Walmart honors Kennesaw company for Small Business Month
By Jack Lindner, Marietta Daily Journal, jlindner@mdjonline.com
KENNESAW — Beaumont Products Inc., a Kennesaw-based consumer product manufacturing company, was named a Preferred Georgia Small Business by Walmart this week, joining an exclusive list of companies honored by the retail giant.
Beaumont is known for its environmentally conscious consumer items, most notably its Citrus Magic cleaning and air-freshener products.
This year, Walmart is celebrating May — National Small Business Month — by giving this recognition to small businesses across the country. Beaumont is the first Georgia business to be given the honor.
“This generous recognition from Walmart means so much to the many associates who have helped build this company into the household brand it is today,” said CEO Jeff Picken. “As a small business in a space dominated by major companies, we’re proud to earn trust by creating better-for-you products with superior fragrances and safe ingredients that consumers can feel good about using.”
First founded in 1991, Beaumont Products began as a passion project for Picken’s father Hank, a retired marketer and former captain in the U.S. Army.
According to Jeff Picken, the name “Beaumont” came from Beaumont Drive, the street name in Kennesaw that Jeff Picken grew up on.
Located at 1540 Big Shanty Drive, Beaumont Products has created other popular products outside its Citrus Magic items, including Veggie Wash, a cleaning solution that removes dirt, wax and pesticides from fruits and vegetables, and its Citrus II disinfectant.
Jeff Picken, 50, joined the company shortly after graduating from Georgia Tech with a degree in engineering. In 2018, he took over his father’s business, becoming CEO.
Daidrian Rayford, senior manager of Walmart’s community relations team, said Walmart wants to give its small-business partners a platform to show off their products.
“It’s appreciating and recognizing the partnership that we have with (small businesses),” Rayford said. “We just really want to highlight that and let the community know that we are working with them, supporting them and that they are very special to us.”
According to Rayford, approximately 60% of the products sold in Walmart stores come from small business owners.
The goal, Rayford said, is to name one preferred business in each state to highlight the small companies that contribute to the retailer’s success.
Rayford joined Picken and other Walmart representatives for an honorary ceremony Wednesday morning at the Walmart on Chastain Meadows Parkway. To celebrate the occasion, Picken and several Beaumont employees set up camp inside the store to pass out free product samples and prizes to shoppers and employees alike.
After partnering with Walmart in 2006, Beaumont Product’s annual revenue grew by more than 50%, Picken said. Each year, the company sells an average of 4.5 million stock keeping units (SKUs) through Walmart.
Today, Beaumont distributes its products to various retailers across the country including Publix, Kroger and Target, and earns more than $30 million annually.
Out of all the partnerships Beaumont has formed during their years of operation, Picken said Walmart has been his favorite retailer to work with.
“Walmart has been a fantastic partner, very stable partner, to grow with,” Picken said. “Walmart, they do what they say, they follow through, they help us.”