00:00Hello, and welcome to a competition that gives up-and-coming entrepreneurs the chance to land
00:07a space at Walmart.
00:10Each episode will feature a different product and entrepreneur pitching their idea to a
00:14panel of entrepreneurs and experts like myself.
00:18This is Walmart Spark to Show.
00:23Our judges are Renee Blewett.
00:26She's a filmmaker and business strategist who created the documentary, She Did That.
00:31Michael Byron, Senior Director of Supplier Diversity and Inclusion at Walmart, who currently
00:37leads Walmart's billion-dollar effort to support women and minority-owned businesses.
00:43I'm Andrea McBride-John, and this is my sister, Robin McBride.
00:47We are the owners of McBride Sisters Collection, the largest black-owned wine company in the
00:52U.S.
00:53Are we ready to meet our entrepreneur?
00:55Let's do it.
00:56Yes.
00:57Let's do it.
00:58We can't all be blessed with the sauce, but our next entrepreneur is dripping in it.
01:03Joining us from Kansas City, Kansas, please welcome Debra Little-Jones of Jones Barbecue.
01:10Hi, Debra.
01:11How are you?
01:12Fine.
01:13I wasn't expecting to see you, like, at your business.
01:16Yeah, we're here.
01:17How are you feeling?
01:18I'm feeling great.
01:19I'm Debra Jones, and this is Jones Barbecue.
01:28I've been barbecuing for about 40 years.
01:30I was born and raised right here in Kansas City.
01:32My dad taught us how to barbecue, and he opened up the barbecue place.
01:37This is our sausage we make over here.
01:39We barbecue beef, ham, turkey, pork, rib tip.
01:43And here's our famous sauce over here.
01:46It's a special secret, and it's made with love.
01:49My dad really played a big part in our life.
01:55One evening, when he got ready to go home, I was a drunk driver, and he hit my dad.
02:01My dad wasn't able to get around like he was.
02:06That caused me to close the business, because I wanted to make sure my dad was worth taking
02:10care of, because he took, well, good care of all of us.
02:13I took care of my dad until he passed, and then I reopened it back up, and I did tell
02:20my dad I'd make sure I kept it going until I couldn't keep it going anymore.
02:25You tell me, I knew you could do it, and I did it.
02:30It's been doing pretty good, and the one thing that I was trying to get out for the longest
02:34was the sauce.
02:37Our online sales done really well.
02:40I believe 75,000 bottles.
02:43Matter of fact, if they even do my DNA, some barbecue might be in it, you know what I'm
02:47saying?
02:48That's how serious it is.
02:50Hey, who are you?
02:52Ms. Jones, tell us about your product.
02:56This right here is our sweet and tangy.
02:58This is our pineapple coconut, and this is our rub.
03:02I have worked on the sauce until I got it what I feel is just perfect.
03:07It's like a call me back sauce.
03:09You taste it, and you're going to come back and get it.
03:11We got a lot of repeated customers, and I think it would be a good product to put on
03:16Walmart's shelf next to the fellas.
03:19I don't see too many women barbecue sauces or pit masses, and so I feel Jones Barbecue would
03:25help.
03:25Hey, bring it right to the front door for Walmart.
03:28And me too.
03:29So congrats on being in business for almost 40 years.
03:35That is a huge feat, especially for a Black woman entrepreneur.
03:39I probably won't be here for 40 more years because I'm heading towards 70, and I'm still
03:44going strong.
03:45That's amazing.
03:46My family, my nieces and nephews, them should be able to take it and be in here 40 more years,
03:52and my daughter also.
03:53How are people signing here?
03:56There's a train coming.
03:57I'm sorry.
03:58No worries.
04:04Okay, good.
04:05Can you tell us what makes your sauce different from other barbecue sauces?
04:10Most of them have that herb, molasses, and stuff, but that's not what this is.
04:14We've got more seasoning in our sauce where it can be used for a variety of things.
04:19It's not just barbecue meat.
04:21You can put it on eggs.
04:22You can put it on meatloaf and mix it in.
04:25You can make Bloody Marys.
04:26Oh, wow.
04:27Yes.
04:28So, Deborah, I just tasted the limited edition.
04:32That's the sweet tangy.
04:34It's usually mostly used for seafood.
04:36Well, it's delicious.
04:38Well, thank you.
04:39Is the formula something that can be easily mass produced?
