Quest For Best
Dallas spice company wins H-E-B Quest For Best 2025 foodie contest
H-E-B Spicytude
A Dallas spice company was one of five Texas businesses pronounced winners of the 12th Annual H-E-B Quest for Texas Best competition, a statewide search by Texas supermarket chain H-E-B for the best unique, Texas-made products.
Judges and H-E-B partners convened in San Antonio to select the winners who will take home a combined $110,000 in prize money and the opportunity for placement on H-E-B store shelves.
Spicytude, a company that sells Indian spices and chai tea, won third place in the competition, netting a $10,000 prize and a deal where their products will be sold at H-E-B stores.
They were one of 10 finalists chosen from 370 entries from 150 cities across Texas, and one of five winners overall — two more than the usual three because there were ties.
Spicytude was founded by Arpi Neravetla, an entrepreneur who wanted to share the spices and recipes that her mother and grandmother poured into their family meals.
They sell a half dozen spice blends that are an intrinsic part of Indian cooking, for dishes such as tikka masala, vindaloo chicken, butter chicken, and rice pilaf, priced from $15 to $18. They also sell a chai masala tea blend, which can be purchased solo or in a gift-style kit with two tea mugs.
The other four winners are as follows:
- Oca Foods in Austin won the grand prize, $50,000, for its peanut butter bites.
- Tozi Super Foods from Austin won first place for its tortillas and tortilla chips.
- Deli Spices from McAllen won second place for its birria spice mix.
- Tied for third place with Spicytude was My Drink Bomb in Houston for their cocktail mixes.
The other five finalists each won $5,000.
