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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Today, Hy-Vee, Inc. awarded $50,000 to minority- and women-owned businesses during the Hy-Vee OpportUNITY Inclusive Business Summit at the Sioux Falls Convention Center in Sioux Falls.
During the pitch competition component of the event, 15 companies from across the Midwest presented to a panel of judges and more than 150 event attendees. The competition included celebrity judge Paul Wahlberg, executive chef and co-owner of Wahlburgers and Almo Nove. Additional judges included Brienne Maner, president for Startup Sioux Falls, Ricky Espino, vice president for Inca Salsa and Shelby Stritzke, vice president, fashion, beauty, innovation for Hy-Vee.
Each company leader was able to demonstrate their product or explain their service for the chance to win a small-business grant from Hy-Vee. A Hy-Vee committee selected the participating companies from 50 applications.
Hy-Vee recognized the following during an awards presentation that followed the pitch competition:
Grand Prize Winner – $30,000: Soul Grain, Liza Jackson and Sylvia Williams, Saint Paul, Minnesota
About: Soul Grain Granola is made with love in small batches to ensure freshness and our signature light crunch. Flavors include Sweet Potato Casserole, Banana Pudding, Coco Mango, Spiced Paradise and Neutral Nelly. All are gluten-free, contain only natural ingredients and no canola oil. We are not your average granola!
Category: Food & Beverage
- 1st place – $5,000: Salas Salsas, Marcela Salas, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
About: As first-generation immigrant women, Salas Salsas journey has been fueled by resilience, passion and a commitment to sharing our heritage through food. Our salsas include Salsa Roja, Salsa Verde, Jalapeño Lime, Sala’s Queso and Salsa Macha, each designed to bring a burst of flavor to any dish. We invite you to our table to experience what fresh salsa means to us.
Category: Innovation & Technology
- 1st place – $5,000: Sensiil Studios, Aniekanabasi White, Des Moines, Iowa
About: As Iowa and Nebraska’s first black comic book publisher, Sensiil Studios aspires to bring representation to the science fiction and fantasy genres. Sensiil Studios is a space where Pan-African people can see themselves and see that they have a future by producing stories with black lead characters. We fight today for a better tomorrow. We write to bring the better tomorrow to today.
Category: Health, Wellness & Beauty
- 1st place – $5,000: Healthy Hip Hop, Roy Scott, Kansas City, Missouri
About: Healthy Hip Hop is the “Urban Disney,” blending the essence of hip-hop culture with cutting-edge technology and educational values to enhance student learning environments and establish a safe online experience for children. Through our dual-sided streaming platform, we seamlessly integrate culture into classrooms while empowering kids to safely create, publish and share video content.
LAMIK (Chicago, Illinois) and Jefferson Beer Supply (Jefferson, South Dakota) were also presented with smaller cash prizes for their business ventures.
In addition to the above winners, the following also participated in the pitch competition:
- Boxes, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- eqUTI, Aberdeen, South Dakota
- Every Body Eat®, Evanston, Illinois
- IFRI, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- MY AED & CPR SOLUTIONS, Woodbury, Minnesota
- sisu, Lee’s Summit, Missouri
- Teresa Wrich Consulting, Hartford, South Dakota
- TrueToForm, Rochester, Minnesota
- Yes! Athletics, Topeka, Kansas
The event featured an expo that offered resources for small businesses, as well as learning opportunities through breakout sessions, one-on-one mentoring with Hy-Vee store leaders, the chance to learn about local brands and more.
The Hy-Vee OpportUNITY Inclusive Business Summit is one of several initiatives led by Hy-Vee that help support minority-and women-owned businesses in the communities it serves. Hy-Vee remains committed to inclusivity by expanding product and service offerings that appeal to diverse lifestyles and backgrounds.
