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March 05, 2024

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Apply by April 4: annual H-E-B Quest for Texas Best contest

Founded in 1905, HEB Grocery Co. LP — better known as H-E-B — has a longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. From the humble beginnings of its first store started by Florence Butt in Kerrville, Texas, to its current footprint of more than 430 stores throughout Texas and Mexico, it has a proven record of valuing the diversity of the community it serves.

Based in San Antonio, H-E-B is the largest privately held company and the largest private employer in the state of Texas. James E. Harris is the senior director of diversity & inclusion and supplier diversity at H-E-B. Over the course of his 20-year career with the company, he has been a champion for local, small and diverse suppliers and the value they bring to the table. H-E-B’s signature Be the Change program opens the door to opportunities in a fun but meaningful way that engages multiple communities and stakeholders.

Be the Change program

H-E-B offers mentoring to support suppliers, as well as marketing opportunities to elevate their products. The Be the Change program builds upon the company’s established diversity and inclusion framework by amplifying diverse voices through increased visibility. For example, Harris said, during Hispanic Heritage Month, products from Hispanic-owned companies may have in-store signage informing shoppers about those diverse suppliers or they may be featured on the H-E-B website.

“The Be the Change program is one of many vehicles that we use to draw attention to local and diverse suppliers,” Harris said. “By including local and diverse suppliers in our marketing, we’re proudly sharing their stories and highlighting their products and services.”

Quest for Texas Best

In 2014, H-E-B launched a unique vehicle for identifying new suppliers: Quest for Texas Best. The annual competition was designed to give Texas-based businesses an opportunity to highlight their products for placement on H-E-B shelves.

“Quest for Texas Best is an opportunity for artisans to submit their items to H-E-B for consideration,” Harris said. “These could be products made for food consumption or nonfood items, as long as they are made, grown, produced or assembled in the state of Texas.”

The H-E-B team evaluates submissions and narrows the list down to the top 10 finalists. Those finalists are invited to the Quest for Texas Best Finale where they present their products to a panel of judges made up of food critics, writers and H-E-B senior leaders. The grand prize winner receives $25,000, first place receives $20,000, second place receives $15,000 and third place receives $10,000. Finalists also have the chance to supply their products to H-E-B stores.

While the cash prizes are a bonus to the winners, Harris pointed out that supplier opportunities are not limited to the finalists.

“Just because you don’t get to the top 10 doesn’t mean your products don’t get onto the shelf,” he said. “In our first 10 years, we’ve seen roughly 6,000 entrants and over 1,000 products have been placed on our shelves.”

Harris is keenly aware of the economic impact H-E-B’s commitment to supplier diversity creates. “You take these companies, they go from a few employees or no employees to now they have an employee base, and they are providing quality jobs — and that changes lives,” he said.

Economic impact rarely includes philanthropic contributions, but he noted that many of the company’s suppliers share H-E-B’s values, reflecting a deep commitment to support nonprofit organizations that serve Texas communities.

“We’ve found in talking with our local suppliers that they behave like H-E-B by giving to some of the same nonprofits that we give to,” Harris said. “That’s an unexpected economic impact, and we couldn’t be prouder to be part of it.”

More than just a competition, Quest for Texas Best is a unique take on supplier diversity and supplier development. Behind the fun and festivities of sampling products and services from the state’s innovators is a robust, effective program for identifying qualified diverse suppliers and nurturing their potential.

After a decade of success, Harris and his team quantified the company’s investment in Quest for Texas Best during the program’s first 10 years.

“From prize money to marketing, mentoring and supplemental support, we make substantial investments into these suppliers’ success.” he said. “It is a major commitment, and it is one with a huge, wide-ranging impact. It is about making a positive difference in the lives of Texans.”

Apply by April 4 for the 11th annual H-E-B Quest for Texas Best competition. For more information, visit heb.com/static-page/quest.