Launching a POD business seems easy – you can get started in minutes with the right ecommerce platform and a tool like Gelato, Printify, or Printful.

You don’t have to worry about manufacturing and actually shipping products, and you’re free to experiment as much as you like. You could even combine custom POD products with dropshipping.

The biggest problem for most would-be sellers is just figuring out what to sell. You don’t just need to decide whether stickers or mugs will give you the biggest profit margins.

You need to know what kind of styles, designs, and ideas are actually getting attention.

The thing with POD (and dropshipping most of the time), is that your biggest advantage will always come from getting into a trend earlier than anyone else.

If you can spot a rising trend before it hits TikTok’s For You Page or the Etsy front page, you’ve got runway.

You don’t have to out-design or out-price your competition if they’re not even in the game yet. But most product research tools are reactive. By the time they tell you something’s trending, it’s already peaking.

Exploding Topics is different. Today, I’m going to show you how I use it to find early-stage trends for POD merchants – before they go mainstream.

What Is Exploding Topics and Why Is it Great for Agile Sellers?

Exploding Topics is a trend-spotting tool created by SEO legend Brian Dean and Josh Howarth.

It’s now available in the Semrush App Center: but the core idea behind the tool hasn’t changed. It’s there to help you identify trends before they explode.

I know a lot of marketing teams who use this tool specifically to figure out what they should be writing, posting, or creating videos about. But the real potential of Exploding Topics goes a lot further.

You can also use the massive trends database (filled with over 1.1 million expanding markets), to find out which products are really worth adding to your portfolio.

Once you’ve found a product you’re interested in, you can even dive deeper into things like price trends, seller ratings, revenue potential, and so on.

Here’s what makes it different from other research tools I’ve used:

• It’s early. Like, months-before-it-goes-mainstream early. Some trends show only a few hundred searches now, but explode to thousands over time.
• It’s fast. No digging through endless data. You get a dashboard of up-and-coming terms, filtered by category and timeframe, with clean little graphs that show if the interest is rising or tanking.
• It’s tailored. You can search by niche, like Pets, Fitness, Fashion, and sort by “New,” “Exploding,” or “Regular” trends. Great for POD.
• It shows trend curves. Instead of guessing whether something’s just a one-week wonder, you can see if it’s been slowly climbing for 6 months. This has saved me from chasing fads more times than I can count.

In short: Exploding Topics doesn’t just tell you what’s hot. It shows you what’s about to be. For a POD vendor, that’s valuable – really valuable.

How I Use Exploding Topics to Find POD Product Ideas

There are a bunch of different ways you could potentially use Exploding Topics to search for POD product ideas – like just seeing which keywords are trending and visiting Amazon after that.

This is the process that works best for me.

Step 1: Start with the “Trending Products” Tool

Once you log into Exploding Topics (I use the cheapest plan, more on pricing later), head straight to the Trending Products tab. This is your goldmine for amazing ideas.

You’ll see a list of products and terms that are currently growing in popularity. It’s like watching a stock ticker for demand, but instead of tracking S&P500 companies, you’re tracking things like:

• “Aesthetic desk accessories”
• “Nostalgic fashion”
• “Mushroom decor”
• “Cozy gaming setup”

You can sort these by time frame (3 months, 6 months, 1 year, etc.), growth %, or category.

I usually start with a 3-month or 6-month view, looking at categories that are ideal for POD, like Fashion, Fitness, Pets, or Home Décor.

There are about 19 product categories to choose from, and they all give you insights into best seller ratings, monthly sales, revenue, review stars, and so on.

Step 2: Check the Trend Graph for “Real” Growth

Once you’ve found a trend that looks promising, click on it.

You’ll see a graph showing search volume over time, and this is where you separate the winners from the fads.

What you’re looking for is a steady, upward trend, not a jagged spike that flames out in a month. I’d also recommend looking for:

• Consistent growth, potentially over the last year or so.
• Strong average revenue and price numbers.
• High reviews from customers. These are based on Amazon reviews. There’s no guarantee that a product you choose from a POD or dropshipping vendor will generate the same responses, but good reviews at least indicate people like the product.
• High average monthly sales, BSR, and TikTok views.

Remember, you can scroll to the bottom of the page to see other “related products” that might be worth exploring too. That’s helpful if you want to build out a collection.

Step 3: Ask the Golden Question: “Could I Sell This Product?”

This is where things can get a little trickier. If you see a high potential product that could potentially be made by a lot of different vendors, like a bracelet, or a sunscreen, you can probably find a dropshipping company that sells it – so it’s pretty easy to add to your portfolio.

If you’re focusing on print on demand though, you might need to get a little more creative.

For instance, you might see that “co-ord” fashion sets are trending – and you can definitely create those with a POD vendor. But you’ll need to ask yourself how to tie it into a specific theme.

That means going back into Exploding Topics’ trends database, and looking for terms that are gaining attention in your industry. In this case of a co-ord set, you’d look for trends in Fashion.

Alternatively, if you already have an idea of terms that are connecting with your audience, like “Cottage core” or “Slow living” you could use the search bar to see if they’re still gaining ground.

The good thing about Exploding Topics is once you find a term or product that grabs your attention, you can click “track topic” to add it to a project.

That way, you can have projects tracking various different ideas for things like home décor, fashion items, and even pet accessories, with real-time data.

