Kroger’s Commitment to Competing in the Texas Market

Kroger is up for the challenge of competing against H-E-B in the Texas market. Everything is bigger in Texas, even the options for grocery stores. In a state dominated by H-E-B, it might seem intimidating for others to try to compete. However, Kroger, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary in Houston this year, is determined to stay competitive.

A History of Serving Houston

Houston’s ties with Kroger go further back than you’d think. The store first entered the Houston market with the acquisition of Henke & Pillot in May 1955. Prior to this, Henke & Pillot had served as one of Houston’s very first grocery store chains. In the seven decades since, Kroger has worked to localize its stores to fit Houston shoppers. From an outsider looking in, it might seem like every store is the same, but dive deeper and you’ll realize each location has a touch of the neighborhood reflected in its items.

Local Partnerships and Acquisitions

Garret Fairchild, head of deli and bakery merchandising at Kroger, helps with this localization. Prior to taking on his current role in 2004, Fairchild helped launch Kroger’s partnership with Houston-based Japanese Food Express in 1996. What started as a small relationship with a local company has since blossomed into a national powerhouse. Kroger now sells fresh sushi each day with local and seasonal items, including a Houstonian roll and a San Antonio roll. Kroger’s sushi selection is so vast that analysts reported in 2023 it was the biggest seller of sushi in the US. According to the findings, Kroger sells about 40 million pieces of sushi in a year.

Kroger also acquired Murray’s Cheese in 2017, a famous New York cheese shop the company had been partnering with since 2008. The purchase made Murray’s the de facto cheese counter at many Kroger locations, bringing in better selections than competitors like H-E-B. Fairchild notes that some of the cheeses carried can be found only at Kroger or Murray’s Cheese. In Houston, 51 out of the store’s 107 locations across the region are home to the cheese shop.

Training and Certification

Fairchild says the best part about the partnership is the training program. Kroger helps its staffers behind the cheese counter become certified cheese professionals—a title not many people hold. The company offers scholarships to employees to send them to California for training with the American Cheese Society. Fairchild says it’s just like college—one worker even told him he often stays up until 2am to study.

Expanding Product Offerings

Kroger’s staff also likes to find local partnerships. A couple years ago, Fairchild stumbled into Winfield’s Chocolate Bar in Rice Village and immediately realized that doing business with them would be a great move for Kroger’s Houston market. Kroger now sells several Winfield’s products in 14 locations across Houston. Some of these include dark chocolate–covered almonds, truffles, chocolate-covered Oreos, a cowboy boot–shaped milk chocolate bar—which Fairchild loves to gift to people who aren’t from Texas—and its bestseller, chocolate-covered s’mores.

Burns BBQ Partnership

Fairchild is especially proud of the partnership Kroger has developed with Cory Crawford of Burns BBQ, which stemmed from the pandemic. At the time, Burns BBQ needed a way to make money, like many other businesses, so Crawford began doing pop-ups around town and in some of Kroger’s parking lots. The two worked together to place locations of Burns BBQ inside Kroger. The barbecue joint can now be found in three locations: Katy, Northeast Houston (in the Summerwood area), and Pearland, with a fourth coming to the North Shepherd store soon.

Enhancing the Shopping Experience

Kroger has also enhanced the shopping experience with its Cork and Tap wine bar. The wine bar, which opened in 2016, offers wine tastings and other events. Jaime De Leon, Kroger beer and wine specialist, plans to add more events to the wine bar. He’s also helped bring a wide assortment of varietals to Kroger shelves: At any given location across Houston, you’ll find about 1,500 to 2,000 wines in stock, and at the Heights location, this number rises to 3,000.

Catering to Diversity

The Houston market is also unique because it’s home to Kroger’s first Hispanic concept store, located in the South Belt-Ellington neighborhood. Liz Garner, local vice president of merchandising, says they made this decision because Hispanics make up a large number of Texas’s population. The remodel of the South Belt-Ellington location, unveiled in 2023, was led by Laura Urquiza Gump, the first Latina president in Kroger history.

Asian Food and Future Plans

Kroger has a team responsible for gathering data on market trends. Recently, they’ve found consumers increasingly gravitating to Asian food. Now, Kroger—more specifically the Heights location—has about 30 feet set aside for the cuisine’s products within one of its aisles. Garner says the Dallas division has tested an Asian concept store, similarly to the Hispanic stores already in place, and that a Houston one could follow in the near future.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Kroger is committed to competing in the Texas market by offering a wide range of products, partnering with local businesses, and enhancing the shopping experience. With its long history in Houston, Kroger has learned to cater to the diversity of the city and provide ingredients that people love. As Edmund LeBlanc, head of grocery merchandising for Kroger in Houston, says, "If you can survive in Houston, you can survive anywhere in the country." By continuing to innovate and adapt to the needs of its customers, Kroger is well-positioned to remain a major player in the Texas grocery market.