Lowe’s wants creators to put their next products on its shelves

Lowe’s is building on its work with influencers by adding another layer to its year-old Creator Network. The members of that network — whether they be long-term partners or newcomers — will now be able to develop their own Lowe’s products through a program called Lowe’s Creator: Into the Blue.

A press release explains that the new program puts creators in contact with Lowe’s product design and development teams. The participating creators will be able to pitch product ideas with an eye toward retail distribution. Creator pitches may range from existing products to new ideas to collaborations that make use of current Lowe’s products.

In recent years, Lowe’s partnerships with creators have looked to harness the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the YouTube community. A 2022 team-up with Jenn Im, for example, saw the lifestyle maven produce unique home décor looks inspired by items in Lowe’s Origin 21 line.

More recently, Lowe’s has shifted its focus from its own products to those devised by creators. After building a program described as the first creator network in the home improvement space, Lowe’s became a close ally of MrBeast. One of the initiatives to emerge out of that partnership is a series of workshops, where kids can assemble the build kits that are part of MrBeast’s Lab Swarms toy line.

There are other creator programs in the home improvement industry now, but Lowe’s is continuing to innovate. Lowe’s Creator: Into The Blue unites two preexisting programs. By pairing the aforementioned Creator Network with the Into the Blue product incubator, Lowe’s is looking to bring more influencer-approved items to its shelves.

“Creators today are evolving their ideas and audiences into businesses, brands and products,” said Lowe’s SVP and CMO Jen Wilson in a statement. “Through Lowe’s Creator Network, we’ve helped creators grow through content and curation, and we took it a step further with MrBeast by expanding the collaboration into creation with the launch of new products and workshops. Lowe’s Creator: Into the Blue is the next evolution of that strategy, allowing us to help more creators move into creation and turn their ideas into products and scalable businesses.”

Enterprising creators who have ideas for the new Into the Blue program can apply for access via the Lowe’s website. The savviest pitches could put the resulting products on the shelves next to MrBeast’s Lab Swarms — and that’s some prime placement.