The Merch Gap<\/strong><\/h2>\nMilkyway Brands was founded by Franco Infante, who scaled the corporate from a phone-case startup right into a full-service merchandise operation serving artists, creators, sports properties and types. His client roster has included Jhen\u00e9 Aiko, A$AP Rocky, Kevin Hart, Anderson. Paak, the LA Clippers and Jordan Brand.<\/p>\n![\"Fab](\"https:\/\/media.theblast.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=788,height=788,fit=crop,quality=75,gravity=auto,metadata=none,format=auto,onerror=redirect\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/page3_image1-788x788.png\")
Gib Sarmiento<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe corporate identified a transparent market gap. Most artists outsource merchandise to third-party vendors scattered across multiple supply chains, creating delays, quality inconsistencies and better achievement costs. Milkyway controls all the process in-house: apparel design, manufacturing, decoration and drop-ship achievement.<\/p>\n
In 2025, Infante launched Prjct Blanks, a proprietary line of premium blanks manufactured and finished on Milkyway\u2019s own equipment. The corporate can be constructing Prjct Merch, a Shopify-connected platform that enables customers to upload artwork, receive quick pricing and route jobs directly into production.<\/p>\n
Capital and Speed as Competitive Benefits<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe Fab Factory investment brings each capital and artistic adjacency to the Milkyway operation. Tai Savet, who led the business acquisition, joined as an investor alongside Ketrina \u201cTaz\u201d Askew, longtime manager of Grammy-nominated artist Jhen\u00e9 Aiko, and Chris Cyre, a music and merchandise veteran.<\/p>\n![\"Fab](\"https:\/\/media.theblast.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=788,height=1051,fit=crop,quality=75,gravity=auto,metadata=none,format=auto,onerror=redirect\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/page4_image1-788x1051.png\")
Gib Sarmiento<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFor Fab Factory chairman Steven Fabos, the strategy builds on a proven playbook. Before founding Fab Factory, Fabos began Steven Charles, a gourmet dessert company that became the private-label supplier behind Starbucks\u2019 cake pops and was later acquired by Bain Capital-backed DessertHoldings. He has consistently pursued vertical ownership across his business ventures.<\/p>\n
\u201cQuality becomes defensible while you own the infrastructure,\u201d Fabos said. \u201cMilkyway has the identical DNA: own the product, own the method and construct something that may scale without losing its standard.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Creator Economy Gets Serious<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe deal reflects a maturation in how artists view merchandise revenue. Creators aren’t any longer treating product as a peripheral brand extension. Apparel, blanks and limited-edition merchandise at the moment are core business lines with real margin potential.<\/p>\n
Infante said creators increasingly demand that merchandise quality match the standard of their content. An artist with a worldwide fanbase cannot afford to sell low-quality apparel bearing their name; it damages the brand. By controlling manufacturing, Milkyway ensures every product meets the production standard the brand requires.<\/p>\n
Savet, who led the acquisition, framed the partnership in those terms. \u201cFab Factory sits on the source of culture. Milkyway gives that culture a product engine. When those two businesses operate under one roof, every recording session, campaign, fan moment and brand activation has a direct path to commerce,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Economics of Ownership<\/strong><\/h2>\nFrom a business standpoint, the investment addresses a structural problem in creator monetization. Artists have historically ceded merchandise revenue to third-party operators in exchange for outsourcing operational complexity. By moving that function in-house, Fab Factory and Milkyway are capturing margin at multiple points: manufacturing, decoration, achievement, and potentially platform licensing through Prjct Merch.<\/p>\n
The campus consolidation also improves operational efficiency. A brand can now shoot content, produce video, design merchandise and manufacture apparel without coordinating across multiple vendors and provide chains. That speed translates to faster time-to-market for limited-edition drops and faster inventory turns.<\/p>\n
For Fab Factory, the investment extends its role beyond studio operator right into a comprehensive entertainment infrastructure platform. The corporate now owns the total creator pipeline: content creation, post-production and commerce achievement. That ownership structure increases customer switching costs and makes Fab Factory a more helpful strategic asset for entertainment firms and management firms searching for integrated production services.<\/p>\n
Terms of the investment weren’t disclosed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n