From Southwest Colorado to Hy-Vee HQ: Pact Minis Takes First Place
Okay, we have to boast for a second. Pact Minis, a Southwest Colorado company, just won 1st place at the Hy-Vee Opportunity Supplier Impact Summit Series and took home $15K!
So, what is this competition?
Hy-Vee is an employee-owned grocery chain based in West Des Moines, Iowa. Its Opportunity Supplier Impact Summit Series connects small businesses with Hy-Vee category managers, merchants, and leaders, with education, networking, and the potential for real retail partnerships. Products from past participants are now on Hy-Vee shelves, so this is a genuine path to the grocery aisle.
The numbers speak for themselves:
1,200 suppliers applied
80 were selected to attend
3 got the chance to pitch
Pact Minis was one of those three. Then they won first place!
Meet the winners
Pact Minis makes organic, colorful veggie snack cups, freshly picked and ready to grab for lunchboxes, desk drawers, commutes, and everything in between. Their motto says it all: healthy made handy.
The company was founded by Brooke and Chaz Shelton, a family with ten years of experience tackling waste and freshness challenges in produce. Between that work and a busy family life, they kept running into the same problem: it was hard to find convenient, wholesome snacks. So they built Pact Minis to fill a clear gap in the produce aisle.
“We walked into a room of national brands as a two-person company from Durango, and walked out with first place. Winning Hy-Vee’s pitch competition told us the idea of a clean, organic veggie snack you can actually grab on the go resonates with one of the biggest grocers in the Midwest.”
— Brooke Shelton, Co-Founder, Pact Minis
“Building a food brand in Southwest Colorado comes with real challenges, but having an ecosystem like SCAPE here means you don’t have to do it alone. We’re proud to show that companies built in Durango can compete nationally.”
— Chaz Shelton, CEO & Co-Founder, Pact Minis
Why this one hits home for us
A family-built produce company from a small mountain region showed up at a national retail table and beat out most of the country. That's the story we love telling; what’s possible in rural communities and that yes, you could do this too!
Rural founders often work harder for the same access: fewer investors nearby, fewer mentors down the street, and a long way to the people who make the buying decisions. So when one of our region's companies gets in front of those decision-makers and wins, it shows the talent was here all along.
“Pact Minis’ win isn’t just a big deal for Brooke and Chaz. It’s meaningful for all founders in our region. It proves that a great idea and a local support system for entrepreneurs can break through the barriers of rural, and that Southwest Colorado can compete with anyone.”
— Heather Otter, Executive Director, SCAPE
What's next
You can learn more at pactminis.com.
Congrats to Brooke, Chaz, and the whole Pact Minis crew. You earned this one, and we can't wait to see those snack cups on shelves.
Got a business idea brewing in Southwest Colorado? Inquire with us here!
