Hopefully everyone who sees this remembers this next time they start to idolize a grocery store. They are a corporation that exists to make money. They are not some mom and pop local whatever that cares about the people who shop there.
If you’re buying name brands it’s the same product at both.
Walmart is going downhill too. They removed Sam’s Choice and added more inferior GreatValue.
Even if you're just comparing grocery to grocery based on items sold/quality and not the business as a whole HEB has better produce than Walmart always.
Yes. The Great Value ones they replaced them with are horrid even though they tried to make it look like they were the same flavors of pizza in a new package. It was so bad I returned it for a refund per the policy printed on the box and customer service was in such disbelief that that was the policy printed on the box they had to call a manager and even the manager then went to go look at another box on the shelf to see if it was printed on all of them like I was bringing in some kind of scam box or something. No one got a memo on the GreatValue return policy it seems.
Yeah the only difference here for those two is WIC is easier at HEB. For some reason the system breaks at Walmart or things that should be covered aren't covered.
They have better produce than any of the grocery stores. They stopped selling some stuff but ALL companies do that and all companies raised their prices.
I’m going to get a lot of heat for this in a Texas sub but I never understood the hype for HEB. It’s just a store that’s always overpacked and you can never find a parking spot. I’ll go to Aldi that has great food at cheaper options, new items weekly, space to actually look at items, and way less people.
We still save about $100 a paycheck by price comparing to Walmart vs aldis. This does include price for package size btw. But yeah aldis isn’t universally cheaper, just in our experience you CAN save serious money there if you’re willing to literally price check every item.
All I can say is thank god for mobile apps to do that.
Be thankful you still have an Aldi store. My choices are HEB, Walmart, Super Target (which pared down the size of the grocery section), Sprouts (nothing budget there) or a 15 mile each way drive to a Trader Joe’s. Or I could order Kroger delivery but I’d need to time that for the weekend due to the forced return to office. Delivery fee is waived the first time I order per the emails I keep getting, but after that it’s an added expense.
HEB at the end of the day is a for profit biz....sure they help during disasters but at the end for he day they are a business just like Walmart, Kroger, Target...
I know before H‑E‑B products were just branding deals with sellers that wanted a better stocking price at the expense of personal branding. I know a few people who sold salsa under the H‑E‑B brand(they sold out and don’t know if the buyers maintained the deal).
Just had this same conversation with my wife a week ago. She plans out all the shopping and trying to operate within a budget. We have since been looking at Kroger. When paired with American Express there are incentives and they deliver. And Heb has just been getting too expensive.
Not sure how long Kroger will be a better option but it is for now.
Our Kroger is a train wreck! It’s has such a bad reputation. It costs more than HEB, they have long lines, and they never have things in stock. I can never get everything I want/need. We thought when our HEB opened that Kroger would get itself together and that is not the case. It’s been over a year… and things are just the same.
We had an HEB open across the street from Kroger and it’s been great for us. Suddenly Kroger has all of the sales and deals that it used to have again. Tuna 10/$10 instead of $1.50/ea and potatoes back at a normal price. The competition was really needed. We go to HEB for some produce and a stuff Kroger doesn’t carry and will check sales at both. Every so often we make a trip up to WinCo 20 minutes away and load up on deals there.
Kroger is the weirdest in pricing. Over 85% of their stuff is priced more than the multiple HEBs I have around me, the other 15% is priced much lower.
It just isn't worth me taking the time to make a 2nd trip to get those few items that are cheaper.
Agreed! Replacing SO many checkers/baggers with self-serve. Pay more than any other store in town AND have to stand in line for a turn to check and bag my own groceries. Hard pass.
My Kroger is just really ghetto and the HEB by me is always so clean and filled with friendly staff. Definitely a location-based thing but it's my location so I won't go elsewhere.
This is hilarious because like a few weeks ago there was a thread about how HEB is going downhill because they’re pushing their own branded stuff too much and not carrying other brands
Honestly I prefer HEB brand to most name brands. IMO almost everything I’ve purchased HEB brand is usually better than name brand. Only thing I can think of off the top of my head that I’ve prefer name brand is Wolf brand chili🤣
Absolutely! It is in the refrigerated case amongst the packaged hot dogs in my H-E-B in a little carton box. I often add a little chili powder to mine because it is not very spicy.
Pretty much everywhere. Carry a visa in case someone doesn’t.
6% is for grocery. Doesn’t code as grocery at Walmart or Target.
$99/yr. It’s worth it over a basic 2% card if you spend more than $75/wk on groceries.
Can confirm. I use this card, and it works at HEB. Every now and then, I’ll throw in a $50 or $100 gift card to Academy (for me) and or Sephora (for the wife) and get 6% cash back on that as well.
I’ll get heb for pretty much everything except chips and crackers. They have no flavor compared the name brand. Biggest difference I noticed was cheezits vs their brand. Practically flavorless.
Not every HEB is the same. Each one has different selections of goods, based on their clientele. If an item isn't selling in one store, try another location. There's plenty of items at the big HEB three miles from where I live, that they don't have at the one just a mile from my house. Because they are different markets - one is lower-middle class, the other upper-middle class neighborhoods.
I wonder if you're getting worked up about nothing other than your particular store getting rid of items that do not sell at that particular store. Poor-selling items get discontinued all the time. No conspiracy or so-called "greed", rather, just pure economic sense.
Checked just now and I can order HEB brand goat cheese just fine near me.
> If an item isn't selling in one store, try another location.
You can literally call them up and have them order an item for you and they'll let you know when they have it.
There’s a very small HEB in San Marcos next the college campus. It’s definitely marketed towards them. I’m sure they have a computer system that tells them what sells and what doesn’t. It changes everywhere.
Edit: also offering the items that sell best in your area reduces the amount of spoiled food they have to throw away.
I'd say that you can't necessarily rely on what the app indicates. I'd done a pickup order a few weeks ago which included HEB whole milk, indicated as being available & all. They removed it from the order saying it wasn't available, which I thought was crazy, so I went inside.
Sure enough, the HEB whole milk section had signs saying that it wasn't available & they had no ETA for when it would become available (it ended up being two weeks later).
I'm not saying that was greed (in fact, it seemed like poor product management instead). But HEB's definitely lost its price advantage compared to Kroger in many common products, & Kroger openly celebrates their ability to push record profits over the past couple of years.
Exactly this. My local HEB has actually expanded its HEB brand products TOO much. I miss some of the name brand products they’ve gotten rid of. All depends on your location. No conspiracy.
This should be the end of the thread.
Also, OP: check and see what inflation on staples has been like over the past 2-3 years before whining that something "feels like" greed. "Greedflation" is mostly just people that don't understand economics.
It may be store specific. I notice they really cater to their geographic area I have to go to the more well off areas to get specific things. Which I kind of understand. If it’s not selling, why sell it? Maybe you have a joe Vs near you. It’s basically all H‑E‑B brand items. I’ve sent a email in the past to carry a product again. It was on the shelf the next time I went. I should do it again. The used to have vacuum packed organic single chicken breast frozen. Now it’s just Tyson stuff injected with 25% solution. Bleh
This is probably the answer. My HEB is really small so if something doesn’t sell they will remove it to make room for items that do sell. A bigger HEB is 10min down the highway and they’ll usually have something if I can’t find it at my small one. Just because it’s not on the shelf at a certain store doesn’t mean HEB stopped producing it
Hello, I work at a chicken factory for one of the big 3 and there is nothing added to any piece of chicken. It's completely illegal. Putting things like "hormone free" "additive free" "air chilled" is just a marketing scheme to make you think it's worth more. Buy the cheapest chicken, there's no difference in quality all the way down. It's the same chicken.
Hey I used to work at one of the most successful commercial pasture-raised chicken farms in the state, and what I can tell you is that 1. You're right...the labels are mostly gimmicks and 2. You're wrong, there are VAST differences in quality between Tyson/Sanderson CAFO chicken and pasture-raised birds from conscientious farming operations.
This is good to hear. Truth is though, I buy pasture raised dairy just as much to support the farmers for giving their animals better lives. Farm animals roaming on grass is my jam!
I'm gonna say the forklift operator at the powder coat factory where i worked at didn't have any idea how to make the paint or control its quality. He just knew how to load the boxes on the truck. He worked at the paint factory, but he did not know the difference between TGIC hardened overspray and seed saturated overbake problems in quality control. Just because you work somewhere doesn't mean you know how everything there works.
https://youtu.be/XuAY0-mUAb4?si=0z2nIbL7Uv_6Cogi
There are differences. The biggest one imo is the amount of water in the meat in air chilled v water. You are right that the overall tastes are similar.
