AUSTIN (KXAN) — Every year, the Texas grocery juggernaut HEB has its “Quest For the Texas Best” competition to find the most delicious and mouth-watering creations from the Lone Star State.

Judges sampled food submitted by over 824 Texas entrepreneurs across 136 cities. This year, five culinary creators out of the 20 finalists happen to hail from the Austin area.

The Austin-area finalists are:

Smokey Denmark Sausage Company (Austin) Big Bark Beer Sausages

Uncle Ray’s Peanut Brittle (Austin) Bacon, Hatch and Traditional Flavors

Push Water Company (Dripping Springs) Caffeinated Bottled Water

EXO (Austin) Whole Roasted Crickets and Protein Bars

Basia’s Pickles (Hutto) Small Batch Pickles



The 20 finalists will present their entries to a panel of expert food judges. The judges will select four winners based on their creation’s quality, marketability and readiness. The grand prize winner will receive a $25,000 cash prize, the title of “Texas Best” and a coveted spot on HEB shelves. Second place will win $20,000, third place wins $15,000 and fourth wins $10,000.

“Since its inception in 2014, our sourcing team has sifted through more than 3,000 products in the Quest for Texas Best competition. This contest has yielded nearly 450 unique products worthy of company-wide distribution and awarded nearly $400,000 in prize money,” said James Harris, Director of Diversity & Inclusion and Supplier Diversity with H-E-B. “We continue to be amazed at what Texans bring to the table and how their creations are received in stores.”

Finalists will present their creations to the judges on August 7 – 8 at the Houston Food Bank.