Louisville Entrepreneurs: Your Shot at Walmart's Shelves Starts Now

Local entrepreneurs have a golden opportunity to showcase Louisville-based products on the biggest retail stage in America. Walmart's Open Call 2025 applications are officially open, giving Kentucky businesses the chance to pitch their American-made products or breakthrough manufacturing innovations directly to Walmart and Sam's Club buyers for potential national distribution.

The pitch event takes place October 7-8, but here's the catch – applications close July 25. That gives Louisville entrepreneurs just a few months to prepare what could be the most important pitch of their business lives.

Since Open Call launched in 2014, it has transformed thousands of small and medium businesses from regional players into national brands. For Louisville companies, this represents an extraordinary opportunity to leverage the city's manufacturing strengths and take locally-made products to millions of customers across the country.

This year's Open Call marks a significant expansion beyond traditional shelf-ready products. Walmart is actively seeking breakthrough technologies that enhance domestic manufacturing – an area where Louisville's diverse industrial base gives local companies a real advantage.
This isn't just a nice-to-have program – Walmart has put serious money behind supporting American manufacturing. The company has committed $350 billion toward products made, grown, or assembled in the U.S., with over two-thirds of their annual product spend already going to American-made goods.

Customer demand is driving this commitment too. More than 86% of Walmart shoppers say it's important that products they buy are American-made – a preference that plays perfectly into Louisville's strengths as a manufacturing center.

Last year's Open Call featured hundreds of pitches from entrepreneurs across 48 states, with many securing distribution deals that fundamentally changed their business trajectories.
The application process is competitive but straightforward. Louisville entrepreneurs can submit applications through Walmart's online platform, with separate tracks available for product companies and manufacturing innovators.
Critical dates:

• Application deadline: July 25, 2025
• Open Call event: October 7-8, 2025

Selected companies will be invited to participate in the in-person Open Call experience, where they'll pitch directly to decision-makers who can put their products in front of millions of customers.
Open Call continues a tradition that began with Walmart founder Sam Walton's "Buy American" initiative in 1985. For nearly four decades, the company has prioritized American-made products and the entrepreneurs behind them. For more information, go to: https://corporate.walmart.com/suppliers/investing-in-american-jobs/events/annual-open-call.