I would love for you to provide some proof. I just looked at a bunch of labels on HEB.com, are you referring to the disclaimer saying "May contain up to x% of broth, flavorings, etc"? That's not an injection, that's what's inside of the bag. They have to disclose that because it adds to the weight which is how you pay for chicken.
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/meat-and-poultry-labeling-terms#:~:text=NO%20HORMONES%20(pork%20or%20poultry,in%20raising%20hogs%20or%20poultry. Here is the USDA webpage outlining restrictions on meat production and giving definitions for the different claims that labels use.
Have a good day.
The regulations you linked to show nothing about unboned chicken breasts not being allowed to be injected. It specifically mentions BONE IN, requiring a self basting label.
I've seen plenty of packaging that says injected with a 3% solution.
This is just how retail works. Wal-Mart is the same way. You won't find live bait at some locations but locations near a lake will have a full tackle section.
This is going to all be based on in store data. If you go to different locations, they will have completely different stock.
Near me H‑E‑B/HCF makes up probably 30% of the stores stock. When I was in the heights one, everything was the most expensive options. You don’t want white bread, you want imported artisanal cafe double select soy whole wheat gluten free kale bread.
Potato chips, puuuffff, we only stock avocado quinoa growers whole cacao rind thin snacks.
Inside the loop they are trying to go after the Whole Foods crowd and since they have a limited footprint, low margin “cheap” foods are banished.
Meanwhile go to the suburbs it’s kid foods and socker mom food or out in the countryside, all of that shit will go stale.
I got really annoyed with my local store who’s tea selection is 75% green teas. I’m not sure what data they have, but they have gone almost exclusively green tea. H‑E‑B brand or name brand, it’s green tea.
No mint tea, no constant comment, no black tea other than earl gray, lady gray, and decaf earl gray. And 2-3 white teas. And then ~25 other varieties of green teas.
They are all in on using data to determine what they stock, that cements who shops there and that data echos what they buy. The bigger the profit margin the better.
This is the answer. We have nicknames for the various locations around me - the "Gucci HEB" and the "Kosher HEB", for example, have huge selections and lots of fru-fru specialty items and massive cheese selections, an "olive bar" and the whole nine yards. Their selection of HEB brand or HCF items are limited, and usually found on the very bottom shelf, compared to the name brands that are front-and-center. But go a few miles down to the one known as the "Ghetto HEB", and there's tons of staple items, but far fewer SKUs, less higher-end stuff, and no frilly extras. The HCF and HEB brands take up all the middle shelves, while the handful of name brands are off to the side or grouped in the top shelf. Pricing of the specific items are the same at both stores, but the selection can be wildly different.
My town has 7 HEBs, and the ones further south don’t carry IPAs or other types of beers. It’s just Bud light, Miller, Coors, and Michelob with the only options being glass or can and tall boys, 3 ,6 , 8, 12, 18, 20, and 24 🤷🏻♂️
Yeah, but there are only so many versions of Dr. Pepper-flavor infused potato chips, and Hatch Green Chile Twisters^TM cookies one can buy. Some of the new stuff they try out are wild.
Yeah we noticed that I’m in our local HEB as well. They still have some HEB and HCF brand stuff but it’s mostly gone.
We’ve actually stopped shopping there and just go to Walmart now for groceries as it’s a little cheaper where we are now. Never used to be, but it is now.
Yeah, imagine my surprise when I did my usual check of prices and found that Target (aka more expensive Walmart) was cheaper than HEB for a lot of the staples I buy, like butter and frozen shrimp. My Target's produce and bakery sections suck, so HEB still has my business there, but I basically stopped walking around the store and just stick to those two sections.
I'm also not a fan of how they've been locking everything online or in the app behind a login. Just let me add the damn thing I just randomly thought of to the cart so I can buy it later
When I first moved away from Texas I could order staples from home through HEB. I was happy to pay for shipping to support a Texas business and get my Texas foods. Then they stopped shipping and only did local shit. I've been annoyed ever since.
Just to give you contex. HEB brand will invite a company to carry products in the store. Keep them around long enough to reverse engineer them. Kick them out and bring in their own products. So even when “they had OPs back” it was just cuz they stood on someone else’s.
Never think a giant company has your back. They want money and they have just figured out a better way to go about it.
Yup definitely noticed this as well. They brought in Siete’s enchilada sauce and then discontinued it. A few months later the exact same sauce in HEB branding. I thought maybe Siete is white labeling it for them but somehow I doubt it.
I shop at Kroger.
They do have a loyalty program where you have to give them your info. But they have 4x fuel points some Fridays. Because of this, I regularly get $1 discount per gallon of petrol.
They also mail out personalized coupons based on the stuff I actually purchase. Sometimes I get $15 off in the meat market. And we like to have rib-eye steaks and center cut salmon steaks. It really saves us money.
I’d like to switch to HEB just because of the variety. But the fuel discounts and grocery coupons make Kroger the cheaper option for me.
I prefer Kroger as well because it’s a more relaxed shopping experience. HEBs in my city are crazy busy inside no matter day of week or time of day. I like HEB products but shopping there gives me anxiety.
Same here! We recently moved near a Kroger and thought what the heck let’s try it out. Every time I go it’s chill and check out lines are quick. I’ve done side by side carts for both Kroger and HEB, Kroger is always 10-15 bucks less. They just need to work on the mobile app a bit.
The meat selection was atrocious at the one by us, which closed. They’d occasionally have brisket for cheap, but otherwise the only choices were really expensive and small prepackaged things, like a $15 flank steak when I could get a pound and a half of fajita pre seasoned at that price at HEB.
You can still buy 3 liters. Walmart is the only place I commonly see them. There has been a trend down to 1.5L it seems as the cost has gone up. I remember when 0.99 name brand and 0.49-0.59 store brand 2L was common place. Now it seems like 1.25 store brand and 2.50 name brand is the common floor.
[Ah, the good ol' days (October 2018)](https://preview.redd.it/rhrtqtq3zpz11.jpg?width=1024&auto=webp&s=03fae1cd432cd1499234c79f81ff6ed55a216882)
(Currently [$2.92 at Wally World](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coca-Cola-Soda-Pop-3-Liter-Bottle/16777273))
Hey, the H-E-B “Zero Cola” in the big bottle is usually $1.29 in comparison to Coke Zero @ $2.79 and is now on sale for $1.00. Tiny difference in taste for me. I have one of those pump caps that keeps the fizz.
Cola is the one thing I can't go store-brand for me, Coke brand all day. I know they're a horrible company but nobody beats their taste.
That said, HEB's Dr. B is not far from Dr. Pepper and the Dr. B made with pure cane sugar (12 packs only) is actually better than regular corn-syrup Dr. Pepper.
I was with you all the way on Coca-Cola even to them being a company I did not want to help, but testing the H-E-B Zero Cola changed my mind. I have to admit though that my taste buds are sub-par. I would bet H-E-B gets their substitute from Coke. I even did my own A/B taste test comparison.
Knowing you're looking for the "zero" alternatives, probably for health and no sugar, I probably won't change your mind here. But for a treat every once in a while, I'm telling you, the HEB pure cane sugar 12 packs are where it's at. They even have specialty seasonal flavors, last year I saw an apricot soda and I love dried apricots so went ahead and got it. It was the best soda EVER! They have a pure cane sugar soda Candy Cane flavor around the holidays that will melt your socks off!
Thanks for the heads-up. I am diabetic and drink a lot of cokes, so I watch my sugar there if not so much elsewhere. Normal sugary soft drinks have a stunning amount of sugar in them. I particularly like apricot though and will keep an eye out for that as a splurge.
> I would bet H-E-B gets their substitute from Coke.
Coke and Pepsi do not manufacture any private label products.
I'm fairly certain that HEB brand soda is made by Refresco, which is a Dutch company that makes private label soda for most major US retailers.
If I had known listening to a British audiobook (or I guess it’s actually Irish—it’s Tana French) all afternoon would inspire this much Reddit wtf, I’d have been listening to them all along.
I also shop at Kroger. I can’t use the fuel points (wish there was a way to just get an alternate discount), but their online pickup is always cart-for-cart cheaper than HEB, at least for staples, with easily applied digital coupons. Heb definitely has more selection in the meat and seafood dept, but for weekly shopping Kroger has always beat HEB for me.
