Anime Meets Streetwear: UMAI Clothing’s Art, Strategy, and Vision

Disclaimer: Our conversation with UMAI Clothing has been edited for length and clarity.

UMAI Clothing merges original anime artwork with streetwear, offering bold t-shirts, hoodies, and accessories. We spoke to Ryan, founder of UMAI Clothing, to learn how his previous experience launching brands led to a partnership with Ivan—an artist whose talent spurred UMAI to explosive growth.

Here’s how UMAI Clothing found success by combining strategic advertising with unique, bold artwork, and how Printful helped scale their brand to six-figure monthly sales.

Source: UMAI Clothing’s website

Early lessons and the spark behind UMAI

Before launching UMAI, Ryan had already launched 2 anime-centered brands. While both generated revenue, he eventually sold them through Shopify Exchange. Despite these successes, Ryan felt something was missing.

“I have no art experience at all, just in Photoshop making the worst things ever,” Ryan admits, laughing. “That worked a little bit, but after I sold those [brands], I knew I wanted to make an actual brand that would last, not just something I was gonna try and make some money from. UMAI was built to be a long-term brand. That’s why I knew I had to find an artist that was gonna not just make designs, but also own the brand with me.”

Ryan’s vision was clear: the new brand needed to fuse original, high-impact artwork with streetwear that anime fans would proudly wear day in and day out. For that, he would need a genuine partnership—someone who could bring artistic expertise and a fresh perspective to UMAI’s custom clothing.

Source: UMAI’s Instagram

Art as a game-changer: bringing Ivan on board

It didn’t take long for Ryan’s wish to come true. Shortly after starting UMAI, he received a message from Ivan, an experienced artist who had a portfolio of anime-style artwork he was looking to sell. Ryan was immediately intrigued.

“As soon as Ivan got on board, we uploaded his designs. We started running Facebook ads and it just worked immediately.”

From that day, UMAI Clothing evolved from a small venture into a fast-scaling brand. Within two months of Ivan’s arrival, UMAI saw 15–20% growth, eventually leaping from $20K in monthly sales to around $100K. Ivan’s creative flair meshed perfectly with Ryan’s marketing know-how, proving that a solid partnership can transform a business overnight.
 

Source: UMAI Clothing’s website

Letting go of bulk

Ryan had experience selling via AliExpress, but the drawbacks were glaring: long shipping times, lost packages, and no room for real brand building. He discovered Printful while researching domestic print-on-demand partners.

“I don’t think any other [fulfillment model] is good for long-term growth. If you aren’t going to print on demand, it’s not going to work out how you think it will unless you have a lot of money and you know what you’re doing.”

Partnering with an established provider like Printful offered Ryan a reliable and scalable service. No more worrying about big upfront costs, unpredictable product quality, or shipping delays.

“We’re able to test designs and make designs all the time. And if they don’t work, it doesn’t really matter—we’ll just make another design. We’ll keep making art. We don’t have to lose money doing it with the bulk order.”

Shifting focus from chasing ROAS to long-term goals

Initially, UMAI focused on immediate revenue, turning off ads if the Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) fell short of a set target. But as time went on, Ryan realized they needed to refine their approach to ensure the brand’s longevity.

“We weren’t focusing on long-term growth; we were just trying to make money upfront,” Ryan says. “Now, we look at the lifetime value of a customer—how much money will we make off that customer in 90 days? If our CPA (cost per acquisition) is below our goal, we can spend more.”

Though this method led to a slight dip in overall sales, Ryan is confident it will pay off in brand loyalty and higher overall profits in the long run.

Source: UMAI Clothing’s website

Printful’s audit and the impact it had

As UMAI grew, Printful’s role became more than just an order fulfillment service. In 2023, the Printful team performed a deep audit of UMAI’s online presence—from product photography and website speed to email marketing, SEO, and overall buyer journey. Ryan was surprised by the level of detail.

“I always think I have everything set up perfectly . . . We changed all of our images from PNG to JPEG, which I would’ve never even thought to do. That immediately increased our website speed. That alone could have just increased the conversion rate of our whole site instantly.”

Another key recommendation was to focus on building an active customer email list. Ryan followed this advice, and UMAI’s open rates have gone up by 50%.

“We’re already seeing the impact of these changes, and we haven’t even implemented all of them yet,” Ryan explains. “It’s been a huge help.”

Advice for aspiring apparel brands

Ryan recommends on-demand fulfillment for anyone lacking the capital or storage space to handle inventory.

“Really consider using print-on-demand because most people, when they start a business, they’re gonna start a clothing brand. They usually don’t have a lot of money, and you think you know what you’re doing . . . You buy 200 t-shirts, and then only five people buy them. Your capital is gone. If you don’t use print-on-demand and your brand scales immediately, you won’t be able to keep up with the sales and orders.”

He also points out that you should keep a close eye on the long game.

“Look at your lifetime value, increase your average order value, increase your customer repurchase rate—these things matter infinitely more than the ROAS of your site. So focus on scaling your brand for long-term growth and not for day-to-day profits that you’re looking for immediately.”

Source: UMAI’s Instagram

Unlimited potential with on-demand fulfillment

UMAI’s story shows how a well-chosen niche, compelling artwork, and strategic marketing can catapult a brand from modest sales to six figures in record time. By embracing print-on-demand early on, Ryan and Ivan have the freedom to experiment with designs, pivot ad strategies, and reinforce their brand identity.

With a talented artist at the helm, a tailored marketing strategy in place, and a print-on-demand partner that lets them scale on their own terms, there’s no limit to how far UMAI Clothing can go. The future is wide open, and UMAI is prepared to seize every opportunity—one bold design at a time.

Ready to start a clothing brand? With print-on-demand, you can test new ideas, quickly pivot, and watch your brand grow—without getting buried in unsold inventory. If you’re looking to build something that lasts, there’s no better time to start than now.