Welcome to our annual Food Trade News Market Study issue! This annual labor of love brings you the most accurate and informative data for the Northeast retail food market that can’t be found anywhere else! It takes a team of everyone rowing in the same direction to pull it off and this year it’s under the helm of our “new” owner Alex Wissel. As has been the case for many years, the study is guided by Jeff Metzger and Terri Maloney, with assistance from Maria Maggio and yours truly in gathering the data and other information presented in these pages. This year, new team members Janani Ravi and Greg Madison pitched in, mainly with gathering information about new store openings as well as some other research. An additional tip of the hat to our partners at Eink, Matt Danielson and Jenny Jones, for their exceptional work at putting the “polish” on it all. I hope you enjoy absorbing the data and find it useful for your purposes.
I was really happy to hear that King Kullen Grocery Company has appointed Tracey Cullen as its new president and chief operating officer. Tracey, who will be the first woman to lead King Kullen, takes over from Joe Brown who retired after 53 years with the company (sidenote, between Joe and his dad, another longtime KK employee, the two Brown men had over 100+ years of service to KK). Tracey is the daughter of former King Kullen Co-President Brian Cullen, and she most recently served as senior vice president of company operations.
“This is a special day for the King Kullen organization as Tracey takes the helm of the company founded by her great-grandfather 96 years ago,” King Kullen Chairman James Cullen said in a statement. “Over the years, my niece has taken on leadership roles of increasing responsibility and has played an important part in helping shape the company’s future. As King Kullen’s first female president, her appointment represents an important milestone for our company and reflects the respect she has earned throughout the organization. Everyone at King Kullen joins me in congratulating Tracey on this well-deserved appointment.”
And I was also glad to hear that another good friend received a big promotion. Miguel Abreu of Goya Foods has been promoted to director of DSD sales.
“Miguel’s dedication, leadership, and deep-rooted understanding of our business make him the ideal choice for director of DSD sales,” said Peter Unanue, co-president of Goya Foods. “He embodies the values of our company and has played a critical role in our continued growth and success. We are confident that under his leadership, our sales department will reach even greater heights.”
Goya SVP Joe Perez added, “Over the years, Miguel has demonstrated an exceptional ability to lead teams, drive results, and build meaningful partnerships across all levels of the company. His strategic mindset and collaborative approach have made a lasting impact, and we look forward to his continued success in this new role.”
Miguel, who has been with Goya since 1998 and has steadily grown within the company, said, “I am truly honored to step into the role of director of DSD Sales at Goya Foods,” he said. “Having grown with Goya for nearly three decades, I am proud to be part of a company that values teamwork, innovation, and community. I look forward to continuing to work alongside our talented teams to drive growth, strengthen partnerships, and build on Goya’s incredible 90 year legacy.” Good luck, Miguel.
Kudos to Wakefern Food Corp. and ShopRite as they got into the athletic spirit of things and gave back to their local communities. First up was their continued support of the Special Olympics New Jersey Summer Games, which took place June 5-7 at The College of New Jersey. More than 300 volunteers, including Wakefern team members and ShopRite associates gave their time and energy throughout the event, continuing a nearly 40-year tradition.
“Our relationship with Special Olympics New Jersey has been incredibly meaningful to our Wakefern and ShopRite family for decades,” said Mike Stigers, president of Wakefern. “From cheering on athletes at the Summer Games to supporting year-round programs, it’s inspiring to see the joy, determination and sense of community Special Olympics New Jersey brings to so many. We’re proud to play a small part in helping these athletes shine.”
Next up was ShopRite’s kick-off to the FIFA World Cup with the launch of the We Kick It Here Tour, a family-friendly series of events bringing soccer celebrations to 23 ShopRite stores across the Northeast especially at stores near Met Life Stadium and The Linc where many matches will take place. The event will transform ShopRite parking lots into interactive soccer fan zones featuring product sampling and giveaways, digital experiences including face painting and personalized trading cards, and more soccer-themed fun designed to celebrate fan culture and community spirit. “Soccer fans are gearing up for an unforgettable summer, and ShopRite is excited to help bring that energy to life with fun, family-friendly events close to home,” said Francisco Alberto, vice president of sales and marketing for.
Tour stops will take place on select Thursdays through Sundays at participating ShopRite stores, including locations in Rochelle Park, Little Falls, West Caldwell, Mt. Laurel, Philadelphia, Yardley, Carteret, Wallington, Morristown, Kearny, Staten Island, Huntington, Stamford, Cinnaminson, Lawnside, Wilmington, Bel Air, South Plainfield, Passaic, Lincoln Park and Morristown.
Uncle Giuseppe’s held an interesting promotion for Father’s Day. The company asked dads in a social media poll about grilling plans for the day and the results showed that 87 percent of New York and New Jersey dads plan to grill for Father’s Day. More than half of the respondents (59 percent) were willing to let someone else be the grill master so they could relax and they wanted a hearty meal as 84 percent said meat would be their top item to grill while 8 percent said vegetables and 7 percent seafood.
Uncle G’s took those results and came up with BBQs in a Bag, a kit that comes with meats, sides, and desserts all in one place. They serve as many as five to 25 guests with six different BBQ bundles to choose, from hot dogs to a surf and turf kit. The kits will be available for the summertime season and thus far have been a big success.
And finally, a little PSA reminder for everyone. It is the summertime and we heard from our friends at Long Island Cares and Island Harvest to remind us that when school lets out for the summer, many of the vital child nutrition programs go on break, too. Without the school meal programs, thousands of children go hungry in the summer. Food donations, monetary contributions or volunteering can go a long way in combatting the fight against hunger.
For more information you can visit islandharvest.org or licares.org, or your local food bank.
That’s a wrap for this month. Again, I hope you all enjoy the read on this Annual Market Study issue, and please let us know if you have any questions or critiques.
And before I sign off, I wanted to give a respectful tip of the cap to Jeff Metzger. This will be Jeff’s final issue of his illustrious career and I wanted to say thanks, not just for me, but for what he has meant to the food industry along the eastern seaboard over the last five decades. I will give Jeff a more adequate send off in next month’s column, but wanted to say farewell, old friend.
As always, you can reach me at 201.250.2217 or [email protected].