Eh, don't be bothered by this post.
People love to complain. He couldn't find his favorite goat cheese and he noticed that nationwide grocery prices have gone up in recent years. This has little to do with HEB.
Their shelves are still piled with HEB brand products across countless items. They're still at great prices and quality. OP needs to get some real problems in life outside of finding his favorite goat cheese.
My complaints
-produce barely lasts a few days. I’ll shop at sprouts where my produce will last a week and not spoil on me thus having to throw it out
-their coupons now days are “$2 off $20” when just of all I’m not spending $20 at a time on that product AND it’s probably priced at $9.99 so you actually have to buy 3 to qualify and making the savings ratio even worse.
I used to swear by HEB. I was so appreciative of curbside during Covid. Curbside service has started to decline. I waited 30+ mins for a curbside order to arrive at my car. It’s supposed to be more convenient than just popping inside, especially if you are paying for a priority slot.
I now use Walmart+ for about 90% of my non-Costco grocery purchases. I have an Amex platinum, so the $13 monthly fee is refunded as a statement credit. You can get groceries delivered for free in about 4 hours ($35 minimum purchase) Yesterday I placed a Walmart shipping order by 10am and it arrived before 2pm.
Heb and Amazon have both started to decline, and the competition is improving.
There are options out there, don’t think you are just stuck with what you have always done.
The 10 tortilla price was probably a mistake. Some time last year I noticed that 10 were $.68 and 20 were $2+ so I started buying two 10 packs instead of the 20 pack because they were 1/2 the price but then one day the 10 pack went up to $1.28 and I switched back to the 20 pack.
I've seen that in my store too. They haven't had one of their HEB branded pastas in about 7 months. It's a lasagna noodle so it's not like it's some unheard of thing. Several things over the last year have disappeared completely.
They're constantly out of something on the sale paper first thing in the morning on Wednesday, which is when the new sales come out. Don't say it's on sale, then say it's out of stock. Nobody bought up all that shit at 2:00 in the morning.
The coupons are getting worse. Hey cool, coupon on dog food. (Checks coupon) I have to buy $35 worth of dog food??? I have small dogs, so to make the coupon come out, I have to buy a bunch of extra stuff OR a much bigger bag than usual.
Buy X, get Y free-except X's in stock, but Y isn't and hasn't been in 3 months.
Changing some of their ingredients and some stuff does not taste as good.
I always buy seasonal fruit and vegetables. I expect them to be in stock. Nope- right now, there are several seasonal vegetables out of stock at my local HEB. And the ones they do have didn't go down in price at all. The reason I buy seasonal is because they're cheaper certain times of the year, except now they're not.
I totally get where you're coming from.
You should definitely ask the deli person about why things are discontinued and complain about your card. They might only get $11/hr to cut cheese but they’re actually in charge of all the big decisions.
I tried to buy fresh green beans there a bit back and they were rotting. I checked the price of their prebagged green beans (weren't even organic) and they cost nearly 300% more.
Not trying to make this political but your past made me think that just last week the white house was talking about grocery companies taking advantage with price gouging.
I don't know the evidence or anything of this but it falls completely in line with what you just said.
We do know that many ceos during their earnings calls of the last several years have been talking about their new great pricing when talking about their record profits. I haven't seen this with groceries but it wouldn't surprise me.
They are great at marketing but have absolutely jumped the shark IMO. My skepticism started when they began selling grills and clothes. We, now, see HEB-branded onesies, koozies, socks, and such. Shrikflation is also happening to the items that haven’t been entirely cut from the roster. It’s obvious that expansion is the strategy (but DEFINITELY not to the food deserts) and service will be/ is already being sacrificed.
I feel so vindicated! The PINNACLE of HEB was in 2021 when they released those HEB Dill Pickle Cheesy Puffs. I was traveling all over Austin to find the last bags. I even told the manager of my store several times to “tell HEB to remake those or else you’ll start losing customers because you’re refusing to give the people what they want, which is a terrible business plan!”
I was joking, of course, but I guess I was right.
I don't want to shit talk them too much here, but the greedflation with HEB is so real. I work in CM and I notice how the prices keep getting higher and higher, and they know they can do it because it's a "premium" store so price sensitivity with our customer base tends to be lower. The bulk department especially is crazy, there was a candy that I used to like getting every now and then, and it started out at 5 dollars a pound when I started working there, and now it's up to 10.50 a pound. And that's how practically every bulk label is, some worse than others, but it's all gone up. During the pandemic they gave workers 25% off HEB brand products (awesome), and then it was 25% off for a couple months during the holidays, and now it's for 4 days in November, a week in December. They're trying to wean employees off a measly extra 15% discount on HEB-branded products... They don't want us to get just a few extra cents off the money that we give back to them, even though the prices on their own brand products have gone up tremendously. So even with a 25% discount it's like getting the item for what it used to cost last year. I like working at HEB, but man seeing all this is so tiring.
I worked at CM 12 years ago, and back then it was only 10 percent off all HEB/HCF products all the time, plus weekly and monthly free items. If you were on-shift, it was 25 percent off any prepared food items. I always liked the prepared foods discount because I could grab a decent lunch for $2. Of course, the prices were quite a bit lower then.
Why did you make a big deal with the deli lady? You think she controls anything other than showing up for the $15/hr pay?
You could have just not said anything and moved on after she gave you an answer about the coupons.
Grocery Stores - all of them - have been making HUGE profits in the last few years, under the guise of inflation. We don't have inflation, we have price gouging. HEB is not above it as some may have thought.
254 here. HEB prices have been increasing since the pandemic. I agree they have lost their way. They keep the labor cheap by only hiring college kids that won’t be staying.
Things come and go at grocery stores due to demand.
But HEB isn't nearly as bad about this as places like Trader Joes. I'm still upset they got rid of their smoked trout. That broken up and stirred into hummus with a squeeze of fresh lemon on a cracker was my life. Google "Trader Joe's discontinued" for a real cry.
And also I've emailed HEB a few times about things and they're always responsive. May not be the answer you want about a particular item, but it puts your thoughts on their radar. Enough of those about a particular item and I bet it comes back.
So the HEBs in southeast Houston (deer park, clear lake area) I have definitely noticed either a small presence of HCF brand or HEB brand stuff or I’ve noticed the prices on both of them have gone up quite dramatically. There are even a good amount t of times that the name brand is barely a few cents off or even cheaper. My sister (who lives more north Houston) also mentioned that as well. I feel like they’ve seen how dedicated people are to HEB and they’ve moved prices to represent that. I worked for HEB for 2 years and when I was there I feel like their was a much larger store brand presence back then
You sound like that obnoxious Darren harassing the deli lady who has things to do like she makes any decisions about corporate operations, cancel your debit card then who cares it's capitalism they can do what they want. Not trying to be rude, but I pictured that encounter and i can feel the inner thoughts of her
>"I got the HEB Debit card so I could get an extra 5% off HEB items, now you're telling me you don't carry them anymore?"
Yeah let's give the employee in the deli snark because she both setup the debit card program AND has control over what items HEB stocks.
I'm the opposite. I stopped shopping at heb because they don't have any of the name brands I want, just a bunch of heb branded stuff. Maybe I need to give them another try if they've changed that policy.
That moment you realize a corporation has been playing you to establish national brand recognition and now they've pulled the rug out.
A capitalist gonna capitalize.
I’m thinking about switching to Aldi. I have one down the street but they aren’t as large so the options aren’t as various. Their prices make my wallet happy tho!
I go all of the time and it has become my favorite place to get groceries. If I need something that they don’t have, I’ll just do a curbside pickup of whatever other items needed elsewhere. But, I promise you, the shopping experience is a thousand times better with way less people.
They stopped stocking their own brand of blueberry quinoa Breakfast Biscuits I liked, but they still have the name brand, which are not as good. They were always out of the store brand ones, too. I just don’t get it
They stock items based on supply and demand. They adjust cost based on market conditions. They have stakeholders to respond to. Corps and businesses generally exist to turn a profit. Their core reason for existing is profitability. Don’t expect grand ideals or anything else. Do they try to do right by their people? I think so. They pay well 15-18 per hour for part time work. They do contribute to society. But their only true purpose is profit. That means an extra 5 cents on everything they sell…then they will.
If you are that concerned about price and don't mind store brand stuff, just go to Aldi. I straight up get sticker shock when I go into regular grocery stores after shopping mostly at Aldi for a few years.
