H-E-B launches a merchandise line for its superfans

Texas grocer H-E-B, known for its very loyal shoppers, is launching a merchandise line for its most-rabid superfans in honor of its 117th birthday.

The branded gear from the H-E-B Brand Shop is currently only available at one store, in Kerrville, but H-E-B said it would roll out to more locations early next year. The grocer is selling H-E-B-branded T-shirts, socks, baby clothes, hats, coffee mugs, shoes, stickers and more.

Kerrville is the city where H-E-B was founded in 1905.

Items from the H-E-B Brand Shop / Photo courtesy: H-E-B

The H-E-B Brand Shop will feature nearly 60 different items, the company said, showcasing the grocer’s brands and products in creative ways.

“At H-E-B, we’re always looking for ways to offer our loyal customers exclusive, quality products, and with H-E-B Brand Shop, we’re excited to give our superfans opportunities to celebrate and show off their passion for all things H-E-B,” Sabina Israelian-Garcia, H-E-B’s group VP of general merchandise, drug store and beauty, said in a statement.

Items in the collection include “I Love My H-E-B socks,” a heart-shaped sticker professing love for H-E-B’s brisket queso, a H-E-B Baby onesie and an assortment of drinkware, textiles, toys, accessories, apparel and other items celebrating the company’s history and brands.

H-E-B Brand Shop display / Photo courtesy: H-E-B

The items are currently available for purchase in-store and via curbside pickup and home delivery at the Kerrville H-E-B.

Next year, H-E-B will sell the merchandise in every region where it operates. In the meantime, selected stores across Texas have H-E-B-themed Christmas ornaments in stock.

H-E-B has long been known for cultivating some of the most loyal shoppers. In 2021, H-E-B was named the country’s most-trusted grocery retailer, according to a BrandSpark International survey. Nearly 60% of shoppers who had visited a H-E-B store in the six months prior identified the chain as the grocer they trust most.

In September, H-E-B launched a branded debit card that gives 5% cash back on the retailer’s private-label products.

The grocer is the largest private employer in Texas and operates more than 420 stores in the state and in Mexico, with 137,000 employees.