A native Texan who grew up in Harlingen, Cindy Gomez understands the culinary heritage that defines the Lone Star State. She used that knowledge to create H-E-B Cocinaware, a colorful, casual line of cookware and kitchen gadgets designed for the way Texans live—and eat!

"We have a unique lifestyle in Texas that someone up North might not necessarily get," explains Cindy. "For example, we understand the importance of the tamale during the holidays so we created a masa spreader. It's our top seller during the month of December."

The colorful "Tia Lety's" tortilla warmers are another customer favorite for the way they keep tortillas warm for more than an hour, and can be thrown in the washing machine for a quick clean up.

But of all the cookware that make up the Cocinaware collection, the star is the 5.2-quart Dutch Oven. Perfect for making stews, caldos, and that Texas staple, chili!

"It compares to other, more expensive brands, but retails for just $29.97," says Cindy who, along with her team, hand selects everything from the design specs to the bold colors that define the collection.

"It started so small, but it's really taken off," she says proudly.

Cindy started her career as a buyer in fashion for big name retailers like Dillards and Joski's, but home is where her heart is. That's why she jumped at the chance to join H-E-B 17 years ago as the housewares and kitchen buyer.

"Fashion is in today gone tomorrow," she explains of the transition. "Home buying is a business with heart and soul. It's more meaningful to me."

Although she is no longer in fashion, Cindy still stays on top of trends. This season, she is rolling out a small group of Cocinaware in an understatedly elegant matte black finish with copper handles. It's a departure from the bright hues that she describes as the "heart and soul" of the collection, but it's right on point.

"It's such a huge trend in kitchenware that we simply couldn't ignore it," she explains of the limited-edition collection.

When she isn't buying cookware for H-E-B, Cindy can be found spending time with her three grandsons, ages 1, 4 and 6. Always on the go, she enjoys staying active through swimming, tennis, biking and hiking.

Cindy is proud of the growth of Cocinaware, and sees it as a simply an extension of what H-E-B is known for: food!

"H-E-B offers the complete solution for our customer," she describes. "We give them great food, and beautiful, state of the art Cocinaware to cook and serve it in."