Haltom City paleta maker Sol Dias wins H-E-B's Quest for Texas Best grand prize

A family paleta business from Haltom City is now officially "Texas Best." Sol Dias, a Mexican ice cream and paleta company, won the grand prize in H-E-B's annual Quest for Texas Best competition. The win comes with $50,000 in cash and a guaranteed place on H-E-B shelves.

Victor and Stacey Garcia founded Sol Dias Ice Cream in 2020. According to H-E-B, Victor learned to make paletas from his parents, who ran their own businesses, and he bagged paletas as a boy. The couple built the company around the sweets of their family's hometown, Mexticacan, Jalisco, which H-E-B calls the birthplace of the paleta. The company says long churning and a few real ingredients give its bars a creamy texture and big chunks of fruit.

This was the competition's 13th year, and H-E-B drew a record 978 entries from more than 500 companies across Texas. The field was narrowed to 10 finalists in September, and they pitched their products on October 8 at H-E-B's headquarters in San Antonio. Second place and $15,000 went to Hive Food Co., a Houston beekeeping business known for infused honey. In all, H-E-B has awarded nearly $2.75 million in prize money through the program. It also offers marketing support and mentoring to help small businesses grow.

Fans don't have to wait for the grocery aisle. Sol Dias already has shops in Haltom City, Watauga and Irving, and another location is planned for Northside Fort Worth in spring 2027.

This story is based on original reporting by CultureMap Dallas, with additional details from the H-E-B Newsroom.