AUSTIN — Two Austinites will join 450 people traveling from around the country to Arkansas on Wednesday in hopes of turning their local idea into a national product.
Walmart is holding its fifth annual "Open Call" initiative that is a Shark Tank-like experience for local entrepreneurs around the country. People will travel to Bentonville, Arkansas -- where Walmart's headquarter's are located -- to pitch their products in one-on-one meetings in hopes of being put on Walmart shelves nationwide.
Two sets of Austin business owners are getting the chance to be a part of this competition. Eric and Mary Van de Schaaf are a married Austin couple who created a mix between honey and maple syrup called Tree Hive. Derrick Frohne created the company Gentle Bees that currently offers Austinites lip balms products.
Mary Claire Van de Schaaf and her husband have three little kids -- ages seven, five and two. When she was around their age, she quickly realized she had a sweet tooth.
"I grew up using honey as a kid," Van de Schaaf said. "I loved honey. My grandmother always had it with a little beehive stick."
As she got older, though, she started adding syrup to her honey when adding it as a topping. It was a taste preference that lasted well into her adulthood.
"After we'd been married a couple years, Eric noticed what I was doing and said, 'Oh, you mix honey and syrup?' and I said, 'Yeah, it's really good,'" Van de Schaaf said. "I never really thought about it. I just did it on my plate."
So Van de Schaaf's husband convinced her she should look into making this some form of a product to sell. After some experimenting, she decided that vanilla and cinnamon along with honey and maple syrup was the perfect combination. Five years later, after making it for family and friends as well as creating a Kickstarter, her small idea has expanded into something already fairly successful. Van de Schaaf started focusing on retail stores about a year and a half ago when she moved to Austin, which is when things really started to take off.
"I think Austin is a great fit for our product," Van de Schaaf said. "People here try to eat healthier, and the local stores have been awesome with us and just so excited that we're a couple living here in Austin and that it's our product, too."
Tree Hive is currently in 40 local stores that include Royal Blue Grocery, Quickie Pickie, Breed & Company, Thom's Market, Con' Olio Oils & Vinegars, and Picnik. In June, Van de Schaaf took a big step forward getting her product on HEB shelves as well.
"We are unique," Van de Schaaf said. "Our packaging is really fun and different and new. Our customers really love that. It's a unique flavor profile. The mix between maple syrup, honey, cinnamon and vanilla is new and different."
Along with Van de Schaaf, Derrick Frohne hopes that his product will make it to Walmart shelves after his own "Open Call" meeting. Frohne, though, has a little bit different of an inspiration for why he started making his lip balm -- his girlfriend. Back in 2014, she started having really chapped lips and couldn't use most lip balms. With a background in chemical engineering, he created a product with a unique set of ingredients -- all natural -- that not only his girlfriend liked but his friends, too.
"They liked it and said I should try to sell them," Frohne said. "I said that no one is going to buy this. There's no label. I don't know what to do about it."
Frohne did give it a shot, starting to tinker around with certain ingredients while also working on a label for the lip balm. Frohne decided to incorporate beeswax and a rare oil called Abyssinian oil to make a lip balm that can not only withstand the Texas heat but also be healthy for your lips.
"I've tested my lip balms against other lip balms, and they can resist the heat better than any other on the market in the United States," Frohne said. "What makes it most unique is the Abyssinian oil."
The company that gave him his first real breakthrough was Callahan's in South Austin. The owners took his product and started selling it to their customers, which started creating some buzz for Frohne's product. Frohne eventually started expanding, even getting some items on Amazon's website. He said Austin, though, will always be an important part of his company's journey.
"Austin has really changed my perspective on life and on business," Frohne said. "A lot of Texans do buy my product. I'm very thankful for Texans. They want the best. That's why they move here. People move here for a better life. I did as well."
No matter what happens in Arkansas, Frohne hopes to start building beehives right here in Texas so he can have his own source of beeswax -- which ties in with his end goal.
"I do want to build the largest beeswax factory here in Texas," Frohne said. "How long that takes? I'm not quite sure, but I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep on doing that and make my products very affordable for everyone so it's a product that everyone can apply."
What's interesting about how Wednesday will work for these two and everyone else involved is that the buyers could tell them they will think about their products and get back to them. However, in some situations, the entrepreneurs could get a deal right there on the spot. For Van de Schaaf and Frohne, they said they are ready for whatever ends up happening.