Successfully integrated a premium potato line into H-E-B’s high-growth Prepared Meals section by bypassing traditional commodity pitches. Designed a proof-of-concept experience for the buying team, demonstrating consumer demand and margin potential firsthand.
8
Pilot Stores
Prepared Meals
Section
H-E-B
Retailer
12+ Months
Timeline Saved
The Challenge
An innovative prepared potato brand needed to penetrate H-E-B’s competitive Prepared Meals section — one of the retailer’s fastest-growing and most sought-after categories. Traditional commodity pitches wouldn’t work; H-E-B’s buying team needed to see proof of consumer demand and margin potential before committing limited modular space to a new entrant. The brand lacked the retail relationships and category management expertise to navigate H-E-B’s rigorous vendor evaluation process on their own.
Our Approach
Designed a proof-of-concept strategy starting with 8 select H-E-B stores, leveraging deep category management expertise and direct relationships with the H-E-B buying team. Rather than a standard category review submission, Mana secured a non-standard entry point outside normal review cycles. The POC was structured to generate compelling velocity data and demonstrate real consumer pull — giving the buying team the confidence to expand without waiting for the next formal review window.
The Results
Secured placement in H-E-B’s Prepared Meals section starting with an 8-store proof-of-concept. POC generated above-category-average velocity data that justified expanded distribution across additional H-E-B locations. The brand bypassed the typical 12+ month category review timeline and established a direct relationship with the H-E-B buying team for future line extensions.
Mana’s team understood exactly what H-E-B’s buyers needed to see. They got us in front of the right people and structured a POC that proved our product belonged on the shelf.
Brand Founder
Premium Potato Line
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