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
PropTechHD looks beyond the façade of drone use to see sky-high potential for capturing high-quality data
A lot can go wrong when flying a drone around a high-rise building, acknowledged Andrew Patch. Think restricted airspace, pigeons, hawks, turbulence, swirling winds, pressure changes, trees, powerlines, and other unexpected obstacles. But behind the sticks of a controller, Patch steers into the challenge. In February 2017, he founded Heartland Drone Company, an Federal Aviation…
Hack Midwest is back with $20K in prizes, space for tech talent to flex app-building muscles
More than prize money is on the line when Hack Midwest returns this weekend to Kansas City, Michael Gelphman said, detailing how the contest could ignite progress in the local tech ecosystem. “We can get people to think entrepreneurially and create new ideas,” said Gelphman, the competition’s founder, noting the power and potential of the…
GiftAMeal posts food selfie milestone: 1 million meals donated through Missouri-made app
Foodie photos shared to social media through a Missouri tech startup’s app have provided more than 1 million meals — representing more than 1.2 million pounds of healthy groceries for families in need — thanks to GiftAMeal’s network of restaurant and food bank partnerships, the company said. St. Louis-based GiftAMeal this week announced the milestone donation…
Survival gets the wheels turning: Why this founder sold his home and belongings for a new pro journey
An entrepreneur who’s gained a following with his homegrown wrestling company and deeply personal cancer survival story is hitting the road — hoping to change perspectives about the disease by engaging and uplifting others who are fighting or affected by the disease. “It’s so easy to ignore something like brain cancer when it is seen…