The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Tennessee Manufacturers Association is seeking nominations for the 2025 “Coolest Thing Made in Tennessee” contest.
The second annual contest seeks to showcase the many products manufactured across the Volunteer State.
“The Coolest Thing Made in Tennessee competition was created to be a fun and lighthearted way to showcase the impressive diversity of products manufactured in Tennessee and to promote manufacturing careers,” the Tennessee Manufacturers Association explains on its website.
🎉 It's official — the 2025 Coolest Thing Made in Tennessee contest is LIVE!
📌 Nominations are open now through June 30. Submit your product and shine a spotlight on Tennessee manufacturing! #CoolestThingMadeinTN
🔗 https://t.co/Xsmdytts6b pic.twitter.com/W1FETB5sCz— Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry (@TNChamber) June 16, 2025
Nominations for the 2025 “Coolest Thing Made in Tennessee” will be accepted up until Monday, June 30. Products can be nominated on the Tennessee Manufacturers Association’s website.
After the initial nomination process closes, the products submitted in the contest compete in a popular vote round. The Top 16 Tennessee-made products then advance to compete to win the title “Coolest Thing Made in Tennessee.”
This year’s winner will be announced on October 1 at the Tennessee Manufacturing Excellence Luncheon in Lebanon, where the Top 4 finalists in the contest will be invited to set up an exhibit.
In 2024, over 100 Tennessee-made products were nominated for the contest and more than 75,000 votes were cast.
Last year’s inaugural contest named the Nissan Rogue as the “Coolest Thing Made in Tennessee.”
The Rogue, manufactured at the Nissan Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant, is a compact crossover SUV and remains Nissan’s best-selling vehicle in the U.S.
Other well-known brands that entered last year’s contest for their Tennessee-made products included Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, M&M’S® PEANUT BUTTER MINIS, and Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie.
Data compiled by the National Association of Manufacturers in 2023 showed that Tennessee employs approximately 364,300 people in manufacturing jobs and exports around $35.8 billion worth of goods.
The state’s total economic output was calculated to be $70 billion.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