Step 4: Cross-Check the Trend with Etsy, Amazon, and TikTok

Once I’ve got a trend I like, I do a quick check of a few different platforms:

• Etsy: Search for the term and sort by “Newest” listings. Are sellers jumping on this? Are buyers favoriting or reviewing products around it?
• Amazon: Use the “Movers & Shakers” section or type the trend into search. Look for signs of growing demand, not saturation.
• TikTok: Type the trend into search and check the top videos. Is there a cultural moment happening here? Is this something people are talking about in a passionate or identity-driven way?

I’d also recommend checking out other platforms if you know your customers use them too. For instance, Reddit can be a great place to find people talking about fashion ideas and home décor trends.

Step 5: Create a Brainstorm Sheet of Product Ideas

Usually, I end up with quite a few ideas to work from. For instance, if you notice that dog bandanas are trending, alongside sustainable fabrics, or cottagecore designs, you’ve got a lot to work from just there alone. My advice is to create a brainstorm sheet:

• 3–5 product types (e.g. tees, mugs, wall art)
• 5–10 potential slogans or visuals tied to the trend
• A quick list of possible audience segments

This helps me map out the opportunity. I’m not just saying, “Frogcore and beauty are trending” I’m saying, “Let’s launch a minimalist frog hoodie, a ‘chill frog’ sticker pack, and a bunch of fun accessories with frogs in the pattern.

Some ideas you’ll decide to run with, others you might not feel sure about yet. If you’re not sold on an idea, you can still save the topic to your project folder and see how it grows after a month or two.

Step 6 (Optional, But Worth It): Dig Into Meta Trends

Exploding Topics also surfaces Meta Trends, which are basically clusters of related topics that point to a broader movement.

For example:

• “Cold plunges”
• “Ice barrel”
• “Coffee alternatives”

You can use these to:

• Build product collections
• Spot new angles on a trend
• Create content (blog posts, Reels, ad hooks) that matches the movement

In my experience, this is where you go from “product” to “brand.” You’re not just selling one mug; you’re building a whole vibe.

The more you search, the more you can add to your “trend list”, so you never run out of inspiration.

What Does Exploding Topics Cost?

Exploding Topics does give you a 7-day free trial – but that’s it. If you really want to dive into the data, you’re going to need to spend some cash. There are a few options:

• Entrepreneur: $39 per month: 100 tracked trends, 10 trend analysis, meta trends, trending products, and the trends database.
• Investor: $99 per month: All the features of Entrepreneur, plus 500 tracked trends, 100 trend analysis, CSV exports, and trending startups.
• Business: $249 per month: All the Investor features, plus 2,000 tracked trends, trend reports, and 500 trend analyses.

Some of these plans might seem pretty pricey, but I think they’re worth it – if you’re actually using the product.

If you log in once a month and poke around, it’s not going to magically spit out your next best-seller.

But if you set aside some time each week to trend hunt, built a system around validation and ideation, and actually experiment – you can see amazing results.

Exploding Topics: The Pros and Cons

I’ve told you a lot about how to use Exploding Topics – specifically for finding product ideas. But we haven’t spoken much about what I think of it. So, here are my likes and dislikes.

What I Love:

• It really helps you get ahead: Most tools tell you what’s already hot. Exploding Topics tells you what’s getting hot. That’s a massive difference. In POD and dropshipping, first-mover advantage is everything, and this tool gives you that window.
• The user experience is great: I’ve used product research tools that feel like operating a spaceship. Exploding Topics is simple. Trends are displayed clearly, graphs are clean, filters actually work, and I don’t have to fight it to get ideas.
• It’s great for brainstorming: As someone who’s built POD stores around everything from minimalist astrology to cozy cat memes (yes, really), I love how I can go deep into niche territory here. You can really get specific.
• Marketing gets easier too: Exploding Topics helps me think like the customer, not just the seller. Every time I open it up, I end up with 2–3 solid ideas for products, and plenty of ideas on how to promote them.

What Could Be Better:

• Limited data on suppliers: You’re not going to get a good insight into what it’s going to cost to make and sell these products. You need to do that part yourself. Exploding Topics just shows you what these products generally sell for.
• Not every trend works with POD: Exploding Topics pulls in trends from all corners of the web: B2B SaaS, DTC brands, even niche biotech stuff. Not all of it translates to something you can slap on a mug or build a store around.
• You need creative skills: You have to interpret the trends. Come up with angles. Connect dots. That’s a strength, honestly, but if you’re looking for a plug-and-play tool, this isn’t it.

Looking for New Ideas? Get Started with Exploding Topics

So, should you be using Exploding Topics to help build out your POD product portfolio? I think the answer is yes – even if you’re just experimenting at first.

If you’re building a product-based business that thrives on speed, relevance, or niche culture you should absolutely be using Exploding Topics. This tool has helped me:

• Spot trends months before they went viral
• Launch designs in micro-niches nobody else was watching
• Stay inspired when my idea tank was empty
• Waste less time and money on products no one asked for

But it only works if you do. Exploding Topics is a map. It’s your job to choose where to dig.

You still need to figure out where to align the trends, find the right POD or dropshipping partners, promote your products, and connect with your audience. It still takes work.

Exploding Topics won’t guarantee you a successful product collection, but it will make it easier to access the inspiration you need for faster growth.