It all started with salt and pepper shakers.

After they got married in the late 1940s, Herb and Gloria Barker began selling the souvenirs up and down the Atlantic coast. Soon enough, they were fielding requests for custom products and “tangible advertising,” so in 1951, they founded what would become Barker Specialty (asi/132690).

Seven decades later, the Barker legacy remains strong, with son Gerry Barker at the helm as president and his son, Max, on board as an account executive. The third-generation family business, based in Cheshire, CT, still operates with the same ethos that it has for decades. “There’s not that focus on profits,” Gerry says. “It doesn’t mean we don’t need to be profitable. But we actually say here we serve our three Cs: our clients, our company and our community.”

Members of the Barker family in 1987: (from left) Adrienne, Herb, Gerry, Gloria and Steven.

Even as far back as the 1960s, Gerry says, Barker Specialty had sales staff on salary, rather than fully commissioned. “We were probably the first in the country to have all our employees on salary,” he adds. “Part of that was the family mentality that we couldn’t have anybody working for us and go hungry.”

Gerry views his staff as part of the family – attending their weddings, getting to know their children and helping them through illness and hardship. That caring attitude shows in staff loyalty and longevity. Ewa Wlaz, a 2022 finalist for Distributor Salesperson of the Year, joined Barker right out of college and is closing in on 20 years. Darlene Bowen, chief financial officer, is celebrating her 45th anniversary at the company this year. “I have loved being part of a family business that cares deeply about their employees, customers and vendors,” she says.

Though company history remains important to Barker Specialty, the distributor has also kept an eye on the future, never shying away from experimenting and innovating. “We were one of the first companies to have an end-user trade show,” Gerry recalls. “When we started that, everybody said it was wrong. Everybody said it was stupid. Everybody said it doesn’t make sense.” These days, however, inviting end-users to trade shows has become commonplace.

Other examples include the distributor’s 6,000-square-foot showroom, created years before many in the industry saw the value of displaying swag onsite and inviting clients to visit. Barker Specialty has also invested in limited in-house production capabilities – allowing for things like heat-transfer printing and laser engraving on blanks. “It’s really designed to enhance the work that our suppliers do,” Gerry says.

Gerry Barker, left, president of Barker Specialty, and Max Barker, account executive. Gerry’s parents, Herbert and Gloria Barker, are pictured on the photograph on the wall.

A recent example? Barker Specialty was one of the first promotional products companies to explore the potential of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in the promo industry. Last June, Gerry minted an NFT of a ramp walker, a cast-iron elephant toy from the 1870s that lives in the Barker Character, Comic and Cartoon Museum created from his parents’ personal toy collection.

“Being a family business, we’re able to make changes rapidly and not have to go through a formal exercise,” Gerry says. “The ability to make fast decisions and do the things the client needs in a pinch – that really is the personal touch.”

The nimbleness has helped Barker Specialty grow into a multimillion-dollar business with 95 employees. Gerry attributes the company’s continued success to the legacy his parents set: “They were ahead of their time. They were remarkable people. They were very caring people. And, you know, keeping the business going is, in many ways, a testament to them.”