Written by Wyndi Veigel-Gaudette
Texas grocery giant HEB is now welcoming Erath County favorite Armagh Creamery into its upper stores, showcasing a variety of locally made delicious yogurt.
As of this week Armagh Creamery’s selection of six ounce yogurts – Strawberry Cream, Blueberry, Vanilla Honey, Maple Yogurt and Plain – will be sold in 43 of its upper stores throughout Texas. Most of the fancier HEB stores are located in Houston, Dallas and Austin.
The creamery, owned by Katie and Ryan McDowell, started its journey to go into HEB stores by entering the Quest for Texas Best contest in which they were named as a finalist and placed third overall.
For the last 11 years, HEB has set out on a quest to find the best local products made by Texans.
‘Quest for Texas Best’ is an open call for locally owned, small food, beverage and general merchandise suppliers to have their items considered for placement on HEB shelves and $25,000 in their pocket.
In April 2023 they applied for the contest and in June 2023, they were notified that they had become a top 10 finalist.
During the course of the contest, representatives from HEB came to the McDowell homestead to see the practices of the creamery and how the yogurt is made as well as how the animals are treated.
The brand and product were put in front of a panel of judges and Armagh Creamery placed third after competing in a “Shark Tank”-style final round.
“They really invested in us,” Ryan said. During the process, there were also informative sessions including how to be successful in a retail environment.
The McDowells were asked to travel to New Braunfels and were told by HEB that they would be deciding that day who had made the top 10 finalists.
In reality, that decision had already been made and when they turned a corner in the store, a congratulations banner and excitement greeted them.
“Honestly, most of us didn’t know what was going on,” Ryan said, laughing. “It was a shock and took us a moment to figure it out.”
“We are really honored to work with them,” Katie said. “We were very surprised and humbled.”
The family plans to take a trip to a Dallas store to go see their yogurt on the shelf, check on the product and see how it is selling.
The couple said one of the most humbling experiences is when the head of HEB’s sourcing department was retiring after 35 years, he went to Ireland in the Spring and visited county Armagh.
“He sent us a handwritten letter detailing the experience,” Ryan said.
Unfortunately , Stephenville’s HEB will not be selling the yogurt, however, Armagh Creamery will continue to sell their products locally at Blackjack’s and at Lingleville Country Store. along with the soon-to-be opened King’s Coffee in Stephenville.
Recently, the creamery also started a Creamery Club, where members are allowed to purchase raw cow’s milk.
Katie explained that in Texas, raw milk is permitted as of 2021 to be sold as long as it is sold from “point of production” directly to the consumer so long as the seller has obtained the required Retail Milk Permit. It must be prepurchased.
In the Creamery Club, customers are allowed to place orders weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, and are able to add on Armagh’s cheese (Doublin’ Down Brie-Style Cheese).
“It’s a great way to diversify our business and get to make a relationship with customers since typically with the yogurt we don’t get to meet them,” Katie said.
Currently, the Creamery Club is at capacity with a waiting list, but they are hoping to expand in the next few months.
“We have a lot of faithful customers who are really grateful for what we are doing,” she said. “It has been an opportunity to learn and grow.”
“We are grateful to be serving our customers and hoping to widen our reach with organic quality products,” Katie said.