With H-E-B winning the Dunnhumby award earlier this year, there have been many questions and conversations around the win. How did this supermarket, primarily in the Texas region, beat out nationwide retailers? There are many initiatives and reasons as to why H-E-B is growing in popularity among consumers and winning over shoppers.
Texas Roots Driven
H-E-B will always be known for being loyal to its native state – Texas. This grocery chain appeals to its Texan community by providing aisles worth of Texas novelties. This chain’s private label brand includes items like Texas-shaped tortilla chips and Texas Pecan coffee cups.
Personalized Shopping Experience
Unlike other widely-known grocers, H-E-B manages its own curbside pick-up and delivery services. The company has dedicated employees trained to properly shop and fulfill online requests to provide excellent and efficient customer service. With other retailers using programs like Shipt and Instacart, many of the workers are contracted and aren’t properly trained, whereas H-E-B manages all these services internally.
Understanding Their Audience
Being that chain is in only one state with no plans to expand to others, H-E-B wanted to better serve all parts of the Texan community. Texas is one of the largest states in the U.S. composed with a large Latin community. To better cater to its Hispanic shoppers, the retailer established Mi Tienda, a grocery store filled with traditional goods to help replicate original Latin meals. From having a dedicated Spanish-language website to aisles filled with masa flour and tortilla presses, H-E-B is finding a spot in all Texans’ hearts.
Unparalleled Employee Treatment
The company understands that for its shoppers to have excellent customer service, it starts with excellent employee treatment. The grocery chain is known for offering great benefits to its workers resulting in long-lasting and dedicated employees.
Unique Offerings
Grocery shopping at H-E-B is an experience, not a chore. With a stocked-up produce section, customers can weigh and label their own produce making their checkout time faster. The ‘Cooking Connection’ program allows customers to taste chef-curated meals as they are shopping, buy the items and recreate the recipes at home. As an added in-store experience, the chain offers fresh-pressed tortillas for customers to nibble on while shopping through the aisles. You can also find in-store restaurants and coffee shops in H-E-B.
Philanthropic-Centered Mentality
The chain is very loyal to its origins and is always striving to give back to the community. For over 100 years the chain has launched initiatives to better serve Texas. H‑E‑B’s Spirit of Giving program focuses on helping the community by providing educational opportunities, hunger and disaster relief efforts, events, and more. Not only that, but the company also focuses on helping the environment through conservation and eco-friendly business practices.
Though H-E-B isn’t found nationwide, its unmatched loyalty to its community and dedication to improvement has landed them the title of “‘Best Grocery Chain” in 2020. To stay up to date on the company’s initiatives, please visit https://newsroom.heb.com/.
