{"id":239510,"date":"2026-04-20T21:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T21:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/239510\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T21:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T21:56:09","slug":"apply-now-walmart-open-call-2026-orlando-pitch-event-may-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/239510\/","title":{"rendered":"Apply Now: Walmart Open Call 2026 Orlando Pitch Event May 21"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Roadtoopencall2026<\/a>Walmart, in partnership with the Hispanic Chamber of Metro Orlando, will host the 2026 Walmart Road to Open Call pitch event on May 21, 2026, in Orlando. The event will give selected small businesses the opportunity to present their American-made, shelf-ready products directly to Walmart buyers.<\/p>\n

The Orlando event marks the only Road to Open Call stop in Florida for 2026 and is part of a nationwide initiative aimed at supporting small business growth, increasing supplier diversity and strengthening U.S. manufacturing.<\/p>\n

Walmart\u2019s Open Call is the company\u2019s largest sourcing event focused on products made, grown or assembled in the United States. The Road to Open Call series serves as a pipeline for entrepreneurs to connect with Walmart\u2019s sourcing team, refine their pitches and prepare for the company\u2019s annual Open Call event in Bentonville, Arkansas.<\/p>\n

Applications are open through May 1, 2026, at 10:00 p.m. EST at www.Walmart.com\/RoadToOpenCall<\/a>. A competitive group of small businesses is expected to apply, with a select number chosen to participate in the Orlando event. Each selected entrepreneur will receive a 30-minute, one-on-one pitch meeting with a buyer, along with personalized feedback and mentorship.<\/p>\n

Top candidates may also earn a fast pass to Walmart\u2019s annual Open Call event in Bentonville, Arkansas, where they will have the opportunity to further pitch their products for potential placement in Walmart stores, online or in select locations nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Road to Open Call provides a powerful platform for small businesses to grow and scale,\u201d said Mark Espinoza, Senior Director of Public Affairs at Walmart. \u201cBy connecting entrepreneurs directly with our sourcing teams, we\u2019re helping bring innovative, U.S.-made products to customers while supporting American jobs and local economies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event is open to businesses across a range of industries, including food and beverage, beauty, safety and consumer goods. Eligible participants must have retail-ready products that are made, grown or assembled in the United States and be prepared to scale for broader distribution.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud to join forces with Walmart for the second consecutive year to bring this opportunity to the business community,\u201d said Pedro Turushina, President & CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Metro Orlando<\/a>. \u201cThis initiative not only supports entrepreneurs but also strengthens our local economy by helping small businesses access national retail opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 85 percent of Walmart shoppers say they value U.S.-made products, underscoring the importance of Open Call as a platform for small businesses to expand their reach while meeting consumer demand. Since its launch in 2014, the program has helped thousands of small and medium-sized businesses become Walmart suppliers, fueling local economies and driving innovation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Walmart, in partnership with the Hispanic Chamber of Metro Orlando, will host the 2026 Walmart Road to Open…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239511,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-239510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}