H-E-B Digital is a little different than the average tech company. Like most corporate success stories, ours has a humble beginning, but it doesn’t start in a garage or with an algorithm. Instead, the H-E-B story starts with an ill husband, a determined wife, and three children to feed. Armed with just $60 and her wits, in 1905 our founder, Mrs. Florence Butt, opened a grocery store in her home and set in motion a generation-spanning commitment to feed not just her own children, but everyone in her state. 100+ years, 400+ stores, 5 different brands, one international expansion, and a few billion dollars in charitable contributions later, we’re getting closer to meeting that goal, but there’s still so much work to do. That’s where you come in.
Like most corporate success stories, ours has a humble beginning, but it doesn’t start in a garage or with an algorithm.
The digital arm of a brick and mortar institution, H-E-B Digital is tasked with providing solutions at scale for every part of the business. We create digital products for the millions of households that shop at H-E-B, but also for the 120,000+ employees who serve those households alongside us, from the teenager working their first job to the classically trained chef. But we don’t stop at the store: Our support spans from the farmers that grow our food to the drivers and warehouse workers that bring that food to the stores to the business functions that develop, source, package and sell that food, to the teams that give back to the community with the profits that food brings in. These partnerships have real benefits - H-E-B earned $28 billion in sales last year.
H-E-B Digital is tasked with providing solutions at scale for every part of the business.
H-E-B Digital sits in a truly unique space in the market - we’re a technology organization within a century-old, cash-positive, privately-held company - the 12th largest privately-held company in the country. Not a moonshot or an innovation lab, we’re a fully-funded and fully-integrated digital part of an omni-channel business. Our mission is to make the lives of everyday people better, not to make money for investors or Wall Street. Our drive to beat the competition stems from a desire to keep our neighbors employed, not to inflate our valuation. Our executive outings focus on community engagement, not far-flung retreats. Our customers tell their friends and family how H-E-B has changed their lives, not about how a corporation let them down. Our teams of engineers and analysts, designers and researchers, eCommerce experts and managers of all stripes are assembled and ready to tackle the hardest tech and digital problems.
Though technological innovation has played a role throughout H-E-B’s 100+ year history, the Digital era has a more recent beginning.
September ’12
The very first item sold on heb.com was a custom cake a customer picked up from their local H-E-B bakery. Deli trays, wine, and gift cards were also available for online purchase and in-store pickup.
December ’15
Expanding on single-item in-store pickup, H-E-B launched curbside pickup in Houston, allowing customers to do their grocery shopping from home. San Antonio, Austin, and many other Texas cities followed.
February ’18
After curbside pickup came home delivery. H-E-B initially offered delivery through third-party services, but wanted to bring the experience in-house to better meet customer needs. This was accomplished with the acquisition of Favor in early 2018.
May ’18
After Favor joined forces with H-E-B, its CEO Jag Bath was appointed Chief Digital Officer, overseeing the entire H-E-B Digital vision and team. Jag continues to lead Favor, but also oversees H-E-B’s Digital Technology, Product, and Commerce divisions.
June ’19
With a growing workforce in Austin, H-E-B cemented its place in the city’s tech scene by opening the Eastside Tech Hub on East 6th Street. Now housing 600 H-E-B employees and growing, the state-of-the-art office aims to inspire work as innovative as Austin itself.
August ’19
Committed to growing its tech workforce in Texas, H-E-B announced plans to construct a state-of-the-art tech center in downtown San Antonio. Designed to occupy 150,000 square feet in the heart of H-E-B’s corporate Arsenal campus, it is expected to open in summer 2022.
December ’19
A new era of H-E-B shopping began with the launch of the My H-E-B app. The reimagined native app brought customers a streamlined shopping experience with key features that improved not just Curbside and Home delivery shopping, but in-store shopping as well.
December ’20
To ensure convenience is accessible for all customers, H-E-B expanded payment options to accept SNAP EBT via the My H-E-B mobile app and heb.com. Customers can also shop with SNAP in mind, by checking their card balance and filtering search to only SNAP-eligible items.