Hy-Vee, Inc. announced that it will host this year’s Hy-Vee Opportunity Supplier Impact Summit on September 9 and 10, 2026, at Hy-Vee corporate headquarters in West Des Moines, Iowa.
The Opportunity Supplier Impact Summit provides small businesses and entrepreneurs with valuable resources and gives them a chance to pitch their products directly to Hy-Vee category managers.
Hy-Vee will accept submissions for small businesses to attend the summit online at https://www.rangeme.com/opportunitysupplierimpact. Entrants must offer retail products in one of the following categories: grocery, produce, deli, general merchandise, frozen, dairy, beauty, or health and wellness. Hy-Vee will select 80 small businesses from all applications to attend the summit in person. The deadline for all submissions is 11:59 p.m. PDT on July 13, 2026.
Over the course of the two-day event, the Opportunity Supplier Impact Summit will offer comprehensive insights about doing business with Hy-Vee, along with industry-specific educational sessions and opportunities for networking with key Hy-Vee leaders across various sectors, including procurement and retail store management.
Attendees will gain insight into Hy-Vee’s supplier operations, receive strategic guidance for growth, as well as access critical tools for successful scaling that may include on-the-spot contract purchases.
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Live Pitch Competition for Emerging Suppliers
A live pitch competition highlights day one, opening doors for early-stage small businesses nationwide. Hy-Vee will select three applicants to compete live. Hy-Vee is providing a $30,000 prize pool to the three pitch participants.
Category Manager Meetings & Expo
All selected attending businesses will meet one-on-one with retail and supply chain leaders to pitch their products and explore opportunities for potential partnerships with on-the-spot item approval and increased visibility within the Hy-Vee market. Select suppliers will be able to participate in a supplier expo demoing products with key Hy-Vee decision-makers. A resource roundtable will also be made available to all attendees that includes discussions with Hy-Vee leaders on topics from distribution and food safety to finance, merchandising and marketing.
For decades, Hy-Vee has embraced small businesses by growing relationships with new suppliers and providing the opportunity for these brands to expand.