ARKANSAS, USA — Something big is brewing in the state, thanks to a new partnership between Walmart and northwest Arkansas' Coffee Collective Company.
The partnership will allow several local coffee companies' products to soon be available for purchase at Walmart locations across the state.
Nexus in downtown Little Rock is one of 8 coffee roasters in the state to sell its beans in local Walmarts— their head roaster, Chase Brooks, believes it could boost business significantly.
"With Walmart, it's taken us from what might have been a five-year plan to probably within a year, we're going to be at that next level where we can maybe get a new roaster, maybe just expand our operation," Brooks said.
Coffee Collective Company out of northwest Arkansas is behind the partnership and Brooks said that he's eager to sell Nexus coffee in 6 stores around the greater Little Rock area.
"We've got a lot of support. We have a lot of regulars that you know they've been buying our coffee for a minute. And for them, it was very exciting to say hey, I've been buying a copy from getting off your shelf, and now I can go get it in my local Walmart," Brooks explained.
Blue Sail Coffee in Conway will also be coming to Walmart shelves— and founder and CEO, Kyle Tabor said he never imagined having this opportunity.
"I never even really dreamed about that, because it just seemed too unattainable. And then now I walk through the aisles of Walmart and I see my product there. And it's just I haven't, haven't been able to fully grasp it just yet," Tabor said.
He said that Blue Sail will eventually be sold in 31 Arkansas stores.
"We have sold out already in some Walmarts. We have not expected this kind of demand response from people. And we really haven't even told anybody about what we're doing. People were just recognizing the brand," Tabor said.
Through those sales, he wanted to try and give back to Arkansas educators.
"We all agree teachers are important are an important part of our community, they shape and form the future of Arkansas. So why not leverage coffee to help teachers," he explained.
Both Tabor and Brooks said that they're excited for what's to come.
"We weren't really expecting this kind of growth this quickly," Brooks said.
Coffee Collective Company has also brought roasters into Walmart in 36 metro areas across the country— but if you don't see local coffee on your Walmart's shelves, you can find it online too.