H-E-B has named the 10 finalists in its 12th annual Quest for Texas Best competition, a search for the best products made in-state.
The small businesses will compete for a share of $100,000 in cash prizes and the chance to have their products featured on H-E-B shelves across the state.
Over the past few months, H-E-B’s sourcing managers have reviewed submissions from more than 370 entrepreneurs from nearly 150 cities across the Lone Star State.
The following producers were chosen as finalists:
- Deli Spices Cooking Spices;
- Jam-In Crawfish Peeler;
- Klein Smokehaus Bacon;
- The Lavish Goat Bath Products;
- Long Phung Food Products Vietnamese Meat Products;
- My Drink Bomb Cocktail Mixers;
- Oca Foods Peanut Butter Bites;
- Rigo’s Dairy Latin-Style Cheese;
- Spicytude Spices; and
- Tozi Super Foods Tortillas and Tortillas Chips.
On Sept. 25, they will present products and share their stories before a panel of judges selected by H-E-B in San Antonio, where the company is headquartered.
The panel will determine the top four and award $50,000 to the grand-prize winner, the title of “Texas Best” and placement on store shelves; $25,000 to the first-place winner; $15,000 to the second-place winner; and $10,000 to the third-place winner.
“Quest for Texas Best is not only designed to find the best Texas-made products, but also to empower local entrepreneurs with the resources, exposure and mentorship they need to grow,” said James Harris, H-E-B’s senior director of diversity and inclusion and supplier diversity.
“H-E-B was once a small business, so we understand the power and potential they can have, and we cannot wait to share the winning selections with our customers.”
H-E-B has discovered more than 1,000 products – from cookies, coffees and empanadas to pickles, pho and salsas and spices – through the competition over the last decade.
Non-food submissions have included beauty items, toys, home goods, household necessities, gardening supplies and coolers.
Over the years, H-E-B has awarded nearly $2.75 million in prize money complemented by marketing, mentoring and supplemental support.
In addition, it has presented 55 Quest for Texas Best suppliers with a commemorative H-E-B Million Dollar Club belt buckle for achieving $1 million in sales.