Walmart’s Made in America Open Call Showcase
How Up and Coming American Products Are Selected for the World’s Largest Retailer
For many inventors, entrepreneurs, and small business owners who have a product, making the leap from self-distributing to being stocked by national and global retailers is the ultimate, and hardest, of all challenges.
You may have a revolutionary product, but if you can’t get it in front of potential customers and into the hands of shoppers, how can that product change the world?
The massive gulf between powerful corporate behemoths and scrappy emerging underdogs can make it seem impossible for small businesses to ever break through into the retail bigtime, especially when competing against products imported from around the world which may be manufactured at cheaper prices.
Fortunately, the biggest player in global retail understands this, and for the past 10 years has offered a remarkable opportunity to America’s most ambitious and creative entrepreneurs.
Walmart’s Open Call event, held once each year, is a prestigious product competition and showcase exclusively available for American-made products from small and mid-sized companies.
Every year, over 1,000 products make it to the final round of consideration, and in 2023, more than 130 products earned a ‘golden ticket’ – a guarantee from Walmart to stock the product in stores across America, with the potential for further nationwide and global expansion contingent upon sales performance.
For the inventors and entrepreneurs who won a ‘golden ticket,’ the experience has been a life-changing improvement to their bottom line, and for awareness of their products on the national stage.
But as with all major competitions, the path to Open Call isn’t easy.
Many small businesses have repeatedly entered for years, finally to be selected on the third or fourth try.
So, how can independent inventors and business owners increase their chances and position themselves to succeed in the 2024 Open Call?
Walmart’s American Commitment
In the world of retail, there are dominant companies… and then, there is Walmart. Operating at a scale far beyond any competitor, Walmart operates more than 10,500 physical stores and employs more than 2.1 million people.[1]
To put that into perspective, that is more stores than are operated by the next-largest non-grocery retailers in the world (Amazon, Costco, The Home Depot, and IKEA) combined, and more employees than the entire population of the 88 smallest countries and independent territories of the world.
Put another way, there are slightly more people working for Walmart than the population of Slovenia.[2][3]
Needless to say, this places Walmart in a unique position to significantly advantage companies from which it selects products to stock. To supply its massive retail operation, Walmart sells products which are manufactured all over the world. Approximately 70%-80% of products sold in Walmart stores are manufactured outside of America, regardless of where the product’s brand may be headquartered.[4]
In this respect, Walmart’s profile matches that of most other American and global retailers, which overwhelmingly sell products which are manufactured in other countries.
Drawing from 2015 data, a report by the U.S. Department of Commerce noted that only 53% of all products used and purchased by Americans, regardless of whether they were consumer or industrial products, were manufactured in the United States.[5] This is part of a longstanding trend toward the offshoring of American manufacturing jobs, particularly in low-margin industries such as apparel.
From the peak of manufacturing employment in June 1979, when 19.5 million Americans were employed in manufacturing, total employment had dropped by 34.3% to 12.8 million in June 2019 (the last data gathered before the COVID-19 pandemic affected statistics).[6]
That decline does not mean, however, that interest in American manufactured products has diminished.
Rather, consumer sentiment for buying American-made has increased. In a 2023 survey of 1,000 American adults, 70% held a favorable view of Made in America products, 65% deliberately sought out American-made products to buy over goods from other countries, and 48% are willing to pay a higher price for a product manufactured in the USA.[7]
And Walmart is firmly committed to catering to that interest, while also supporting small and mid-sized businesses. In 2021, Walmart pledged a 10-year, $350 billion commitment to purchase items made, assembled, or grown in the United States, with a goal of contributing to the generation of 750,000 new American jobs.[8] And one of the most significant drivers of that commitment, as well as the source of the new products, is the Open Call program.
Calling American Entrepreneurs
What is the Open Call program? Simply put, it is a direct audition to a retailer: a chance to pitch your product to the people who can put it onto shelves. The purpose of Walmart’s Open Call is to enable a path forward that without substantial expenditure and representation, would otherwise never be possible for a small manufacturing or product design company.
Taking place over a 2-day period, the Open Call event brings together hundreds of companies for in-person 30-minute pitch sessions at Walmart’s Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters.
Each product accepted to Open Call receives its own session. During the sessions, Walmart buyers and representatives of supplier brands are present to give feedback on the pitch, critique the product, and ultimately decide if they wish to bring the item to stores. Approximately 10%-15% of the products pitched will receive an immediate yes from Walmart – the so-called ‘golden ticket.’
Actual tickets are given to the presenting entrepreneurs, which has created many exciting and heartfelt moments shared on social media. For those products not given an immediate yes, many more are invited to continue in the consideration process.
