Hy-Vee Awards $50,000 in Grants to Local Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses During Products, Services Showcase in Kansas City
September 27, 2022 | News & Press Releases
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Sept. 27, 2022) — Today, Hy-Vee, Inc. awarded $50,000 to local minority- and women-owned businesses during the Hy-Vee OpportUNITY Inclusive Business Summit at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
During the pitch competition component of the event, 15 companies from around the Midwest presented to a panel of judges and more than 400 event attendees. 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 nearly 80 applications.
Hy-Vee recognized the following during an awards presentation that followed the pitch competition:
Grand Prize Winner - $30,000: Sweet Peaches Cobblers LLC, Blue Springs, Missouri
About: Sweet Peaches Cobblers LLC offers, frozen, ready to bake cobblers. Our cobblers are handmade, with a buttery flaky crust and filling spiced to perfection. It’s a product that’s desired all year round and can go straight from the oven to the table ready to eat. What differentiates Sweet Peaches Cobblers from others is our homemade taste and mission to bring families together. We are a small family operating business who started from a small family function during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each family member has created a flavor, and we pride ourselves on that.
Category: Food & Beverage
• 1st place - $5,000: Ophelia's Blue Vine Farm, Kansas City, Missouri
About: Founded in 2014, Ophelia’s Blue Vine Farm strives to bring fresh herbs to the Kansas City metro. We call Kansas City’s 18th & Vine District home. Our urban greenhouse is nestled among historic spots that help bring jazz music to the world. We take pride in our neighborhood and want to build up the community that surrounds it. We strive to better the world and our neighborhood by committing to sustainable farming practices and community pride initiatives. We partner with other local businesses to use food waste for biofuel to heat our greenhouse or compost it into healthy fertilizer. We believe everyone should have access to fresh, great tasting food and know how it grows.
Category: Innovation & Technology
• 1st place - $5,000: Interplay, Kansas City, Missouri
About: Interplay is focused on easing the lives of busy pet parents with our patent pending product, the PlayTach. With the Interplay PlayTach, pet parents can now remotely control their dog’s crating experience with the click of a button. Our product allows them to dispense food & water, see and talk, and play music and sound for their dog from their phone while away via the Interplay App. Simply install the PlayTach to your existing dog crate, download the Interplay App, connect the device, and interact with your dog! Our patent-pending technology allows pet parents to remotely operate their dog’s crating experience. Unlike existing technologies, ours has capabilities of operating as both a crate attachment and stand-alone along with dispensing both food and water. This technology will be the first automated crate attachment on the market.
Category: Health, Wellness & Beauty
• 1st place - $5,000: Savvy Salon KC, Mission, Kansas
About: Savvy Salon LLC is an all-natural hair care product line, as well as an innovative early-stage hair salon chain with a unique focus on curly and and coily hair patterns. Savvy Salon is the only salon chain with a focus on women of color in the Midwest. Our business model is very unique in that we do not rent booths, but we hire, train and develop our team to provide an unmatched customer experience as a salon team. Our unlimited salon membership concept is poised to change the industry and make a huge difference for the communities we serve.
Tre’s Squeeze (Manhattan, Kansas), Supplemental Education LLC (Kansas City, Missouri), Café Cà Phê (Kansas City, Missouri), The Good Dog Brand (Country Club, Missouri) and Sharing Solace (Olathe, Kansas) 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:
• Cap Creation LLC, Overland Park, Kansas
• Js MakeUp Artistry, Junction City, Kansas
• Natural High Wellness Center & Spa, Leawood, Kansas
• SEG Media Collective, Manhattan, Kansas
• Smart Cookies Bakery, LLC, Overland Park, Kansas
• Yes! Athletics, LLC, Topeka, Kansas
The event featured an expo that offered resources for small businesses, learning opportunities through presentations and panel discussions, the chance to learn about local brands and more. Event space was provided courtesy of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Hy-Vee OpportUNITY Inclusive Business Summit is one of several initiatives led by Hy-Vee that helps 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.
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Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating more than 285 retail stores across eight Midwestern states with sales of more than $12 billion annually. The supermarket chain is synonymous with quality, variety, convenience, healthy lifestyles, culinary expertise and superior customer service. Hy-Vee ranks in the Top 5 Most Trusted Brands and has been named one of America’s Top 3 favorite grocery stores. The company’s more than 80,000 employees provide “A Helpful Smile in Every Aisle” to customers every day. For additional information, visit www.hy-vee.com.