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How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

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Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#51

Post by yurishimo »

cityofdelusion wrote: post #46

HEB operates a similar model to Costco in being more expensive to the customer in a subtle way, through desirability. Their products are so interesting and appetizing that I go in with the intention of buying $30 of groceries and leave with a $100 load. Many of these products end up as local memes (tortillas, brisket queso, green sauce) they are so desirable. Wal-Mart is the opposite. I go in to buy groceries and am…

Fun fact but Central Market actually operates on the same margins as HEB. Their produce in particular is competitively priced. Where they get you however, is that all of their produce is jumbo sized. So yea, you have a competitive price on the apples per pound, but if you want 6 apples, they are on average going to be more than from HEB or a different supermarket.

Subtle, but it allows them to make some fun marketing claims!

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#52

Post by 99954bb63ccc »

MeetingsBrowser wrote: post #16
99954bb63ccc wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. And they don't charge much of a premium to deliver this. I can buy things at HEB and not worry about them being expired/etc, even for grocery pickup. Kroger, afaict, _chooses_ the expiring/broken stuff if you do grocery pickup. Kroger is closer to me so I've given it several chances, but every time they seem to get me in a new way to get me with opened, expired, or damaged stuff, and I won't be bothered to estab…

> few businesses/people seem to grasp this and all think there is some magic "business hack" they can do while avoiding doing the core business thing well. Unfortunately , it seems to work for Kroger. As customers we hate it, but Kroger sells something like 20% of all groceries in the US, and HEB is a s small by comparison regional grocer

Yea. Just my observation, they are losing some pretty big markets in that region. It's pretty clear from going in the Kroger stores anywhere near an HEB that HEB is really hurting them. They are all empty (dystopian as the OP of thos thread put it) any time I go in. And HEB shows no signs of slowing down...

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#53

Post by lotsofpulp »

doodlebugging wrote: post #48
lotsofpulp wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We stopped going there after we took a rafting trip down the Salmon in Idaho and rounded a curve in the river and found a large vacation home built right up on the bank complete with a concrete boat ramp. The Albertsons founding family and heirs has had nothing to do with Albertsons grocery stores for at least 20 years. If I were you, and if the information above was true, my beef would be with the government and t…

My beef is in fact with the government and the voters and those who use their wealth to destroy something that others have paid a substantial part of their own incomes to go out and enjoy. The first time I rafted and kayaked that river there was one dirt road that ran along the river for a few miles past the put-in and miles further down the canyon there was one high-tension power line. You were miles into the Snake…

>I don't give a shit whether that family still owns or runs the grocery business or did when they built that place.

My point was that you are just inconveniencing yourself by avoiding a particular business because you erroneously believe avoiding it will impact a certain party.

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#54

Post by anjel »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #39
rottencupcakes wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s interesting that the private supermarkets (TJs, HEB) seem to both follow this happy and overstaffed model, and the public ones (Kroger, Albertsons/Safeway) do the opposite. Albertson’s adds insult to injury by overcharging for everything. Tomato? $4.99/lb please.

They are not serving the same customers. HEB operates in a state that has exploded economically for quite a few decades, and where people have large, growing families that cook a lot. TJs and Costco also have similar fan bases, but they restrict their stores to the richer side of town. Kroger and Albertsons, however, have operations in many stagnant or declining areas, saddled with union contracts from a long time ag…

Aldi's and Lidl have 1/3 the SKUs which in and of itself is a winning advantage.

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#55

Post by 1659447091 »

There are lots feel-good things to say about how HEB runs its business and what it does for the communities and local areas they are in. Not to mention their "generic" store branded foods are usually healthier and made with simple ingredients. And locally sourced.

But this story[0] is the one that I think sums up the love people have for HEB pretty well. During the 2021 "Great Texas Freeze" [1] (where 4+million homes went without power for days, 10+million without safe drinking water and 200+ died); basically during a rush to stock up on food, the power went out at an HEB and they couldnt check anyone out, but instead of telling everyone to leave their carts and exit to go home without food, they let them all to walk out with whatever they had in their carts.

It's unfortunate that more big businesses don't even try to be a net positive the way HEB does. (some seem to be actively hostile to the idea)

[0] https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/09/us/texas-storm-recovery-heb-g...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#56

Post by bdcravens »

My wife was actually working at HEB when we met, so I can definitely say I've found some great options there. :-)

Seriously though, I prefer many things there: recycled toilet paper/paper towels, pet food (their quality line, not the cheap stuff), and even their to-go sushi are all among my favorites in those categories. For beer drinkers, they actually have an impressive craft selection.

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#57

Post by SwellJoe »

My mom moved out of Texas about 20 years ago, and still sometimes talks fondly about HEB.

I'm currently in Dallas, and annoyingly there is no HEB within a reasonable distance, though they have finally started opening stores in the DFW metro area. Just none in central Dallas, yet. They do just about everything right. Their lower bound on quality for stuff like produce is higher than most stores, their store brands are usually higher quality than the big brands (real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, fewer unpronounceable ingredients, etc., and often simply taste better). Their employees seem more invested in it being a good shopping experience, and I hope that means they're treated well.

Anyway, it's earned loyalty. It's not just a "well, it's been here for a long time and it's what I'm used to".

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#58

Post by fastball »

SwellJoe wrote: post #57

My mom moved out of Texas about 20 years ago, and still sometimes talks fondly about HEB. I'm currently in Dallas, and annoyingly there is no HEB within a reasonable distance, though they have finally started opening stores in the DFW metro area. Just none in central Dallas, yet. They do just about everything right. Their lower bound on quality for stuff like produce is higher than most stores, their store brands are…

They might not have as many HEBs in DFW, but that is where Central Market is head-quartered!

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#60

Post by SwellJoe »

fastball wrote: post #58
SwellJoe wrote: post #57

My mom moved out of Texas about 20 years ago, and still sometimes talks fondly about HEB. I'm currently in Dallas, and annoyingly there is no HEB within a reasonable distance, though they have finally started opening stores in the DFW metro area. Just none in central Dallas, yet. They do just about everything right. Their lower bound on quality for stuff like produce is higher than most stores, their store brands are…

They might not have as many HEBs in DFW, but that is where Central Market is head-quartered!

The Dallas Central Market is a 35 minute bike ride away. Too far. And, besides, it's not HEB. It's fine, but there's a Whole Foods 27 minutes away if I want the fancy groceries, though that's also too far for a regular grocery run.
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