Local Brands Can Hone Their Hy-Vee Pitch in 2021
Hy-Vee is kicking off 2021 with a series of “Best of Local Brands” summits to expand and enhance the product offerings at its 275-plus retail stores.
The retailer, which operates in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin, is currently accepting submissions for its “Best of Brands” summits online at www.rangeme.com/hyveelocalsummit in the following product categories: grocery, produce, deli, general merchandise, frozen, dairy, and health and beauty care.
The summits will be organized by the eight states Hy-Vee operates in and will consist of 15- to 30-minute virtual presentations from selected suppliers.
Summit dates are:
- Feb. 10-12
- May 11-13
- Aug. 4-6
- Nov. 3-5
“An increasing number of Hy-Vee customers would like to be able to purchase from local vendors during their grocery shopping process — whether in store or via our Aisles Online grocery pickup and delivery service,” said Darren Baty, executive VP and chief merchandising officer for Hy-Vee. “Supporting small, local businesses is important to us, and these quarterly summits will enable vendors in our eight-state region to present their products directly to our purchasing team, and — in return — will ensure our team is aware of all of the incredible, locally-made products that we can share with our customers.”
ECRM and RangeMe are helping Hy-Vee source, qualify and connect suppliers with the appropriate buyers. All sourcing and product submissions will be made through RangeMe, and ECRM will qualify suppliers, create curated meeting schedules and facilitate face-to-face meeting execution with Hy-Vee buyers to introduce new and innovative products into the marketplace.
All meetings will be conducted through ECRM’s virtual meeting platform, ECRM Connect, with support from its team. Suppliers not chosen will still be accessible through RangeMe and may be reviewed by Hy-Vee merchants again in the future as business needs change.
