Walmart during sensory-friendly hours. Photo: Walmart

PARK CITY, Utah — Walmart’s Open Call is now accepting applications through July 25. This is Walmart’s annual event where U.S.-based small businesses pitch products made, grown, or assembled in the U.S. directly to Walmart and Sam’s Club buyers. Selected businesses could land a deal that puts their products on shelves across the country. This year more innovators are included.

A great Utah success story

Salt Lake City’s Grind Goods, a veteran-owned oral care company, launched in 2020. They started selling their products online in 2021 at Walmart and Amazon. They earned a Golden Ticket at the 2022 Open Call. Today, their product is sold in 650 Walmart stores nationwide with 50 added in the last few months.

Roger Gindlesperger Jr., the CEO of Grind Goods, calls the pitch competition “Shark Tank on steroids, 1100 businesses were there to pitch, 330 got a golden ticket.” You get 30 minutes to pitch and at the end of the pitch you receive a golden ticket if Walmart wants to work with you. Grind Goods received their deal in June and by February 2023 they were in 365 stores. “We have had an 1800 % increase in sales from prior to being in Walmart,” says Gindlesperger. “In store sales grew 55% in the last 14 weeks. Walmart put money behind it, giving us a cobranded commercial with Grind Goods.”

Developers of breakthrough manufacturing technologies can also apply now

This year, Walmart is expanding its search. In addition to shelf-ready products, the company is accepting applications from innovators developing breakthrough manufacturing technologies including sustainable packaging, automation, and supply chain solutions.

Selected businesses will be invited to a high-energy, Shark Tank-style pitch event at Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, taking place October 7–8.

This is part of Walmart’s broader $350 billion commitment to U.S. manufacturing and small business growth.

Utah company’s CEO encourages other Utah companies to apply

Grind Goods was sitting on a lot of inventory when they applied. “We started with our own funding, sold our home and put everything we had into toothpaste,” says Gindlesperger. “Walmart worked within our capabilities.” He wished he had known the challenges and growing pains with inventory. They ran out of inventory twice because sales were growing so fast and they didn’t have a safety stock in ingredients and supplies. Walmart worked with him well during those phases.

Gindlesperger encourages other Utah companies to “go for it and go all in and if you don’t get a response the first time, if you don’t get in the first time, keep trying. Persistence is what gets you in. You can’t get in if you don’t try. Even if you feel you aren’t ready, I would offer the advice to go after it and don’t quit.”

In 2023 he was given the opportunity to come full circle. Walmart invited him to talk to the 1100 business owners applying that year. Grind Goods now has seven owners on their ownership team.