Walmart's Open Call Goes Global, Creating New Opportunities for Suppliers

Walmart has expanded its Open Call program beyond the United States by adapting the event into market-specific Growth Summits, the company said, starting with Mexico and extending to at least Canada. Jason Fremstad, senior vice president of supplier development, said, “We wanted to take the Open Call playbook and share it with our international market teams, really let them run it,” and added, “This event takes place in the market, for the market. It’s going to open the doors to suppliers who are growing, making or assembling their goods on Mexican soil. Instead of Open Call, it’s a Growth Summit.”

The Open Call origin story traces to 2013, when Walmart created an “open-door mentality” to let entrepreneurs meet merchants. The concept remains straightforward: “Any supplier can apply, they need to bring a U.S.-made product, then pitch it to merchants for a chance to sell at Walmart. And thus, Open Call was born,” the company recounts. John Furner, President & CEO, Walmart U.S., framed the program’s impact this way: “Open Call is Walmart at its best, backing American jobs, lifting up small businesses and offering customers new products they’ll love.”

Open Call 2025 broadened what suppliers see at the event. The 2025 program included presentations from 13 companies developing technologies to support U.S. manufacturing, with Plantible, Loom 3D and Blum Agtec among those named. The corporate recap described innovations ranging from shelf-life extension and yield optimization to alternative materials and advanced production techniques aimed at improving efficiency and reducing costs. Participants also received “intensive training and mentorship sessions focused on scaling production, improving packaging and strengthening financial and operational readiness,” led by Walmart and Sam’s Club merchants, sourcing experts and past Open Call alumni.

For suppliers the event offers concrete pathways beyond the pitch. Luke Schneider, who posted about Open Call 2025 on LinkedIn, congratulated those who “received a Golden Ticket or the opportunity to sell on Walmart Marketplace,” and highlighted how “Walmart Connect has been a great tool for Fire Department Coffee.” Schneider’s post showed 226 reactions and 25 comments in the snapshot shared, and his profile listed 34,585 followers, underscoring industry attention on participants and alumni.

Visual assets tied to the expansion show a Walmart Canada Growth Summit stage with a large Walmart sign and local products on display, signaling that the Growth Summit construct has already been used in Canada. The initiative is positioned alongside Walmart’s longer-term sourcing work; the company links Open Call to a multi-decade Buy American tradition, noting Open Call has helped entrepreneurs “for the past 12 years” and placing the program within a “Forty Years of U.S. Sourcing” framing.

The corporate recap also noted it was “Powered by generative AI. Results may not fully be accurate. Use is governed by the Generative AI Guidelines and other applicable Walmart policies.” While the company detailed the playbook and the move to Growth Summits, it did not provide participant counts, dollar outcomes or a formal definition of the Golden Ticket in the materials released; the local sourcing rule is the clearest change, making suppliers who make or assemble goods in each market newly eligible to pitch Walmart merchants through the Growth Summit format.