3 Baltimore County Businesses Pitching Local Products To Walmart

BENTONSVILLE, AR — Three Baltimore County businesses will be in Arkansas this week pitching their locally made products to Walmart. They will join entrepreneurs from 46 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia at the annual Walmart Open Call event.

At the June 13 summit, more than 450 business owners will try to earn a spot on a store shelf in Walmart.

From gourmet popcorn to adhesive mosaic wall tiles, business owners will be pitching their products at Walmart's corporate headquarters this week during the event.

While three of the 450 businesses at the Open Call will be from Baltimore County, the names could not be released as of Monday morning, according to a representative on behalf of Walmart.

The event is the fifth annual Open Call, a convention that aims to bolster American manufacturing and offer locally sourced products in local Walmart stores.

Approximately 40 percent of shoppers told Walmart in a survey that buying locally made and U.S.-made products was important to them, company officials said at last year's Open Call event.

By investing in local entrepreneurs, Walmart officials say they have created jobs and are fulfilling a promise the company made in 2013 to invest in U.S. manufacturing. According to Walmart, the company created more than 15,000 jobs through Open Call last year.

Offers from the Open Call gathering could lead to deals ranging from a handful of stores in the local market to thousands of Walmart and Sam's Club stores across the country as well as Walmart.com.

"We are so excited about this year’s event and the opportunity to meet the entrepreneurs that look to Open Call as a chance to get the big break they have been looking for," Cindi Marsiglio, Walmart vice president for Merchandising Services and U.S. Manufacturing, said in a statement. "We are proud of the supplier success stories from prior years and look forward to helping more entrepreneurs realize the American dream.”

Nearly 100 companies received deals on the spot at the 2017 Open Call event, including D.C.-based CakeLove and Hyattsville-based Sweet Potato Cake. The Frederick-headquartered Mama Biscuit also landed a spot on Walmart shelves thanks to last year's event; the biscuits will be in Walmart stores in October 2018.

SEE ALSO: 2 DC Area Bakers Land Walmart Deal

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