Make a Great Product? Get It on the Shelf at Walmart

Do you have a great product, but need a bigger market? Would you like to see your product sold on Walmart.com or maybe even on the shelf at the Hamilton Mill or Buford Walmart?

On Jan. 18, Walmart launched a “Get on the Shelf” contest to discover the next great product. So far, the contest has over 40 entries featuring products including a new hot sauce, cube game, hair accessory, iPad pillow and paw puffs for dogs.

According to a Walmart press release, the contest is similar to “American Idol” in that contestants will create videos of their latest inventions and the public will vote online for the winners. The grand prize winner’s product will be sold on Walmart.com and will get shelf space in select Walmart stores nationwide.

“Walmart has the best products at everyday low prices but we know there are some great undiscovered products that have not yet reached our shelves,” said Venky Harinarayan, senior vice president of Walmart Global e-commerce and co-head of @WalmartLabs in a released statement. “For a long time, the ability to get a product into a retail store was at the sole discretion of the store buyer. Today, we are removing these barriers by giving anyone a chance to launch their product at Walmart and reach millions of shoppers nationwide.”

Contestants can submit entry videos at GetOnTheShelf.com. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 22. The first round of voting will take place March 7 through April 4. After the first round of voting, 10 finalists will be selected. Those finalists will advance to the second round of voting that will take place April 11-24 after which the grand prize winner will be announced.

Visit getontheshelf.com for more information and complete contest rules.