WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Hy-Vee Inc. said it will host its next quarterly Best of Local Brands Summit in September. The aim is to expand and enhance the product offerings at Hy-Vee’s more than 285 retail stores in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Since the Best of Local Brands summits began in early 2021, more than 100 new brands have been selected and are now available to Hy-Vee customers.

This year, Hy-Vee continues to elevate its efforts of identifying suppliers with diverse backgrounds and encourages minority-owned and women-owned businesses to apply for the quarterly summits. The summit will consist of 20-minute virtual interviews with selected suppliers and will take place Wednesday, Sept. 7 through Friday, Sept. 9.

Hy-Vee is currently accepting submissions for its Best of Local Brands Summit online at www.rangeme.com/hyveebestoflocal22q3 in the following categories of retail-ready products: grocery, produce, deli, general merchandise, frozen, dairy, and health and beauty care. Submission deadline is July 18.

ECRM and RangeMe are helping Hy-Vee source, qualify and connect with suppliers. All product submissions will be made through RangeMe, the online product discovery and sourcing platform. All meetings will be conducted through ECRM’s virtual meeting platform, ECRM Connect. Suppliers not chosen for participation in this summit will still be accessible through RangeMe and may be reviewed by Hy-Vee again in the future.

Hy-Vee, which is owned by its employees, operates more than 285 retail stores across eight Midwestern states and has annual sales of more than $12 billion.