SmileDirectClub and Walmart announced a distribution partnership today, sending shares of the startup up almost 20 percent Monday.
The oral-care company, which calls itself the first direct-to-consumer medtech platform for teeth straightening, announced a series of products available only at the big box retailer Monday morning. However, its signature teeth aligner won't be found in Walmart's aisles.
Some products Walmart ($WMT) shoppers can pick up instead are SmileDirectClub's electric toothbrush and teeth whitening system, plus planned new products like toothpaste and a UV cleaner to sanitize products like toothbrush heads.
SmileDirectClub ($SDC) hopes Walmart's size brings more customer awareness to the startup. The product line at Walmart, the biggest retailer in the U.S., is a "billboard about smiles," company Chief Global Brand Officer Josh Chapman told Cheddar.
Chapman said the company made a "simple-to-use, affordable, premium" toothbrush for Walmart and hopes to turn those new Walmart customers into users of its popular teeth aligners.
As inflation-weary consumers cut back on dining out, brands like McDonald’s are relying more heavily on celebrity and influencer endorsements to move the needle
Plus, Starbucks reported its first quarter of declining sales and earnings since the pandemic, Biden tries to tackle the national debt and Warren Buffett is set to host the annual meeting of his investment firm Berkshire Hathaway.