All told, over 60% of all the products pitched in the 2023 edition either received a ‘golden ticket’ or were invited for further consideration: of around the 1,000 applicable products, approximately 13% (over 130) were an immediate yes, and 47% (over 470) were eligible for further consideration.[9] The in-person event also features numerous breakout sessions, seminars, and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs and inventors, which themselves provide valuable business growth prospects.[10]
Open Call is Walmart’s largest yearly sourcing event, and by far the best annual opportunity to interact one-on-one with buyers from a major American retailer.
What Are the Open Call Requirements?
Walmart has sought to make the Open Call program as open to a wide range of small businesses as possible. The main requirement is that the submitted products be manufactured, assembled, or grown in the United States. The specific definitions of these terms, and therefore the keys to eligibility, are based upon the U.S. Government Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement policy on origin claims.[11] Assuming a product meets these guidelines, it can be termed as made, assembled, or grown in America.
Additionally, Walmart has several excluded product categories which are not eligible for Open Call. These are primarily tobacco and pharmaceutical products, livestock and poultry products, fencing and barn / stall equipment for agricultural uses, cannabis-related products, and entertainment products (such as books, music, or movies). Several other categories, such as tractors and twine, are also excluded. A full list is provided by Walmart.[10]
Besides the specific requirements for Open Call-eligible products, Walmart also has a separate supplier requirements list, which includes guidance for best practices, packaging, federal taxpayer identification number (TIN) information, Dun & Bradstreet registration, GS1 company prefix membership number, audits and testing, and insurance.[12]
Finally, all products must be submitted through Walmart’s third-party partner RangeMe. Applicants must sign up for a RangeMe account, and will then be provided with a private link during the Open Call submission process. Use of RangeMe for up to 3 product listings is free, with pricing beginning at $99 per year thereafter for unlimited product listings. Walmart’s Open Call instructions recommend applicants create a detailed product listing on RangeMe for each product intended for submission, and to do so well ahead of the application window so as to avoid crunches at deadline time.
If your product is not selected the first time, do not despair. In 2023, around 15,000 businesses applied, and around 1,000 were selected.[13] The key consideration is not whether you were chosen right away or not; it’s what you do afterwards that will make the biggest difference.
How Can You Improve Your Open Call Application Chances?
Simply put, perseverance is the name of the game. Many businesses which were eventually successful had to apply for several years, gradually refining their product applications (and the products themselves) before finally being accepted. It is not unusual for a business to be selected after the second, third, or even fourth year of applying.
Furthermore, tenacity has yielded results for many repeat applicants; as detailed in a 2017 Forbes article, one entrepreneur had only a single product accepted in her first year of applying, but after several years of repeatedly attending Open Call events, she had 16 products in Walmart stores.[14]
There is no penalty to applying with the same product in a subsequent year; the only requirement is to wait one year between applications (which is easy, since Open Call is held annually). You must also have not separately contacted the Walmart merchant who you plan to pitch within the past 12 months, as that violates the policy.[10]
There is also no limit to how many products you can submit to Open Call. Thus, if you have many, you may want to submit them all! The more you submit, the better chance you have of one being selected, and just because Walmart selects a product does not prevent you from having other retailers carry it as well (unless a special agreement is made with Walmart to make it an exclusive).
That said, if submitting numerous products will decrease the quality of each individual application or product design, it is better to make what you do choose to submit as good as possible, since each product will be evaluated independently. If you are able to submit multiple high-quality products with excellent applications, however, it can greatly improve your chances of getting at least one of them to the in-person pitch.
Although it does not affect the selection of products for in-person pitch opportunities, if you or your business meets Walmart’s inclusion or sustainability guidelines, it might help your chances of getting the product into stores.
Walmart’s inclusion program specifically offers opportunities to businesses majority owned (51% or more) and run / managed by women, minority, veteran, disabled, and LGBTQ+ people.
Businesses may apply for and receive a diverse supplier certificate for the relevant field or fields their owners / managers are members of; this is strongly recommended and can help with establishing an inclusivity consideration. Walmart provides significant information on their inclusivity requirements and guidelines on a dedicated supplier website.[15]
In the 2017 edition of Open Call, almost half of the nearly 100 companies which had products selected were owned by people who identified as one or more of Walmart’s inclusion groups.[16]
As for sustainability, Walmart has launched a significant goal of reducing carbon emissions in their business practices, and this extends to the products they choose to sell. Although there are no specific actions that applicants can take with Walmart in advance of being selected in Open Call, following Walmart’s guidelines for packaging, reduction of materials in product design, and efficient manufacturing and transportation practices could all play a role in the final evaluation of the submitted product.