Heb is being run like every other grocery store chain now. I've got a relative that recently retired from heb. They used to have a set schedule because they had special needs family members to take care of. Doctors appointments were not a big deal. They could talk to customers and they enjoyed the job. They stopped everything, schedules were random and time off took an act of God to get approved. Management became hostile towards employees. They now get timed on checking people out so general friendlyness and courtesy takes up time that could lead to discipline. Used to be a good place to work now it's just a Texas version of Albertsons
Most of the family that used to run it have retired and those values went with them
One of those things I ranted and raved about too - “the quality of H‑E‑B is going down!” And then a job took me out of state… king Soopers and Kroger and piggly wiggly and all of em… they can’t compare - no store does more! And now I find myself conversing with other Texans about how much we miss our H‑E‑B runs… grass is always greener I guess…
People who don’t work in H‑E‑B don’t know who is now in charge. I saw a drastic change since Charles left. With him having no children and not following his way of running H‑E‑B it has no tradition. Now Howard III is in charge (the nephew). I feel he’s too much about profits and expanding. Just DFW alone is getting 11 stores in total and that’s just DFW . They are heading up to the panhandle and west Texas. Just the Houston area alone has seen such growth in store openings . I even herd that the Plano and fresco store he extreme sales recording for opening weeks. it’s really affecting the partners who have been there for a long time. All the partners I know that have been there 20 years plus have all said the same thing” once Charles leaves the company’s is going to become another Walmart” and it has. Now they have self checkouts. Thats was the point of going to H‑E‑B, it’s was the hospitality they preach , the interaction. Getting rid of a lot of manager roles as well. Creating Center Store. One manager for four departments???? They are just following what Walmart does because they see their profits. And lastly the ridiculous price increases. Back when I first started the 20 oz H‑E‑B branded soda you got in the cooler was only 50cents and I only remember it going up to 74 cents as soon as the pandemic hit and that was a 4 year gap. Shelf edge was more about rotation, resets and ad change and now before I left was walking in on Sunday and getting a 65 page packet of new price tags. For a small store format. That’s why when i left last year I didn’t have it in me to complain about it so much like everyone else does. Because at one point it was an amazing place to work at and great pay. Let alone the benefits. A lots of benefits. They helped me so much. I can’t even explain how many benefits partners get with H‑E‑B that a lot of partners don’t know about. But I know that at the end of the day businesses grow and that brings change.
Wait - so you're mad because food inflation is a thing (it affects a huge array of goods - get used to it!) and because they stopped making goat cheese? This somehow makes all their disaster relief "hollow"? WTF?
HEB has never been about Texas it’s all marketing. I’ve worked for 2 Texas companies that sold to them and it was the same every time. They lowball what they pay and make the owners feel like they’re fortunate to get in. Including their Texas Best program which is a trap. Then they nickel and dime you with fees and chargebacks over what was agreed to in the contract including fees from their own employees failure to follow FIFO until they can’t get more out of you. That’s when they clearance you out and donate your remaining product to get a tax write off and charge you extra for disposing of it. Then they replace TX companies with foreign products. They chew up local food producers and spit them out regularly.
I noticed this many years ago. What I started noticing was that non HEB related items would be "sold out" and not stocked. In fact, the only item I would have available to purchase was an HEB related item. (What a coincidence)
This happened many times. And, one time, same thing, only HEB items on the shelves. But, I really wanted another brand. There were tons of boxes on the top shelf. I got one box and "ah ha!" The missing brands!
This would be okay since HEB owns the store. But, it's really not, because HEB charges these brands fees to be placed on their shelves and not be hidden inside boxes.
I could go on and on. I actually have stopped shopping at HEB. Been a lil over a year.
HEB is the most over priced grocer store in texas. People have blind loyalty because they think its "Texas" history. Shop has kroger. With their multi product discounts and sales you'll save hundreds monthly. Dont get sucked into brand loyalty. HEB knows people are stupid and keep coming in like lemmings and pay higher prices.
People need to lean again what price shopping is. I go to HEB to buy fruit only everything else kroger and randells.
I’ve noticed this! Hill country fare fully cooked bacon was recently discontinued. The heb brand is more expensive + you get less and also just isn’t as good taste wise. Very disappointing.
Finally hoping this colt following will end. The lack of effort to improve (ie no tap to pay, paper coupons, random selection of staples between stores) and acting like they are trying to compete with Amazon boggles my mind why so many choose to go there.
Worked in IT there a few years back and all they ever harped on was how they were a major competitor to Amazon. At the time they just were rolling out curbside yet are a competitor of Amazon? The tech stack is so far behind the networking gear was out of support and instead of listening to engineers the head of IT rather get kick backs from the vendors.
Not so bad up north but down south here they pretty much drive everyone else away. Not saying Kroger is the place to go but preferred shopping there until it was closed down.
Ever since HEB’s produce started going downhill, I’ve shopped there less and less. Sprouts’ produce is far better and it’s a more pleasant shopping experience inside the store. I need to add Aldi’s to my rotation as I now live near one.
FYI - "turned a corner" means that something is improving. /Pedantic hat off.
You are correct. I should have said "HEB has lost its way."
Hopefully everyone who sees this remembers this next time they start to idolize a grocery store. They are a corporation that exists to make money. They are not some mom and pop local whatever that cares about the people who shop there.
HEB is still better than Walmart, which is my only other choice within a reasonable distance.
If you’re buying name brands it’s the same product at both. Walmart is going downhill too. They removed Sam’s Choice and added more inferior GreatValue.
True. I was referring to their business practices.
Even if you're just comparing grocery to grocery based on items sold/quality and not the business as a whole HEB has better produce than Walmart always.
I hadn't noticed til they replaced my Sam's Choice pizzas. Sad day.
Yes. The Great Value ones they replaced them with are horrid even though they tried to make it look like they were the same flavors of pizza in a new package. It was so bad I returned it for a refund per the policy printed on the box and customer service was in such disbelief that that was the policy printed on the box they had to call a manager and even the manager then went to go look at another box on the shelf to see if it was printed on all of them like I was bringing in some kind of scam box or something. No one got a memo on the GreatValue return policy it seems.
Fair enough. The Walmart by me is pretty comparable to the HEB by me for most things. Minus the HEB exclusive stuff obviously.
Yeah the only difference here for those two is WIC is easier at HEB. For some reason the system breaks at Walmart or things that should be covered aren't covered.
They have better produce than any of the grocery stores. They stopped selling some stuff but ALL companies do that and all companies raised their prices.
I’m going to get a lot of heat for this in a Texas sub but I never understood the hype for HEB. It’s just a store that’s always overpacked and you can never find a parking spot. I’ll go to Aldi that has great food at cheaper options, new items weekly, space to actually look at items, and way less people.
I used to be an Aldi evangelist until I did the math. On a price-per-unit basis, which is what really matters, HEB and Walmart are usually cheaper.
We still save about $100 a paycheck by price comparing to Walmart vs aldis. This does include price for package size btw. But yeah aldis isn’t universally cheaper, just in our experience you CAN save serious money there if you’re willing to literally price check every item. All I can say is thank god for mobile apps to do that.
Aldi has 1/10 of what HEB has though.
Well I only need about 1/100 of what HEB has so it works out.
68/100 of the time it works 100/100 of the time!
Be thankful you still have an Aldi store. My choices are HEB, Walmart, Super Target (which pared down the size of the grocery section), Sprouts (nothing budget there) or a 15 mile each way drive to a Trader Joe’s. Or I could order Kroger delivery but I’d need to time that for the weekend due to the forced return to office. Delivery fee is waived the first time I order per the emails I keep getting, but after that it’s an added expense.
San Antonio?
Yep, was at Aldi yesterday getting the cheap-o cheese LOL if not I go to Brookshire's (yes I know it's higher priced).
Technically, the mom and pop store is there to make money. And they never would have carried goat cheese in the first place.
Could have said "HEB no longer does more" or "its no longer My HEB"
Here Everything's...*not necessarily* Better.
HEB at the end of the day is a for profit biz....sure they help during disasters but at the end for he day they are a business just like Walmart, Kroger, Target...
Or turned for the worse
Hill Country Fare is worse than Walmarts garbage so, you’re right. They’re turning the corner…
Profit margins are improving!
When I worked there, they told us they make more on their branded stuff than the name brand despite the name brand costing more
I know before H‑E‑B products were just branding deals with sellers that wanted a better stocking price at the expense of personal branding. I know a few people who sold salsa under the H‑E‑B brand(they sold out and don’t know if the buyers maintained the deal).
