Midwestern grocery chain Hy-Vee, which runs 296 stores across nine states, is maintaining its relevance in an increasingly competitive marketplace by building relationships with food and beverage manufacturers, according to Hy-Vee CEO Jeremy Gosch.
During a question-and-answer session at Groceryshop 2025, Gosch said Hy-Vee is further differentiating itself from national grocers and other competitors by matching low prices and offering unique products.
The grocer is additionally leveraging its more than 270 pharmacies to attract consumers who are taking GLP-1 drugs and focusing on healthy diets.
The chain has also launched a program in 2026, inviting food and beverage manufacturers to pitch new products directly to Hy-Vee category managers.
Low prices equal differentiation
Low prices are non-negotiable in today’s market, according to Gosch, who explained that Hy-Vee has spent the last two years lowering prices.
“Price today is table stakes,” he said. “When you’ve got full price transparency with e-commerce, you can’t afford to not be priced right, so we launched and relaunched a price campaign two years ago that we matched across the top 15,000 items, penny for penny, with the largest or the cheapest retailer in any of our markets.”
The move aimed to reverse the notion that regional grocers charge more than their national and online competitors, according to Gosch.
For common consumer packaged goods products like macaroni and cheese, Gosch said to just price them low and move on to products that will differentiate the product lineup. “You’ve got to find the items the customers want, and that’s where you’ve got to be able to make your margin,” he said.
Private label push
The “affordability equation” is contingent on developing a robust private label program and winning in perishables.
Consumers’ growing preference for private label products drove Hy-Vee to develop more than 1,400 new private label products in 2025 alone, according to Gosch.
In January 2026, the grocer launched its Nothing But the Truth health-forward private label line of products that excludes 150 ingredients, such as high-fructose corn syrup and artificial additives and dyes.
“Serving as a cornerstone of Hy-Vee’s HealthMarket department, Nothing But The Truth will be featured prominently on store shelves and displays, and the line’s premium packaging will feature key nutritional attributes and dietary callouts to help guide purchase decisions and reinforce the brand’s transparency promise,” the company said in January.
Gosch conceded that the company doesn’t like the name Nothing But the Truth and plans to change it soon.
Hy-Vee’s GLP-1 assist
Hy-Vee is also differentiating itself from competitors through its new GLP-1 Wellness Program that offers those using the drugs three one-on-one check-ins with Hy-Vee’s registered dietitians.
The program, which was launched in early July, also includes a video series that provides goal-setting tactics and other strategies for successful use of the drugs.
Hy-Vee aims to capture the wave of consumers who now have access to the drugs as a result of the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program for weight loss, which dramatically lowered the drug’s price.
GLP-1 drugs will help you eat less, but “it’s not going to change what you eat,” he said, adding that the goal is to help customers change behavior while on the medication.
“When they come off of the medication, they’re putting the weight back on, so we’re trying to make it so that they have the ability to eventually not be medicated anymore because they’re going to change what they’re eating,” he said.
In the Hy-Vee Shark Tank
Hy-Vee is upping its differentiation game with a product pitch contest for food and beverage startups.
In June, the West Des Moines, Iowa-based grocer announced its pitch contest as an opportunity for three small businesses to pitch their products during the grocer’s Opportunity Supplier Impact Summit.
The three finalists also receive a $30,000 prize pool for their product development. Hy-Vee also invites an additional 80 companies to the summit, roughly 90% of which will get access to Hy-Vee store shelves, Gosch explained.
“It gives us an advantage because most of those products in the innovation space are really focused on health and wellness and where the customer is going today,” he said. “So it allows us to be first to market and quick to give our customers solutions for health and wellness that they’re really looking for today.”
