Pre-Launch Snack Brand SIDEPIECE Wins Two Walmart Golden Tickets

SIDEPIECE, a pre-launch snack brand built by co-founder Kelsie, a former travel ICU nurse, and her husband, received two Golden Tickets at Walmart's 13th annual Open Call, the company said on October 8. "We honestly thought we were too early since we're still pre-launch," the founders wrote, adding that the brand is going to be available in Walmart soon.

Walmart said on October 15 that nearly 150 entrepreneurs from 35 states and Puerto Rico pitched products made, grown or assembled in the U.S. at this year's Open Call in Bentonville, and that its merchants awarded 54 Golden Tickets. Walmart describes a Golden Ticket as an opportunity to sell on Walmart or Sam's Club shelves or online at Walmart.com.

The product is a tray of graham cookies with a side of frosting for dipping, per its packaging. The brand lists 10g of protein and 11g of fiber per pack. Stack3d, which previewed the brand in August, reported 4g of sugar and a plant-based, gluten- and dairy-free recipe in three flavors: Papi Churro, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Birthday Behavior. The founders say the snack took two years to develop and was created so Kelsie, who has lived with an autoimmune condition for a decade, could enjoy one of her favorite snacks again.

Why it matters

Walmart is not the only big-box retailer SIDEPIECE has met before launch. In September the founders said they had pitched Target buyers at the retailer's Minneapolis headquarters with homemade samples, and that Target asked them to send a final retail sample. Their original plan, they wrote, was to launch direct-to-consumer, on Amazon and on TikTok Shop, and only then move into retail. Two retailer conversations while still pre-launch pull that order forward, which puts the weight on whether its two founders can produce retail-ready inventory quickly. For now the brand's website is password-protected apart from a 1,000-sample giveaway.

What to watch

Whether the Golden Tickets become a confirmed Walmart or Sam's Club listing, and on which shelves or online; which of the three flavors make it; and whether Target follows once it has the final retail sample. No launch date appears on the brand's site.

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