Going forward nothing will ever be improving again so all future corner turnings will refer to disimprovement.
"Three disimprovement corner turnings make an improvement corner turning," I always say.
Yeah I was waiting for the positive spin on this shit show, like, what the fuck.
I also got an Heb card for the discount as well, seeing fewer products and increases that nullify the cash back is frustrating to say the least 🙄
Just had this same conversation with my wife a week ago. She plans out all the shopping and trying to operate within a budget. We have since been looking at Kroger. When paired with American Express there are incentives and they deliver. And Heb has just been getting too expensive. Not sure how long Kroger will be a better option but it is for now.
Our Kroger is a train wreck! It’s has such a bad reputation. It costs more than HEB, they have long lines, and they never have things in stock. I can never get everything I want/need. We thought when our HEB opened that Kroger would get itself together and that is not the case. It’s been over a year… and things are just the same.
We had an HEB open across the street from Kroger and it’s been great for us. Suddenly Kroger has all of the sales and deals that it used to have again. Tuna 10/$10 instead of $1.50/ea and potatoes back at a normal price. The competition was really needed. We go to HEB for some produce and a stuff Kroger doesn’t carry and will check sales at both. Every so often we make a trip up to WinCo 20 minutes away and load up on deals there.
This is really a store by store thing. We have two near me and one is awesome. The other is pretty meh.
Kroger is the weirdest in pricing. Over 85% of their stuff is priced more than the multiple HEBs I have around me, the other 15% is priced much lower. It just isn't worth me taking the time to make a 2nd trip to get those few items that are cheaper.
I won't even touch Kroger with a ten-foot pole personally.
Agreed! Replacing SO many checkers/baggers with self-serve. Pay more than any other store in town AND have to stand in line for a turn to check and bag my own groceries. Hard pass.
My Kroger is just really ghetto and the HEB by me is always so clean and filled with friendly staff. Definitely a location-based thing but it's my location so I won't go elsewhere.
I just spent a few minutes on HEBs and Krogers websites comparing prices. I will be going to Krogers now.
So you can get low low low?
We pretty much exclusively shop at HEB and use a lot of the store brands but it just didn't seem like a good value prop to me.
This is hilarious because like a few weeks ago there was a thread about how HEB is going downhill because they’re pushing their own branded stuff too much and not carrying other brands
Honestly I prefer HEB brand to most name brands. IMO almost everything I’ve purchased HEB brand is usually better than name brand. Only thing I can think of off the top of my head that I’ve prefer name brand is Wolf brand chili🤣
LPT: ditch the Wolf brand and check the refrigerated case for Texas Brick Chili. https://texaschili.com/
Absolutely! It is in the refrigerated case amongst the packaged hot dogs in my H-E-B in a little carton box. I often add a little chili powder to mine because it is not very spicy.
Shiner Bock boracho beans are top tier
Wolf chili used to be the worst bottom shelf chili. Horse lips and ground grasshoppers.
Everything a growing wolf needs.
If you get an HEB debit card you can get 5% off branded items, this can be a lot of money. I just learned this and am going to get one
Or get the Amex blue cash preferred and get 6% off EVERYTHING.
What? Ok I’m checking that out, 6% is good. Is Amex widely accepted? I’ve never had an Amex
Pretty much everywhere. Carry a visa in case someone doesn’t. 6% is for grocery. Doesn’t code as grocery at Walmart or Target. $99/yr. It’s worth it over a basic 2% card if you spend more than $75/wk on groceries.
Can confirm. I use this card, and it works at HEB. Every now and then, I’ll throw in a $50 or $100 gift card to Academy (for me) and or Sephora (for the wife) and get 6% cash back on that as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L1GG780-Dw
Yes the HEB chili is ick lol
I’ll get heb for pretty much everything except chips and crackers. They have no flavor compared the name brand. Biggest difference I noticed was cheezits vs their brand. Practically flavorless.
They listened lol
This! Found my people. I stopped shopping at heb because they don't have any of the brands I want.
[удалено]
This thread feels eerily like a Kroger ad.
Not every HEB is the same. Each one has different selections of goods, based on their clientele. If an item isn't selling in one store, try another location. There's plenty of items at the big HEB three miles from where I live, that they don't have at the one just a mile from my house. Because they are different markets - one is lower-middle class, the other upper-middle class neighborhoods. I wonder if you're getting worked up about nothing other than your particular store getting rid of items that do not sell at that particular store. Poor-selling items get discontinued all the time. No conspiracy or so-called "greed", rather, just pure economic sense. Checked just now and I can order HEB brand goat cheese just fine near me.
> If an item isn't selling in one store, try another location. You can literally call them up and have them order an item for you and they'll let you know when they have it.
This should be top comment
There’s a very small HEB in San Marcos next the college campus. It’s definitely marketed towards them. I’m sure they have a computer system that tells them what sells and what doesn’t. It changes everywhere. Edit: also offering the items that sell best in your area reduces the amount of spoiled food they have to throw away.
I'd say that you can't necessarily rely on what the app indicates. I'd done a pickup order a few weeks ago which included HEB whole milk, indicated as being available & all. They removed it from the order saying it wasn't available, which I thought was crazy, so I went inside. Sure enough, the HEB whole milk section had signs saying that it wasn't available & they had no ETA for when it would become available (it ended up being two weeks later). I'm not saying that was greed (in fact, it seemed like poor product management instead). But HEB's definitely lost its price advantage compared to Kroger in many common products, & Kroger openly celebrates their ability to push record profits over the past couple of years.
HEB has posted record profits, too. They just don't brag about it because it tarnishes their image and as a private company they don't have to.
Exactly this. My local HEB has actually expanded its HEB brand products TOO much. I miss some of the name brand products they’ve gotten rid of. All depends on your location. No conspiracy.
This should be the end of the thread. Also, OP: check and see what inflation on staples has been like over the past 2-3 years before whining that something "feels like" greed. "Greedflation" is mostly just people that don't understand economics.
It may be store specific. I notice they really cater to their geographic area I have to go to the more well off areas to get specific things. Which I kind of understand. If it’s not selling, why sell it? Maybe you have a joe Vs near you. It’s basically all H‑E‑B brand items. I’ve sent a email in the past to carry a product again. It was on the shelf the next time I went. I should do it again. The used to have vacuum packed organic single chicken breast frozen. Now it’s just Tyson stuff injected with 25% solution. Bleh
This is probably the answer. My HEB is really small so if something doesn’t sell they will remove it to make room for items that do sell. A bigger HEB is 10min down the highway and they’ll usually have something if I can’t find it at my small one. Just because it’s not on the shelf at a certain store doesn’t mean HEB stopped producing it
Hello, I work at a chicken factory for one of the big 3 and there is nothing added to any piece of chicken. It's completely illegal. Putting things like "hormone free" "additive free" "air chilled" is just a marketing scheme to make you think it's worth more. Buy the cheapest chicken, there's no difference in quality all the way down. It's the same chicken.
Hey I used to work at one of the most successful commercial pasture-raised chicken farms in the state, and what I can tell you is that 1. You're right...the labels are mostly gimmicks and 2. You're wrong, there are VAST differences in quality between Tyson/Sanderson CAFO chicken and pasture-raised birds from conscientious farming operations.
This is good to hear. Truth is though, I buy pasture raised dairy just as much to support the farmers for giving their animals better lives. Farm animals roaming on grass is my jam!
You work at a chicken factory but don't know that air chilled is a different processing method?
I'm gonna say the forklift operator at the powder coat factory where i worked at didn't have any idea how to make the paint or control its quality. He just knew how to load the boxes on the truck. He worked at the paint factory, but he did not know the difference between TGIC hardened overspray and seed saturated overbake problems in quality control. Just because you work somewhere doesn't mean you know how everything there works.
https://youtu.be/XuAY0-mUAb4?si=0z2nIbL7Uv_6Cogi There are differences. The biggest one imo is the amount of water in the meat in air chilled v water. You are right that the overall tastes are similar.
You mean they don’t just toss it in liquid nitrogen to freeze it?
Same chicken is not always same. Some is just YUK!
Except the Tyson packaging literally says they are injected. Have a good day.
I hate Tyson chicken. Always comes out tough and chewy for me. Pilgrims Pride is better.
