H-E-B Is Taking Ideas For New Products To Sell In Their Stores

Grocery store chain H-E-B is taking entries for its 11th annual Quest for Texas-Best, a competition that could end with the chance to stock your product on the supermarket's shelves.

The annual competition is an open call for Texans to have their locally-made food, beverage, and general merchandise items considered for placement on H-E-B shelves. The top three winners also get cash prizes of $10,000 to $25,000.

Last year, 600 businesses entered and 10 were chosen as finalists. The grand prize winner was PhoLicious, an instant Vietnamese rice noodle soup produced by Joseph and Anh Trousdale of Houston. Other top winners produced small-batch farmstand salad dressings, a sparkling agua fresca, fun-flavored cotton candy, and organic yogurt.

H-E-B is looking for Texas-made products with customer appeal, value, uniqueness, and market potential—and they must differ somehow from products they already sell in their stores. Think you've got just the Tex-Mex original they need? You can take a shot at the Quest for Texas-Best by entering at heb.my.site.com/questfortexasbest.

Four virtual community outreach meetings are scheduled in March for small business owners who'd like a few tips on how to enter. Entries are being accepted until 5 p.m. Central Time on April 4. The top 10 finalists will travel to Dallas in August and present their products to a panel of judges. The grand prize winner will get $25,000 and a chance to sell their product at H-E-B stores in 300-plus Texas communities.