04:42Yes, ma'am, and I'm going to tell you why.
04:43As soon as I heard that Walmart had contacted me, I immediately went to the company that
04:48produces it now and asked him if Walmart wanted $100,000.
04:54Well, he said that, you know, it might be, you know, a slow process.
05:00So, I told him, what about if we brought another company in to help us bottle it?
05:04Believe me, I'm going to stay up all night and figure out some homework on how to make
05:08sure Walmart get everything they need if I got to bring it myself.
05:11Who is your target customer?
05:12Families, they come out here with big families and have a good time with it.
05:18And about 75 to 85 percent of our customers are repeated customers and a bunch of new
05:24customers also.
05:26Well, we've heard the pitch, and I think we might need to come together and huddle and
05:31see what we think.
05:32Okay, y'all huddle right.
05:33If I could get our sauce on Walmart's shelf, my family would be proud.
05:45I would be proud and excited because I accomplished what I always wish I could do.
05:51And it would just make a world of difference to me.
05:54Well, just tasting them out of the bottle, they're delicious.
06:00I love her.
06:02It's like every auntie rolled into one.
06:04You know, my father had a restaurant just like that.
06:07Really?
06:08So, it touches me because it's hard work, you know.
06:13And, you know, to have it for as long as she's had it, you feed generations, you know.
06:19Okay, the thing that I absolutely loved about her is she is a grown woman.
06:26Like, you always hear about these 20-something-year-old founders, 30-something-year-old founders.
06:31So, to know that she is 70 is incredible.
06:35And I think it's inspiring for a lot of people because, you know, you get older, more seasoned,
06:41you know, no pun intended, but you still have these dreams that you're building.
06:45Yep.
06:45To me, the one thing that can be a challenge for small businesses is the ability to scale
06:50up the manufacturing to supply product on a large scale.
06:54That's right.
06:55You know, our experience as a supplier to Walmart is that a big concern is being able to scale
07:01from a production and distribution standpoint to meet the demands of Walmart.
07:07Yeah.
07:08Okay, judges, do we have a decision?
07:12I think so.
07:13I think so.
07:14I think so.
07:19Welcome back, Debra.
07:22Okay, Debra.
07:24Each judge has now had the chance to decide on behalf of Walmart whether Jones Barbecue is
07:29on the shelf or out.
07:31Till next time.
07:32We have been deliberating for quite a while, and we had to make a hard decision.
07:41Understand that with brands like yours, the leap to a large retailer is a bit of a stretch,
07:49you know?
07:49It's one thing to have manufacturing, but there are a lot of other components that come with
07:54that, right?
07:55Are you a little bit nervous?
07:58Well, of course, you know that.
08:02And we have decided that Jones Barbecue is on the shelf at Walmart.
08:20Congratulations.
08:21Congratulations.
08:22Debra.
08:23Oh, my gosh.
08:25Debra.
08:25Yes, sir.
08:26Welcome to Walmart.
08:28And welcome to Jones.
08:30Having your product available on our shelves so that millions of customers that come in
08:35every week will be exposed to it.
08:38We're excited about it.
08:39Oh, I'm sorry.
08:41I'm about ready to come to the screen on y'all.
08:45Thank you so much.
08:46God bless you.
08:47Congratulations, Debra.
08:49We're so excited.
08:50Jones Barbecue is heading to Walmart, so all of you can get a taste of real flavor-filled
08:55barbecue sauce crafted with love by a Black entrepreneur and her family.
09:01Oh, my goodness.
09:02What am I going to do, boy?
09:04Oh, jeez.
09:06Oh, boy.
09:09I don't even know how to describe it.
09:11It's better than the gold.
09:13I know my dad would be really proud.
09:17Being on Walmart shelves is huge for my family.
09:20It's a big opportunity for the sauce.
09:23I'm ready to get started.
09:30I'm ready to get started.
09:31I'm ready to get started.
09:32I'm ready to get started.
09:33I'm ready to get started.
09:34I'm ready to get started.
09:35I'm ready to get started.
09:36I'm ready to get started.
09:37I'm ready to get started.
09:38I'm ready to get started.
09:39I'm ready to get started.
09:40I'm ready to get started.
09:41I'm ready to get started.
09:42I'm ready to get started.
09:43I'm ready to get started.
09:44I'm ready to get started.
09:45I'm ready to get started.
09:46I'm ready to get started.
09:47I'm ready to get started.
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