Independent guide · launched October 2026

From kitchen-table product to big-box shelf

A plain-language, sourced field guide for small consumer-product makers — candle pourers, gadget inventors, sauce makers, sewists — who want to understand what a large retailer asks of a supplier before the first purchase order arrives.

The path, drawn as a blueprint

Every retailer has its own process, but the pieces that keep coming up in official supplier pages and pitch-program coverage are remarkably similar. Here is the route this guide follows:

Why a pitch competition is a useful case study

Retailer-run pitch programs compress the whole journey into a few public milestones, which makes them a good way to see the moving parts. Lowe’s described its first Making It…with Lowe’s season, hosted by Daymond John, as a way to help diverse entrepreneurs move “from pitch to shelves,” and said it evaluated more than 400 new products for Lowes.com or its stores. Just as telling, Lowe’s said its merchandising team gathered feedback afterwards to simplify steps such as completing requirements and obtaining certifications — the unglamorous paperwork this guide focuses on. The 2021 second season added a public online vote; trade coverage reported that the top vote-getter earned a $5,000 grant and a spot in the final pitch.

The guide, sheet by sheet

How to use it

Read the sheets in order if you are starting from zero; jump straight to the one you need if a buyer has just sent you a vendor packet. Each page lists its sources at the bottom — official agency pages, the retailer’s own supplier pages, standards bodies and press coverage — so you can check every number against the original. Retailer requirements change, and every retailer differs: Lowe’s, for example, routes retail product pitches through RangeMe and asks registrants for a federal tax ID and a D-U-N-S number, but another chain may use a different portal entirely. Treat this guide as a map, and the retailer’s own vendor documents as the territory.

Two things to keep in mind throughout. First, registering as a supplier does not mean a retailer will buy from you; Lowe’s says plainly that registration does not guarantee a bid request or contract. Second, the costs add up before revenue does — barcodes, testing, insurance and packaging are usually paid for up front — so it pays to price them before you pitch.