Sam’s Club announced its participation in a San Diego-based supplier event, welcoming more than 100 regional small businesses to present their food and beverage products to be featured in Sam’s Clubs across the country. The supplier participants, including several women- and minority-owned businesses, were narrowed down from an application pool of more than 13,000 suppliers. 

“Sam’s Club is proud to be more than a shopping destination – we are a club for our communities” Sam’s Club is participating in the event to engage new suppliers, strengthen relationships with local suppliers, and identify new food and beverage products relevant to Sam’s Club members in the Southwest and Western regions. Predominant themes among participating suppliers include:

Organic and all-natural snacks and beverages

Health-conscious grocery

Local beer, wine and tequila brands

Specialty sauces, cheeses and meats

“Sam’s Club is focused on providing our members with savings, new and surprising products, and regionally-relevant items,” said Shawn Baldwin, senior vice president for grocery merchandise at Sam’s Club. “We’re a retailer with a highly focused offering of products, so while we know we can’t make every participant in the event a supplier, our merchants are ready to find the best products for our members and help the participating small businesses learn by increasing their knowledge of how to work with a big retailer.”

The event supports Sam’s Club Supplier Diversity program which aims to expand and advance the current pool of diverse suppliers with emphasis on small regional businesses and women-, veteran- and minority-owned businesses. Through education and mentoring new and existing suppliers, Sam’s Club supports capacity building for diverse businesses.