Walmart shines a spotlight on locally made snacks

Walmart on Monday said it is rolling out the red carpet for three dozen local snack brands—with more on the way.  

As part of a new initiative, the country’s largest food retailer will give prominent shelf placement to 36 regional chip brands at 130 stores across 19 states.

“Local brands will now be the first snack a customer sees when they enter the chip aisle in participating stores,” Walmart said in a statement.

Walmart is giving prominent shelf placement to local chip brands in certain markets. / Graphic courtesy: Walmart

The move is part of Walmart’s decade-long commitment to source an additional $350 billion in products that are made, grown or assembled in the U.S.

“The retailer’s goal is to strengthen communities and support local and regional brands—and the American jobs they create,” Walmart said.

Featured brands include Old Dutch, Utz, Juanita’s, Taco Works and many more.

In Pennsylvania, local chip maker Ralph Goods snacks has seen “near double-digit growth” at Walmart after its products were moved to the front of store shelves, Walmart said.

In 2021, Walmart announced its plan to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S.-made products, which it said would create 750,000 jobs.

Earlier this month, Walmart reported high single-digit growth in its grocery business, with increases in both dollars and units sold.

The retail giant said last week that it would begin selling its hot rotisserie chickens via same-day delivery for the first time.

Walmart operates more than 10,500 stores in 19 countries.