Manufacturing powers California, and we want to showcase that to the public. California’s manufacturing sector employs 1.31 million people and contributes $310 billion annually to the state’s gross domestic product. You don’t get numbers like those without manufacturing a lot of cool things.

The annual contest hosted by the California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA) is manufacturers time to get competitive. Nominations are open to the public (and you) to put the greatest products into our contest. From there, the Popular Round of voting pares down the field of products into a bracket of the Top 16.

Similar to a popular college basketball tournament that occurs every March, products are eliminated in weekly bracket voting until a winner is selected. The fate of the 2024 winner of the “Coolest Thing Made in California” is up to you to decide.

In our inaugural contest last year, Californians cast nearly 100,000 votes with hundreds of thousands of eyes on the bracket.

Products that make it into the Popular Round are featured on our website, and those that make it into the Top 16 bracket are featured in an email survey to nearly 6,000 of our subscribers, asking the public to vote. Last year, the contest reached over 95,870 accounts on social media.

This is an opportunity for CMTA to shine a light on what makes your chosen product stand out. The winner of the 2nd annual “Coolest Thing Made in California” contest will be recognized at CMTA’s MakingCA Conference on October 18. Representatives of the businesses that manufacture the top four products are invited to attend the event. Last year, over 78 companies participated alongside California’s Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis.

The winner will also receive a complimentary award recognizing the “Coolest Thing Made in California,” a written article about the company and product, and a filmed interview with CMTA President & CEO Lance Hastings (if possible) to continue to amplify what makes your product stand out from the rest, even after the contest is over.

Reminder: Nominations close on Thursday, August 8th at 11:59 P.M. PST! Make sure to nominate a product here before it closes.

FAQs and the rules of the contest can be found here. The product being nominated must be made in California. However, the manufacturers’ headquarters do not need to be in the state.

Products must be manufactured using a manufacturing process. For example, a restaurant that makes pizzas would not qualify, but a plant that mass-produces frozen pizzas would. Please note: Products that made it into the Top 4 Round in the inaugural competition in 2023 are not eligible to be nominated for the 2024 contest.

Contest Timeline:

• Nomination Window: Open until August 8
• Popular Round: Aug. 12 – 15
• Top 16 Round: Aug. 19 – 22
• Top 8 Round: Aug. 26 – 29
• Top 4 Round: Sept. 2 – 6
• Winner Announced: At CMTA’s MakingCA Conference on Oct. 18

Receive contest updates at @MakingCA on Instagram and @CMTA on X. Special thanks to JPMorganChase for sponsoring the contest.

Questions? Please reach out to communications@cmta.net for more.

Be sure to support the product that you think is the Coolest Thing Made in California! Download and share our social media graphics to help promote your favorite.

To nominate a product or for more information about the contest, please visit CoolestThingCalifornia.com. Join us in celebrating the incredible talent and innovation of California’s manufacturers ahead of National Manufacturing Month in October. The “Coolest Thing Made in California” contest is powered by JPMorganChase.

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About CMTA:

The California Manufacturers & Technology Association has advocated for pro-growth laws and regulations before the California legislature and administrative agencies since 1918. The total output from manufacturing in California is $300 billion per year, roughly 10 percent of the total economic output of the state. Manufacturers employ 1.3 million Californians paying wages more than $25,000 higher than other non-farm employers in the state.