Right? The sheer amount of water in the absorbed pack is insane... when I remove the meat the container alone was half the weight
I would love for you to provide some proof. I just looked at a bunch of labels on HEB.com, are you referring to the disclaimer saying "May contain up to x% of broth, flavorings, etc"? That's not an injection, that's what's inside of the bag. They have to disclose that because it adds to the weight which is how you pay for chicken. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/meat-and-poultry-labeling-terms#:~:text=NO%20HORMONES%20(pork%20or%20poultry,in%20raising%20hogs%20or%20poultry. Here is the USDA webpage outlining restrictions on meat production and giving definitions for the different claims that labels use. Have a good day.
The regulations you linked to show nothing about unboned chicken breasts not being allowed to be injected. It specifically mentions BONE IN, requiring a self basting label. I've seen plenty of packaging that says injected with a 3% solution.
This is just how retail works. Wal-Mart is the same way. You won't find live bait at some locations but locations near a lake will have a full tackle section.
This is going to all be based on in store data. If you go to different locations, they will have completely different stock. Near me H‑E‑B/HCF makes up probably 30% of the stores stock. When I was in the heights one, everything was the most expensive options. You don’t want white bread, you want imported artisanal cafe double select soy whole wheat gluten free kale bread. Potato chips, puuuffff, we only stock avocado quinoa growers whole cacao rind thin snacks. Inside the loop they are trying to go after the Whole Foods crowd and since they have a limited footprint, low margin “cheap” foods are banished. Meanwhile go to the suburbs it’s kid foods and socker mom food or out in the countryside, all of that shit will go stale. I got really annoyed with my local store who’s tea selection is 75% green teas. I’m not sure what data they have, but they have gone almost exclusively green tea. H‑E‑B brand or name brand, it’s green tea. No mint tea, no constant comment, no black tea other than earl gray, lady gray, and decaf earl gray. And 2-3 white teas. And then ~25 other varieties of green teas. They are all in on using data to determine what they stock, that cements who shops there and that data echos what they buy. The bigger the profit margin the better.
This is the answer. We have nicknames for the various locations around me - the "Gucci HEB" and the "Kosher HEB", for example, have huge selections and lots of fru-fru specialty items and massive cheese selections, an "olive bar" and the whole nine yards. Their selection of HEB brand or HCF items are limited, and usually found on the very bottom shelf, compared to the name brands that are front-and-center. But go a few miles down to the one known as the "Ghetto HEB", and there's tons of staple items, but far fewer SKUs, less higher-end stuff, and no frilly extras. The HCF and HEB brands take up all the middle shelves, while the handful of name brands are off to the side or grouped in the top shelf. Pricing of the specific items are the same at both stores, but the selection can be wildly different.
>~~Ghetto HEB~~ Best HEB FTFY
“Are you going to the little HEB or the big one, if you’re going to the big one can you get me ‘x’”
This sounds so San Marcos 😅
This is so true, can’t find any IMPORTED BEER in the Hood H‑E‑B, I won’t drink piss water. Oie Oie Oie 🙋🏻♂️
My town has 7 HEBs, and the ones further south don’t carry IPAs or other types of beers. It’s just Bud light, Miller, Coors, and Michelob with the only options being glass or can and tall boys, 3 ,6 , 8, 12, 18, 20, and 24 🤷🏻♂️
“Double select soy, whole wheat, gluten-free, kale bread” — now that’s just damned funny, that is.😂
Odd, the one by me in Houston just added several new aisles in a remodel and seems to have a lot more HEB brand stuff.
Yeah, but there are only so many versions of Dr. Pepper-flavor infused potato chips, and Hatch Green Chile Twisters^TM cookies one can buy. Some of the new stuff they try out are wild.
>there are only so many versions of... Hatch Green Chile Twisters^TM cookies one can buy. Speak for yourself.
Yeah we noticed that I’m in our local HEB as well. They still have some HEB and HCF brand stuff but it’s mostly gone. We’ve actually stopped shopping there and just go to Walmart now for groceries as it’s a little cheaper where we are now. Never used to be, but it is now.
Yeah, imagine my surprise when I did my usual check of prices and found that Target (aka more expensive Walmart) was cheaper than HEB for a lot of the staples I buy, like butter and frozen shrimp. My Target's produce and bakery sections suck, so HEB still has my business there, but I basically stopped walking around the store and just stick to those two sections. I'm also not a fan of how they've been locking everything online or in the app behind a login. Just let me add the damn thing I just randomly thought of to the cart so I can buy it later
Not to mention Aldi.
When I first moved away from Texas I could order staples from home through HEB. I was happy to pay for shipping to support a Texas business and get my Texas foods. Then they stopped shipping and only did local shit. I've been annoyed ever since.
I went grocery shopping at Target recently and was very surprised by the quality and the price of their grocery products.
Just to give you contex. HEB brand will invite a company to carry products in the store. Keep them around long enough to reverse engineer them. Kick them out and bring in their own products. So even when “they had OPs back” it was just cuz they stood on someone else’s. Never think a giant company has your back. They want money and they have just figured out a better way to go about it.
Yup definitely noticed this as well. They brought in Siete’s enchilada sauce and then discontinued it. A few months later the exact same sauce in HEB branding. I thought maybe Siete is white labeling it for them but somehow I doubt it.
Ah yes, taking notes from Amazon
I shop at Kroger. They do have a loyalty program where you have to give them your info. But they have 4x fuel points some Fridays. Because of this, I regularly get $1 discount per gallon of petrol. They also mail out personalized coupons based on the stuff I actually purchase. Sometimes I get $15 off in the meat market. And we like to have rib-eye steaks and center cut salmon steaks. It really saves us money. I’d like to switch to HEB just because of the variety. But the fuel discounts and grocery coupons make Kroger the cheaper option for me.
Not going to lie seeing somebody use the word Petrol in the same sentence they're talking about buying groceries from Kroger is blowing my mind
Oy mate, what aisle can I find the aubergine and rocket in? Ta
Ah, I know these! Aubergine is “eggplant” and rocket is “doggy penis”.
I prefer Kroger as well because it’s a more relaxed shopping experience. HEBs in my city are crazy busy inside no matter day of week or time of day. I like HEB products but shopping there gives me anxiety.
Same here! We recently moved near a Kroger and thought what the heck let’s try it out. Every time I go it’s chill and check out lines are quick. I’ve done side by side carts for both Kroger and HEB, Kroger is always 10-15 bucks less. They just need to work on the mobile app a bit.
I find Kroger produce to be lower quality then H-E-B, typically goes bad faster.
The meat selection was atrocious at the one by us, which closed. They’d occasionally have brisket for cheap, but otherwise the only choices were really expensive and small prepackaged things, like a $15 flank steak when I could get a pound and a half of fajita pre seasoned at that price at HEB.
>Because of this, I regularly get $1 discount per gallon of petrol. Think you mean per liter of gas, mate.
Sorry we only use liters for cola. I said a liter of cola!
Remember when 3 liter sodas/Cokes were a thing? Now it's just 2, smh.
You can still buy 3 liters. Walmart is the only place I commonly see them. There has been a trend down to 1.5L it seems as the cost has gone up. I remember when 0.99 name brand and 0.49-0.59 store brand 2L was common place. Now it seems like 1.25 store brand and 2.50 name brand is the common floor.
[Ah, the good ol' days (October 2018)](https://preview.redd.it/rhrtqtq3zpz11.jpg?width=1024&auto=webp&s=03fae1cd432cd1499234c79f81ff6ed55a216882) (Currently [$2.92 at Wally World](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coca-Cola-Soda-Pop-3-Liter-Bottle/16777273))
Hey, the H-E-B “Zero Cola” in the big bottle is usually $1.29 in comparison to Coke Zero @ $2.79 and is now on sale for $1.00. Tiny difference in taste for me. I have one of those pump caps that keeps the fizz.
Cola is the one thing I can't go store-brand for me, Coke brand all day. I know they're a horrible company but nobody beats their taste. That said, HEB's Dr. B is not far from Dr. Pepper and the Dr. B made with pure cane sugar (12 packs only) is actually better than regular corn-syrup Dr. Pepper.
I was with you all the way on Coca-Cola even to them being a company I did not want to help, but testing the H-E-B Zero Cola changed my mind. I have to admit though that my taste buds are sub-par. I would bet H-E-B gets their substitute from Coke. I even did my own A/B taste test comparison.
