Hy-Vee’s  Best of Local Brands Summit in March to expand and enhance their to all of their retail stores . Since the Best of Local Brands summits began in 2021, more than 125 new brands have been added to Hy-Vee shelves.  Hy-Vee continues its efforts of identifying suppliers with diverse backgrounds and encourages minority-owned and women-owned businesses to apply for the quarterly summits.  The summit consists of 15- to 30-minute virtual presentations from selected suppliers and will take place Wednesday, March 1.  Hy-Vee will accept submissions for its Best of Local Brands Summit online starting Monday, Jan. 9 at www.rangeme.com/hyveebestoflocal23q1 in the following categories of retail-ready products: grocery, produce, deli, general merchandise, frozen, dairy, and health and beauty care. Submission deadline is Monday, Jan. 23.    ECRM and RangeMe are helping Hy-Vee source, qualify and connect with suppliers. All product submissions will be made through RangeMe, an 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.  This is an excellent opportunity for unique local suppliers to expand into a larger area, and a major retail grocery chain in the region.  Maryville store manager Nate Jaster comments on the event here: