H-E-B contest to decide newbies’ fortunes
Purav Patel and Aarti Garehgrat recently ventured into the frozen-breakfast section of a local H-E-B. They waited for a bit, then watched as a woman picked up a package of Bagel Dots and put it in her cart.
“We wanted to run up to her and give her a hug,” Patel said, savoring the memory of a customer buying their bite-size frozen bagel balls filled with cream cheese.
That moment might not have happened had the married couple not been selected to participate last year in H-E-B Primo Picks Quest for Texas Best, a competition aimed at
H-E-B Primo Picks Quest for Texas Best helps fledgling businesses and emerging entrepreneurs get wider distribution for their food products.
helping fledgling businesses and emerging entrepreneurs get wider distribution for their food products by becoming H-E-B vendors. Last year Patel and Garehgrat were among 25 finalists; they wound up taking home first place and $20,000 in prize money. H-E-B brought Bagel Dots to market in more than 200 stores in April. Since its debut at H-E-B, Bagel Dots has generated more than $100,000 in sales.
“It was a game changer for us,” Garehgrat said. “It took us from a small business into the biggest grocery chain in Texas.”
This week H-E-B will conduct its fourth annual Quest for Texas Best competition, with 25 new finalists convening in Austin for the two-day event to see if their culinary
fortunes will change. Six Houston-area finalists are making presentations to judges who will decide on a grand-prize winner ($25,000), first place ($20,000), second place ($15,000) and third place ($10,000). Each winner will be labeled an H-E-B Primo Picks product on store shelves.
This year more than 600 business from more than 200 Texas towns and cities applied to compete with all manner of sauces, salsas, nuts, spices, desserts, spreads and mixes. The 25 selected each were paired with H-E-B mentors to help with bringing their product to market and sharpen their presentation for the judges.
There’s a lot at stake for these newbie businesses. The competition is an opportunity to take a product from obscurity to the shelves of Texas’ favorite supermarket. That happened to Western Grillers, a company that makes Armadillo Eggs (marinated chicken stuffed in a jalapeño pepper and wrapped in bacon). Even though the company did not get to the winners circle, it was still picked up by H-E-B and now is a best-seller.
“It’s amazing to see how Texans have embraced that product,” said Jody Hall, director of sourcing for H-E-B.
Hall added that the competition is a way for the company to honor its roots and pay back store loyalty. “What we’re doing is continuing what Florence Butt started in 1905 buying local food products from Texans for Texans,” he said. “When there are great products, innovations and it’s local, we want to help bring those to the marketplace.”
To date, the competition has resulted in more than 200 products on H-E-B shelves throughout Texas. Even established businesses such as Spanish desserts company Reina Meals, which has a factory in Houston, benefit from mentorship in the competition. “We worked together, and they helped us develop flavor. It was very valuable support,” said Imanol Pagaza, COO of Reina, a finalist last year.
For Bagel Dots, the competition not only brought cash into the company — the owners bought new equipment with their winnings — but also a new focus on strategy and a path to business expansion, Patel and Garehgrat said. In addition to working with H-E-B, Bagel Dots is focusing on getting product into small cafes and coffee shops.