KC hat maker’s sales soar after national news spotlight, capping year with validation: Made-in-the-USA still sells
December 21, 2024 | Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Santa came early for Sandlot Goods — in the form of an ABC World News producer, said Garret Prather.
Garret Prather, Sandlot Goods
On Dec. 13, Kansas City’s only local hat manufacturer was featured on the “Made In America Christmas” segment on ABC World News Tonight with David Muir.
“Forty-five workers, 10 new hires, and 115,00 hats this year, many of them soon under the Christmas tree,” Muir mentioned during the segment.
Within just a few hours of the broadcast, Sandlot saw a 700-percent increase in its daily online sales average, noted Prather, the vice president of strategic partnerships for Sandlot, one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2023.
A Sandlot Goods hat going through the shaping process at the company’s Kansas City production site; photo courtesy of Sandlot Goods
A Sandlot Goods worker sews one of the Kansas City company’s popular green dad hats, crafted for the “New Heights” podcast featuring Travis and Jason Kelce, in partnership with Homage; courtesy photo
“Momentum has continued after that, including requests on our custom bulk order side,” he continued. “But that initial spike had us all scrambling to answer the online chats and then quickly get orders fulfilled.”
Sandlot is currently running a 15 percent off sale — using code ABC — in appreciation for being showcased, he added.
Prather said it feels reassuring to see the Kansas City company featured on the national news.
“The response from the national audience told us we are on the right track,” he explained, “both with our designs — but just as important — with our belief there is a wide appeal for ball caps made in the USA that are also high quality.”
Sandlot learned they would be highlighted on the national news a week before the segment aired when a producer from ABC World News reached out on the website chat, Prather shared.
“From there, it was a quick scramble to create the content and send it over for their team to edit for the segment,” he explained. “Huge credit to our team, and in particular Blake Hamilton, who did the filming.”
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
UMKC receives $12.97M grant from Kauffman Foundation to boost barrier breaking across KC region, beyond
Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial supporter of Startland News’ nonprofit newsroom. New grant provides support to continue and expand entrepreneurship programs on the UMKC campus and across the Kansas City region The University of Missouri-Kansas City has received a historic, five-year, $12.97 million grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation…
This 11-year-old’s lemonade sells out in hours at Hy-Vee; Here’s how he hopes to extend the shelf life of his young family business
The all-natural, fresh-squeezed lemonade made by 11-year-old Tre Glasper and his family in a Manhattan commercial kitchen is making its way to Kansas City thanks to a tart partnership with one of the Midwest’s leading grocery chains. Tre typically sells about 100 bottles of Tre’s Squeeze — an amount that takes two to three hours…
LaunchKC eyes startups building ‘a more prosperous and equitable future’; Social Venture Studio opens apps
A program created in late 2021 to help boost promising social ventures as they create sustainable business models to tackle social, racial, or environmental issues is returning this spring for its second cohort. LaunchKC’s Social Venture Studio is now accepting applications for its program, which aims to drive social impact and return on investment via…
Grief happens on (and off) company time: Why a startup founded from loss is building holistic bereavement plans for corporate America
When grieving employees return to work, managers and colleagues often aren’t equipped to properly support them, said Lisa Cooper. “While I was working in corporate America for quite some time, I had witnessed a lot of dysfunction surrounding grief,” said Cooper, co-founder of Workplace Healing alongside Mindy Corporon. For example, I can remember specifically when someone…