Substantial information and guidance on these recommendations is available at Walmart’s Sustainability Hub website.[17] For inventors and businesses focused on packaging, the Sustainability Hub also offers a separate competition for sustainable packaging which may be worth applying to.[18]
For businesses that have won ‘golden tickets’ in Open Call, sustainability in the product design, production, and use is frequently cited as a key consideration for Walmart. So too are social good considerations, such as devoting a portion of sales revenue to community charities and non-profits.[19]
One of the other very important considerations for Walmart, which sometimes makes the difference in receiving a ‘golden ticket,’ is the size of the product and its packaging.
Because the products are taking up physical space on a store shelf, every product added must justify the amount of shelf space it consumes.
Reducing the packaging size, or even the item size, can make it much easier for Walmart to say yes to stocking it.[14]
As always, it’s worth considering exactly how you’ll present and pitch your product. Practice makes perfect, and brainstorming your approach with people experienced in product development and sales is key.
You’ll also want to know exactly what your costs and scalability are, so that you can answer questions quickly. In addition to all of the design services we at LA New Product Development Team (LA NPDT) offer, we also help inventors and entrepreneurs understand and master these skills.
If you think you might want to apply for Open Call, why not reach out to us and schedule a consultation? We may be able to help you create the perfect product for Walmart, and craft the perfect pitch to make a sale!
Finally, a key consideration for Walmart is whether an American-made product can replace a globally-made product that is already in their lineup.[14]
By gradually replacing foreign-produced goods with domestically-made ones, Walmart can reduce shipping costs and eliminate potential supply chain issues. However, the American-made product must be cost-competitive with the one being replaced, so awareness of what your product will cost, in comparison to what a globally-sourced one will cost (inclusive of shipping and other factors) can make a difference.
Knowledge of what Walmart already stocks, and where it comes from, can help lead you to making informed decisions at the product conception and design stages.
On a related note, businesses that are already manufacturing their products overseas, but are able to ‘reshore’ to American manufacturing, are encouraged to do so and apply for Open Call.
There are examples of products which followed this trajectory (foreign-made to American-made) being selected by Walmart after the ’reshoring’ process was completed.[20]
What Types of Products is Walmart Choosing?
In a review of news articles, press releases, and company websites from recent editions of Open Call, a large percentage of the selected products are food-related items.
These include coffee, dried fruit, baked goods, sauces, and mixes; generally, all foods which are shelf-stable.[13][14][16][19][21] Small personal and home items (which do not take up much shelf space) have been selected, and recycled and eco-friendly products are also areas of success.[16][20][21]
One thing all these products have in common is their cost competitiveness with imported goods.
If you’re thinking about creating a Made in America product that can compete with globally-sourced items at Walmart, think about the cost effectiveness and whether American manufacturing, the origin story of your idea and business, or your personal background can offer a compelling edge.
Ready to Apply to Open Call? We’re Ready to Help!
Before you can become the latest business to sell at retail through Walmart, you need to have an amazing product that customers across the country and around the world will love.
LA NPDT can help you develop that product, from concept to reality.
We’ve designed products sold by Walmart, and have a decade of experience helping to bring inventions to market. If you need a partner, we’re here to serve you!
The application and event dates for Walmart Open Call 2024 have yet to be announced, so while there’s still time to prepare, you can never start too soon. Can your product be the latest to be sold by the world’s largest retailer? The answer to that is in your hands!
Can your product be the latest to be sold by the world’s largest retailer? The answer to that is in your hands!
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Please fill out the form to submit your order.
Upon successful payment, you will receive an email with a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and a questionnaire regarding your product idea.
Your privacy and security are paramount to us, so rest assured that your information will be handled with the utmost confidentiality.
Step 1: Fill in your contact and billing details.
Step 2: Review your order summary.
Step 3: Submit payment.
After your payment is processed, please check your email for the NDA and questionnaire. Completing these documents promptly will allow us to start your Prior Art Search without delay.
If you have any questions or need assistance with your order, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thank you for choosing LA New Product Development Team for your Prior Art Search.
Please fill out the form to submit your order.
Upon successful payment, you will receive an email with a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and a questionnaire regarding your product idea.
Your privacy and security are paramount to us, so rest assured that your information will be handled with the utmost confidentiality.
Step 1: Fill in your contact and billing details.
Step 2: Review your order summary.
Step 3: Submit payment.
After your payment is processed, please check your email for the NDA and questionnaire. Completing these documents promptly will allow us to start your Prior Art Search without delay.
If you have any questions or need assistance with your order, please don’t hesitate to contact us.