DUDE WOW Cocktails Earns Walmart "Golden Ticket" at Open Call 2026

Oct 23, 2026 ·

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DUDE WOW Cocktails Earns Walmart "Golden Ticket" at Open Call 2026

Central Florida's award-winning All-Natural Bloody Mary Mix moves a step closer to Walmart shelves and Walmart.com after a one-on-one pitch in Bentonville

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. DUDE WOW Cocktails, the Winter Garden-based maker of premium, small-batch Bloody Mary mixes, today announced it has been awarded a coveted Golden Ticket at Walmart's 2026 Open Call. The award gives DUDE WOW the opportunity to work directly with Walmart's merchant team to bring its products to Walmart customers in stores and online.

DUDE WOW was one of roughly 125 companies from 35 states and Puerto Rico invited to pitch at Walmart's home office campus in Bentonville, Ark., on October 7. The selection follows months of regional screening, with thousands of entrepreneurs applying for a seat at the table.

About Walmart's Open Call

Launched in 2014, Open Call is Walmart's largest annual sourcing event and a direct path for small and mid-size businesses to reach Walmart and Sam's Club buyers. Entrepreneurs pitch products that are made, grown or assembled in the United States in one-on-one meetings with Walmart merchants.

The 2026 cycle began with the "Road to Open Call," an eight-city tour from April through June with stops in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Dallas, Orlando, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and Atlanta. Standout companies from those regional pitch days earned a fast pass to the main event in Bentonville on October 6–7.

A Golden Ticket is Walmart's invitation to keep working with its buying teams toward a supplier deal. Depending on the product, deals can range from local Walmart stores to hundreds of Walmart and Sam's Club locations, plus Walmart.com and Walmart Marketplace. Finalists also receive mentoring and training on scaling production, packaging and operational readiness.

Open Call supports Walmart's commitment to buy $350 billion in U.S.-made, grown or assembled products by 2030, an effort the company estimates supports roughly 750,000 American jobs. At this year's event, Walmart U.S. CEO David Guggina urged founders to show buyers what customer problem their product solves and what sets it apart.

From a Pandemic Kitchen to Walmart's Home Office

DUDE WOW was founded in 2020 by Brandon Igdalsky, former president of Pocono Raceway and a longtime NASCAR executive. With bars closed during the pandemic, Igdalsky began batching his bold, ready-to-pour Bloody Mary mix for friends. When restaurants reopened and started asking for bottles, a hobby became a business.

The flagship All-Natural Bloody Mary Mix blends vegetable juices, horseradish, Worcestershire, steak sauce, Florida citrus and a custom spice blend. It is gluten-free, low in sodium and made without preservatives, high fructose corn syrup or artificial ingredients. The team is now developing additional Bloody Mary variants, along with new cocktail mixers including margarita and paloma mixes.

In six years, the brand has grown from a Central Florida favorite into one of the most decorated mixes in its category:

• 2020: Founded in Central Florida

• 2024: Multiple medals at the SIP Awards International Spirits Competition, and Double Gold in The Fifty Best's Bloody Mary Mix tasting of 23 contenders

• 2024: Launched at Hannaford Supermarkets across New England, where the mix has consistently performed well

• 2024: Launched a partnership with the American Legion's BE THE ONE initiative to help prevent veteran suicide

• 2025: Three more honors at the SIP Awards, the only internationally recognized consumer-judged spirits competition

• January 2026: Launched in select ABC Fine Wine & Spirits stores across metro Orlando

• July 2026: Silver Medal, Consumer Choice Award and Innovation Award at the 2026 SIP Awards

• October 2026: Golden Ticket at Walmart Open Call

Today DUDE WOW is the mix of choice for a range of restaurant groups, breweries and distilleries in Central Florida, Pennsylvania and the Chicago area. It is also poured at bars and restaurants from Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach to the Gulf Coast near St. Petersburg. It is expanding into specialty retailers, restaurants and bars in the Northeast, Pennsylvania, more Florida locations, and ships direct to consumers nationwide.

What's Next

"Six years ago this was a mix I made for a handful of friends stuck at home," said Brandon Igdalsky, Founder and Chief Mixer of DUDE WOW Cocktails. "Walking out of Bentonville with a Golden Ticket is a moment I won't forget. My whole career has been about putting the fan first, and Walmart gives us the chance to put a better Bloody Mary within reach of millions of fans."

"Every bottle of DUDE WOW is made in America, and we're proud that Open Call champions small businesses like ours," Igdalsky added. "To our customers, bartenders, retail partners and the veterans we support through BE THE ONE: this one belongs to you. We're just getting started."

DUDE WOW will now work with Walmart's merchant team on next steps toward bringing its products to Walmart customers. Details on product availability will be shared as they are finalized.

About DUDE WOW Cocktails

Founded in Central Florida in 2020 by longtime sports executive Brandon Igdalsky, DUDE WOW Cocktails is a Winter Garden, Fla.-based maker of award-winning, small-batch, all-natural Bloody Mary mixes and seasoning paste. Known as Florida's "Official Drink of Brunch," DUDE WOW is served in restaurants and bars, sold at select retailers, and available nationwide at dudewowcocktails.com.

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