Maya Research: The Business of Culture I 2026 I Download Now
Why PatPat is Among the Most Loved Companies to Work For in America
CULTURE 100 AWARD WINNER I 2026
Inside the U.S. Team Behind One of America's Most Loved Family Brands
PatPat began with a simple idea, family clothing should feel practical for parents and full of personality for children.
Founded in Mountain View, California, in 2014, the brand was created after co-founders Ken Gao and Albert Wang became parents and saw a gap in children’s fashion. They wanted to make shopping easier for families while creating clothes that could bring more comfort, connection, and joy to everyday life.
That idea has grown into a global business serving more than 21 million customers across 100+ countries. From family matching sets and licensed character collections to everyday children’s clothing, PatPat designs around the moments that make up real family life.
Its scale is supported by 61 licensed IP partners, helping PatPat bring familiar characters and trusted styles into collections made for children and families around the world.
Its reach is significant, but the mission remains personal. PatPat wants to help families celebrate the moments that matter, whether that is a holiday, a family trip, or an ordinary day at home.
Earlier this year, PatPat was named a winner of the Culture 100 Awards, which recognize the most thriving companies to work for in the U.S. today. After reviewing more than 5,000 companies and surveying over 20,000 employees, PatPat stood out for building a high-performing team around the realities of working parenthood without lowering the ambition behind the work.
That balance is especially visible within PatPat’s U.S. marketing and creative team, which is made up entirely of women, many of whom are working mothers.
The team understands that work and family life do not always fit neatly into separate parts of the day. A school pickup, a sick child, or a change in plans can happen without warning. PatPat has built a way of working that accepts that reality while still holding people accountable for strong results.
People are trusted to manage how they get their work done. If someone needs to step away during the day or work from a different location, they have the flexibility to do so. What matters is that they take ownership and deliver work they are proud of.
That trust removes the need for constant oversight. Employees understand the goals and have the freedom to decide how best to reach them. The expectation is clear, people should move with confidence rather than wait for approval at every step.
For the women leading PatPat’s marketing and creative work, there is also a close connection to the customer. Many are experiencing the same stages of life as the parents they are trying to reach.
They understand the practical side of family clothing because they live it themselves. They know why comfort matters, how quickly children grow, and why parents want products that can handle the reality of everyday life. That lived understanding gives the work more clarity and helps the team make decisions with greater conviction.
It also gives the work a deeper sense of meaning. PatPat has been recognized as one of USA TODAY’s Most Trusted Brands by Parents for 2026, reflecting the confidence families place in what the brand creates.
That connection extends beyond the products. Through its work with Baby2Baby, PatPat donated 2,000 baby essentials to support mothers and newborns in need. For the team, initiatives like this reinforce the idea that the brand can play a real role in supporting families.
Inside the team, collaboration happens without the internal competition that can often appear in fast-moving environments. People share ideas openly and build on one another’s thinking because the goal is to strengthen the outcome, not protect individual credit.
That makes it easier to challenge an idea without turning the conversation personal. People can push for something better, change direction, and move forward without ego slowing the process down.
This matters because retail and marketing rarely follow a fixed playbook. Customer behavior changes, platforms evolve, and new ideas do not always perform as expected. PatPat encourages the team to test, learn, and adjust rather than wait until every possible risk has been removed.
Not every experiment will work, and that is understood. The important part is learning quickly enough to make the next decision stronger.
The people who thrive at PatPat tend to be comfortable moving before every answer is available. They do not need every step mapped out in advance because they are willing to work through uncertainty and find a practical way forward.
They are also comfortable being accountable for the result. Flexibility works because people follow through. Trust is maintained by delivering consistently and being honest when something needs to change.
That creates an environment where people can grow quickly. As PatPat continues evolving, new challenges appear across brand, content, retail, and customer experience. Employees who lean into those challenges have the chance to shape work that may not have existed a year earlier.
Recognition through the Culture 100 Awards reflects the workplace PatPat has built around its U.S. team. Across thousands of companies considered and tens of thousands of employee voices gathered, PatPat stood out for showing that working parents can be given real flexibility and still produce ambitious work at a high level.
As PatPat continues helping families bring more personality and joy into everyday life, its direction remains clear. Keep building products parents can trust and create a workplace where the people behind them are trusted just as much.
