Texas' favorite grocery chain H-E-B is nearing the end of its search for the next crop of Texas-made products to hit the shelves, with 10 newly revealed finalists. Its Quest for Texas Best competition is now in its 11th year of engaging small businesses to find the best of their products, in return for $70,000 in cash prizes and the overall winner will be stocked in H-E-B stores.
For the 2024 competition, a release says, H-E-B has received more than 16 hours of video from 470 entrepreneurs. Although submissions came in from more than 118 cities, the finalists come from just six places, with Dallas and Austin taking multiple spots. Ultimately, four products will win tiered prizes.
The finalists cover lots of ground, from regional and international specialties to improvements on common staples. The only Houston-area pick is a business applying sustainable farming techniques to a dish that's a staple for people around the world.
Located in Brookshire, Texas Rice Milling ~ Home of Honestly Texas sells rice grown by local farmers with an eye on water conservation and quality. By growing rice with innovative procedures that reduce water consumption, the farms' rice paddies double as wildlife habitats during the off-season, which promotes biodiversity. Texas consumers can feel good about knowing where their food comes from and supporting the local economy.
Austin's picks are both on-brand for the city's food preferences: frozen lemonade and sweet tea by Certified Country Lemonade and seasoning bombs by Birria Queen. Certified Country Lemonade mostly keeps things classic, using a 100-year-old family recipe that includes freshly-squeezed lemons and local honey, to produce more than 25 flavors of frozen teas and lemonades. Birria Queen's seasoning bomb — a tightly packed ball of spices — delivers the right flavors to make birria tacos without measuring or "mess."
These frozen lemonades and sweet teas can be eaten with a spoon.Photo courtesy of Certified Country Lemonade via H-E-B
In Dallas, where the Quest is based, four companies go head-to-head. New American restaurant Encina, the only restaurant on the list, contributes its blue corn butterscotch pancake mix; HydroNation offers up electrolyte-rich sports drinks made with all-natural ingredients; Marasi Foods presents frozen naan pockets packed with enough ingredients to constitute a full meal; and Sarape Treats shows off candy coated in its signature chamoy paste and spice mix.
Sarape Treats uses its signature chamoy paste on both fruits and candies.Photo courtesy of Sarape Treats via H-E-B
The 2024 H-E-B Quest for Texas Best finalists are:
- BeeKing's – Honey Dust – Canton
- Birria Queen – Birria Seasoning Bombs – Austin
- Certified Country Lemonade – Frozen Lemonade & Sweet Tea – Austin
- Encina – Blue Corn Butterscotch Pancake Mix – Dallas
- Hess Street Foods – Chorizo seasoning paste – Utopia
- HydroNation – Natural Sports Drinks – Dallas
- La Pale Frozen Fruit Bar – Mini Frozen Paletas – Brownsville
- Marasi Foods – Frozen Filled Naan Bread – Dallas (Allen)
- Sarape Treats – Chamoy Candy – Dallas
- Texas Rice Milling ~ Home of Honestly Texas – Rice – Brookshire
On August 9 at Dallas' Fair Park, a panel of judges will select the 2024 winners including a $25,000 grand prize winner with distribution via H-E-B; a $20,000 first-place winner; a $15,000 second-place winner, and a $10,000 third-place winner.
In 2023, a Houston-based business called PhoLicious took home the grand prize for its instant pho. Austin's Funky Mellow, a vegan company making snack packs with pretzels and vanilla marshmallow crème, was one of the 10 finalists, but ultimately did not win a prize.
“Small businesses drive innovation and keep our communities vibrant, which is why we are dedicated to finding and supporting the best small businesses in Texas,” said James Harris, senior director of diversity & inclusion and supplier diversity for H-E-B. “We are amazed year after year by the creative products submitted for the competition and look forward to making these inventive products available to our shoppers.”
More information about the contestants and product listings from past winners are available at heb.com.
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Eric Sandler contributed to this article.