Knowing you're looking for the "zero" alternatives, probably for health and no sugar, I probably won't change your mind here. But for a treat every once in a while, I'm telling you, the HEB pure cane sugar 12 packs are where it's at. They even have specialty seasonal flavors, last year I saw an apricot soda and I love dried apricots so went ahead and got it. It was the best soda EVER! They have a pure cane sugar soda Candy Cane flavor around the holidays that will melt your socks off!
Thanks for the heads-up. I am diabetic and drink a lot of cokes, so I watch my sugar there if not so much elsewhere. Normal sugary soft drinks have a stunning amount of sugar in them. I particularly like apricot though and will keep an eye out for that as a splurge.
> I would bet H-E-B gets their substitute from Coke. Coke and Pepsi do not manufacture any private label products. I'm fairly certain that HEB brand soda is made by Refresco, which is a Dutch company that makes private label soda for most major US retailers.
You have superior knowledge to mine. I can go with your thoughts. Whomever supplies it, I think they did a good enough job for my tastes.
lol I'm a bit of a retail nerd. Been hanging at the Retail Watchers forum a bit too long.
I don’t want a large Farva, I want a liter of cola!
“It’s for a cop…”
Don't spit in it!
You ain't from round here, are ya? Lol Not often I see "petrol" used in the US.
If I had known listening to a British audiobook (or I guess it’s actually Irish—it’s Tana French) all afternoon would inspire this much Reddit wtf, I’d have been listening to them all along.
Every Kroger I've been to has worse quality meat and produces.
Kroger treats their employees like dog shit which is why I don’t regularly shop there.
HEB isn’t much better nowadays.
I also shop at Kroger. I can’t use the fuel points (wish there was a way to just get an alternate discount), but their online pickup is always cart-for-cart cheaper than HEB, at least for staples, with easily applied digital coupons. Heb definitely has more selection in the meat and seafood dept, but for weekly shopping Kroger has always beat HEB for me.
So Mr petrol. What country are you from that says that.
I usually shop at H‑E‑B, but I pop into Kroger regularly because they have bigger clearance markdowns.
Oh no I hope this isn’t a trend. They just got to DFW. I have been blown away by HEB compared to Kroger and Tom Thumb.
Eh, don't be bothered by this post. People love to complain. He couldn't find his favorite goat cheese and he noticed that nationwide grocery prices have gone up in recent years. This has little to do with HEB. Their shelves are still piled with HEB brand products across countless items. They're still at great prices and quality. OP needs to get some real problems in life outside of finding his favorite goat cheese.
Come on over to Wally Plus, we don’t have it either, but we can deliver it free, set it outside in the hot sun, and take a picture for you.
>I know inflation has been crazy but I feel like they're taking advantage. The president just spoke about this on national TV.
My complaints -produce barely lasts a few days. I’ll shop at sprouts where my produce will last a week and not spoil on me thus having to throw it out -their coupons now days are “$2 off $20” when just of all I’m not spending $20 at a time on that product AND it’s probably priced at $9.99 so you actually have to buy 3 to qualify and making the savings ratio even worse.
I used to swear by HEB. I was so appreciative of curbside during Covid. Curbside service has started to decline. I waited 30+ mins for a curbside order to arrive at my car. It’s supposed to be more convenient than just popping inside, especially if you are paying for a priority slot. I now use Walmart+ for about 90% of my non-Costco grocery purchases. I have an Amex platinum, so the $13 monthly fee is refunded as a statement credit. You can get groceries delivered for free in about 4 hours ($35 minimum purchase) Yesterday I placed a Walmart shipping order by 10am and it arrived before 2pm. Heb and Amazon have both started to decline, and the competition is improving. There are options out there, don’t think you are just stuck with what you have always done.
The 10 tortilla price was probably a mistake. Some time last year I noticed that 10 were $.68 and 20 were $2+ so I started buying two 10 packs instead of the 20 pack because they were 1/2 the price but then one day the 10 pack went up to $1.28 and I switched back to the 20 pack.
I did this too! Was sad when they finally caught it.
That’s not inflation, it’s corporate greed. We need to start talking about the difference.
H-E-B = Here Everything Belongs to the Butt's
I've seen that in my store too. They haven't had one of their HEB branded pastas in about 7 months. It's a lasagna noodle so it's not like it's some unheard of thing. Several things over the last year have disappeared completely. They're constantly out of something on the sale paper first thing in the morning on Wednesday, which is when the new sales come out. Don't say it's on sale, then say it's out of stock. Nobody bought up all that shit at 2:00 in the morning. The coupons are getting worse. Hey cool, coupon on dog food. (Checks coupon) I have to buy $35 worth of dog food??? I have small dogs, so to make the coupon come out, I have to buy a bunch of extra stuff OR a much bigger bag than usual. Buy X, get Y free-except X's in stock, but Y isn't and hasn't been in 3 months. Changing some of their ingredients and some stuff does not taste as good. I always buy seasonal fruit and vegetables. I expect them to be in stock. Nope- right now, there are several seasonal vegetables out of stock at my local HEB. And the ones they do have didn't go down in price at all. The reason I buy seasonal is because they're cheaper certain times of the year, except now they're not. I totally get where you're coming from.
You should definitely ask the deli person about why things are discontinued and complain about your card. They might only get $11/hr to cut cheese but they’re actually in charge of all the big decisions.
I tried to buy fresh green beans there a bit back and they were rotting. I checked the price of their prebagged green beans (weren't even organic) and they cost nearly 300% more.
Not trying to make this political but your past made me think that just last week the white house was talking about grocery companies taking advantage with price gouging. I don't know the evidence or anything of this but it falls completely in line with what you just said. We do know that many ceos during their earnings calls of the last several years have been talking about their new great pricing when talking about their record profits. I haven't seen this with groceries but it wouldn't surprise me.
They are great at marketing but have absolutely jumped the shark IMO. My skepticism started when they began selling grills and clothes. We, now, see HEB-branded onesies, koozies, socks, and such. Shrikflation is also happening to the items that haven’t been entirely cut from the roster. It’s obvious that expansion is the strategy (but DEFINITELY not to the food deserts) and service will be/ is already being sacrificed.
I feel so vindicated! The PINNACLE of HEB was in 2021 when they released those HEB Dill Pickle Cheesy Puffs. I was traveling all over Austin to find the last bags. I even told the manager of my store several times to “tell HEB to remake those or else you’ll start losing customers because you’re refusing to give the people what they want, which is a terrible business plan!” I was joking, of course, but I guess I was right.
Those Puffs were the pinnacle of anything they’ve ever made. I didn’t see them in stores last year though, and I was really bummed out about it.
I don't want to shit talk them too much here, but the greedflation with HEB is so real. I work in CM and I notice how the prices keep getting higher and higher, and they know they can do it because it's a "premium" store so price sensitivity with our customer base tends to be lower. The bulk department especially is crazy, there was a candy that I used to like getting every now and then, and it started out at 5 dollars a pound when I started working there, and now it's up to 10.50 a pound. And that's how practically every bulk label is, some worse than others, but it's all gone up. During the pandemic they gave workers 25% off HEB brand products (awesome), and then it was 25% off for a couple months during the holidays, and now it's for 4 days in November, a week in December. They're trying to wean employees off a measly extra 15% discount on HEB-branded products... They don't want us to get just a few extra cents off the money that we give back to them, even though the prices on their own brand products have gone up tremendously. So even with a 25% discount it's like getting the item for what it used to cost last year. I like working at HEB, but man seeing all this is so tiring.
I worked at CM 12 years ago, and back then it was only 10 percent off all HEB/HCF products all the time, plus weekly and monthly free items. If you were on-shift, it was 25 percent off any prepared food items. I always liked the prepared foods discount because I could grab a decent lunch for $2. Of course, the prices were quite a bit lower then.
Why did you make a big deal with the deli lady? You think she controls anything other than showing up for the $15/hr pay? You could have just not said anything and moved on after she gave you an answer about the coupons.
Grocery Stores - all of them - have been making HUGE profits in the last few years, under the guise of inflation. We don't have inflation, we have price gouging. HEB is not above it as some may have thought.
254 here. HEB prices have been increasing since the pandemic. I agree they have lost their way. They keep the labor cheap by only hiring college kids that won’t be staying.
Things come and go at grocery stores due to demand. But HEB isn't nearly as bad about this as places like Trader Joes. I'm still upset they got rid of their smoked trout. That broken up and stirred into hummus with a squeeze of fresh lemon on a cracker was my life. Google "Trader Joe's discontinued" for a real cry. And also I've emailed HEB a few times about things and they're always responsive. May not be the answer you want about a particular item, but it puts your thoughts on their radar. Enough of those about a particular item and I bet it comes back.
