this year than years past,” he says.

In addition to the normal concessionaires who set up at fairs and festivals, the themed cups are opening new markets for Berk, McDermott says. He has a California customer with an agritourism business who purchased the cups.

“There is definitely a following that’s dedicated to this celebration,” he says. “We’ve had maybe a dozen or so customers engage with us that probably wouldn’t have, and then, of course, many more customers who we regularly do business with that found that product interesting.”

McDermott acknowledges many fairs and festivals, including those in the Mahoning Valley, take place later in the season and might not coincide directly with Independence Day, but he still anticipates strong sales of the America250 cups throughout the year.

“This is going to be an exciting season for fairs, festivals and carnivals because of this,” he says. With high gas prices, people also might be less willing to spend money to travel, resulting in more local spending on recreation.

“Fairs and festivals are a great piece of that, and of course, in conjunction with the timing of America250, it’s a great time to lean into that celebration, both by concession operators and as citizens,” he says.

Editor’s note: This story is part of a larger feature examining how Mahoning Valley businesses are celebrating America’s 250th anniversary through special products, partnerships and commemorative branding. Read the full story HERE.

Pictured at top: Yvonne Brickle, concession account manager; McDermott; Amanda Morris, concession account coordinator