Texas-based grocer H-E-B has basically remained true to its Lone Star roots.
Other than 51 locations in Mexico, the company has never ventured to any other state for business.
It’s inspired odes from displaced Texans and others who wonder if the 12th-largest private company in the United States ever would consider opening locations in other states.
The answer — at least so far — has always been no. And that’s why the food blog eater.com refers to fans of their H-E-B stores as “the cultiest cult” in the nation.
What sets them apart? It’s consistently been ranked among the top places to work and has dived headlong into mobile checkout ahead of others at its 340 locations across the state. It’s not really a surprise that H-E-B
But as eater.com points out, H-E-B has tapped into what it calls “one of the most powerful cultural forces in existence: Texas pride.”
And now, it’s supplying Texas to Texans, from Whataburger Fancy Ketchup and Takis rolled tortilla chips to Selena tote bags and Franklin Bar-B-Q sauce that can’t be found anywhere else.
Throw in those special Spurs, Astros and Texans commercials they make, and it’s an affinity that shows no signs of subsiding.
Consumers in other states can have their Harris-Teeter or Publix, Wegmans or Meijers. But Texans love their H-E-B and celebrate that state pride every time they shop.
Heck, they even made a commercial about it one time.
Is that a definition of a cult, or just one of the most Texas-appropriate commercials in the history of advertising?
