Promotional Goods and Services for Dept. of Agriculture

The Commonwealth of Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, on behalf of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, is requesting proposals for comprehensive promotional goods and services supporting the Kentucky Proud brand, with proposals due August 28, 2026 at 3:30 PM ET. Vendor questions were due August 10, 2026. This is a new program with no incumbent.

Scope includes consulting and design, order fulfillment, merchandising, warehousing, delivery within seven business days, customer service, brand management and quality control, technical integration, and compliance services. Services extend to inventory management (tagging, folding, packaging, labeling, shipping, kitting, assembly) and retail location stocking at multiple brick-and-mortar sites. The pricing scenario involves 10,000 t-shirts with 5,000 warehoused and delivery to 10 retail locations each 50 miles from the warehouse.

Pricing is firm fixed unit pricing submitted separately from technical proposals using the provided Cost Proposal Form, with detailed breakdowns by item type, quantity, and shipping costs. Vendors must itemize hourly consulting and design charges, per-unit fees for order fulfillment, merchandising, warehousing, delivery, customer service, brand management, and technical integration, and any minimum order fees. The Commonwealth is tax-exempt and requires vendors to exclude federal excise tax and Kentucky sales or use tax from proposed costs.

The initial contract term is one year from award with four optional two-year renewal periods available by mutual agreement. The Commonwealth reserves the right to extend for periods less than renewal options and renegotiate terms as necessary. No minimum purchase obligation exists; purchases are limited to actual requirements as determined by the Commonwealth.

Evaluation is weighted: technical merit (1,200 points), cost (480 points), and oral presentations or demonstrations if required (340 points). Proposals scoring below 50 percent of maximum technical points will not advance to cost evaluation.

Successful vendors must maintain Commercial General Liability Insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, provide a Certificate of Insurance prior to award, and comply with Kentucky tax registration, debarment certifications, nondiscrimination requirements, and artificial intelligence usage disclosure policies.