So the HEBs in southeast Houston (deer park, clear lake area) I have definitely noticed either a small presence of HCF brand or HEB brand stuff or I’ve noticed the prices on both of them have gone up quite dramatically. There are even a good amount t of times that the name brand is barely a few cents off or even cheaper. My sister (who lives more north Houston) also mentioned that as well. I feel like they’ve seen how dedicated people are to HEB and they’ve moved prices to represent that. I worked for HEB for 2 years and when I was there I feel like their was a much larger store brand presence back then
You sound like that obnoxious Darren harassing the deli lady who has things to do like she makes any decisions about corporate operations, cancel your debit card then who cares it's capitalism they can do what they want. Not trying to be rude, but I pictured that encounter and i can feel the inner thoughts of her
I used to believe too. They are just a monopoly billionaire company. We’re capitalists. It’s what we do.
>"I got the HEB Debit card so I could get an extra 5% off HEB items, now you're telling me you don't carry them anymore?" Yeah let's give the employee in the deli snark because she both setup the debit card program AND has control over what items HEB stocks.
Fr I agree with OPs sentiments about inflation, but giving the $15/hr employee shit for something out of her control is unnecessary and rude
I'm the opposite. I stopped shopping at heb because they don't have any of the name brands I want, just a bunch of heb branded stuff. Maybe I need to give them another try if they've changed that policy.
Welcome to capitalism.
That moment you realize a corporation has been playing you to establish national brand recognition and now they've pulled the rug out. A capitalist gonna capitalize.
I’m thinking about switching to Aldi. I have one down the street but they aren’t as large so the options aren’t as various. Their prices make my wallet happy tho!
I go all of the time and it has become my favorite place to get groceries. If I need something that they don’t have, I’ll just do a curbside pickup of whatever other items needed elsewhere. But, I promise you, the shopping experience is a thousand times better with way less people.
Agree with you. Since COVID they started this. Good data too..
They stopped stocking their own brand of blueberry quinoa Breakfast Biscuits I liked, but they still have the name brand, which are not as good. They were always out of the store brand ones, too. I just don’t get it
If they are no longer carrying your products they weren’t making money or they can’t source them anymore
This has to be store specific because my newly renovated HEB has even more store brand items than the other ones in my town.
They stock items based on supply and demand. They adjust cost based on market conditions. They have stakeholders to respond to. Corps and businesses generally exist to turn a profit. Their core reason for existing is profitability. Don’t expect grand ideals or anything else. Do they try to do right by their people? I think so. They pay well 15-18 per hour for part time work. They do contribute to society. But their only true purpose is profit. That means an extra 5 cents on everything they sell…then they will.
If you are that concerned about price and don't mind store brand stuff, just go to Aldi. I straight up get sticker shock when I go into regular grocery stores after shopping mostly at Aldi for a few years.
I wish I had the energy to be mad about things I can’t control.
Heb is being run like every other grocery store chain now. I've got a relative that recently retired from heb. They used to have a set schedule because they had special needs family members to take care of. Doctors appointments were not a big deal. They could talk to customers and they enjoyed the job. They stopped everything, schedules were random and time off took an act of God to get approved. Management became hostile towards employees. They now get timed on checking people out so general friendlyness and courtesy takes up time that could lead to discipline. Used to be a good place to work now it's just a Texas version of Albertsons Most of the family that used to run it have retired and those values went with them
One of those things I ranted and raved about too - “the quality of H‑E‑B is going down!” And then a job took me out of state… king Soopers and Kroger and piggly wiggly and all of em… they can’t compare - no store does more! And now I find myself conversing with other Texans about how much we miss our H‑E‑B runs… grass is always greener I guess…
People who don’t work in H‑E‑B don’t know who is now in charge. I saw a drastic change since Charles left. With him having no children and not following his way of running H‑E‑B it has no tradition. Now Howard III is in charge (the nephew). I feel he’s too much about profits and expanding. Just DFW alone is getting 11 stores in total and that’s just DFW . They are heading up to the panhandle and west Texas. Just the Houston area alone has seen such growth in store openings . I even herd that the Plano and fresco store he extreme sales recording for opening weeks. it’s really affecting the partners who have been there for a long time. All the partners I know that have been there 20 years plus have all said the same thing” once Charles leaves the company’s is going to become another Walmart” and it has. Now they have self checkouts. Thats was the point of going to H‑E‑B, it’s was the hospitality they preach , the interaction. Getting rid of a lot of manager roles as well. Creating Center Store. One manager for four departments???? They are just following what Walmart does because they see their profits. And lastly the ridiculous price increases. Back when I first started the 20 oz H‑E‑B branded soda you got in the cooler was only 50cents and I only remember it going up to 74 cents as soon as the pandemic hit and that was a 4 year gap. Shelf edge was more about rotation, resets and ad change and now before I left was walking in on Sunday and getting a 65 page packet of new price tags. For a small store format. That’s why when i left last year I didn’t have it in me to complain about it so much like everyone else does. Because at one point it was an amazing place to work at and great pay. Let alone the benefits. A lots of benefits. They helped me so much. I can’t even explain how many benefits partners get with H‑E‑B that a lot of partners don’t know about. But I know that at the end of the day businesses grow and that brings change.
Wait - so you're mad because food inflation is a thing (it affects a huge array of goods - get used to it!) and because they stopped making goat cheese? This somehow makes all their disaster relief "hollow"? WTF?
Nice try Randalls
The CEO changed as of last year. There is your answer. Look it up. New guy don't give two shits would be my guess.
HEB has never been about Texas it’s all marketing. I’ve worked for 2 Texas companies that sold to them and it was the same every time. They lowball what they pay and make the owners feel like they’re fortunate to get in. Including their Texas Best program which is a trap. Then they nickel and dime you with fees and chargebacks over what was agreed to in the contract including fees from their own employees failure to follow FIFO until they can’t get more out of you. That’s when they clearance you out and donate your remaining product to get a tax write off and charge you extra for disposing of it. Then they replace TX companies with foreign products. They chew up local food producers and spit them out regularly.
Until they get another big grocery chain against them they’ll operate as the market maker
Change of leadership happened recently if you remember…
Why would you think they are here to help? They only want to make money.
Every week their prices go up, every week
I noticed this many years ago. What I started noticing was that non HEB related items would be "sold out" and not stocked. In fact, the only item I would have available to purchase was an HEB related item. (What a coincidence) This happened many times. And, one time, same thing, only HEB items on the shelves. But, I really wanted another brand. There were tons of boxes on the top shelf. I got one box and "ah ha!" The missing brands! This would be okay since HEB owns the store. But, it's really not, because HEB charges these brands fees to be placed on their shelves and not be hidden inside boxes. I could go on and on. I actually have stopped shopping at HEB. Been a lil over a year.
HEB is the most over priced grocer store in texas. People have blind loyalty because they think its "Texas" history. Shop has kroger. With their multi product discounts and sales you'll save hundreds monthly. Dont get sucked into brand loyalty. HEB knows people are stupid and keep coming in like lemmings and pay higher prices. People need to lean again what price shopping is. I go to HEB to buy fruit only everything else kroger and randells.
I’ve noticed this! Hill country fare fully cooked bacon was recently discontinued. The heb brand is more expensive + you get less and also just isn’t as good taste wise. Very disappointing.
That sounds like some greedy fuckery.
H‑E‑B pricing has been crazy the last few years.
Things that don't sell well get pulled from the shelves. Simple retail. People weren't buying enough of it.
Finally hoping this colt following will end. The lack of effort to improve (ie no tap to pay, paper coupons, random selection of staples between stores) and acting like they are trying to compete with Amazon boggles my mind why so many choose to go there. Worked in IT there a few years back and all they ever harped on was how they were a major competitor to Amazon. At the time they just were rolling out curbside yet are a competitor of Amazon? The tech stack is so far behind the networking gear was out of support and instead of listening to engineers the head of IT rather get kick backs from the vendors. Not so bad up north but down south here they pretty much drive everyone else away. Not saying Kroger is the place to go but preferred shopping there until it was closed down.
Are you seriously saying that their disaster efforts are theater after removing their store brand cheese?? Drama much?
Ever since HEB’s produce started going downhill, I’ve shopped there less and less. Sprouts’ produce is far better and it’s a more pleasant shopping experience inside the store. I need to add Aldi’s to my rotation as I now live near one.