News Briefs

Food technology company GrubMarket has completed the acquisition of tech-driven fresh produce supplier SunFed, one of the top importers of squash into the United States. The full-service food distribution and wholesale business has a 65,000-square-foot warehouse and state-of-the-art processing facilities. 

“We are excited to join the GrubMarket team and welcome the opportunities brought forth by GrubMarket’s robust technology platform and strong e-commerce supply and demand network,” said Craig Slate, CEO of Nogales, Ariz.-based SunFed. “We are constantly striving to deliver on our promise of Perfect Produce to our customers throughout North America, and also seek to strengthen and grow our best-in-class grower network. We are thrilled to learn that GrubMarket shares this same goal and has built out such a well-integrated and much-needed e-commerce and technology-enabled platform to bring fresh food to so many important customers across the country.”

Mike Xu, CEO of San Francisco-based GrubMarket, added: “SunFed is one of the most trusted brands in the nation for squashes and other dry vegetables, watermelons, cantaloupe, and honeydews. … [T]he exceptional team at SunFed have scaled the company to over $100 million in annual revenues with a strong profitability profile. In addition, they are mission-driven with strong sustainability and food safety practices, which match GrubMarket’s goals and ambitions. This acquisition enables GrubMarket to further strengthen our presence in key markets like Texas and Arizona, while solidifying our position in the food supply chain industry as a technology enabler.”

As a part of GrubMarket’s portfolio, SunFed can make use of its proprietary WholesaleWare, a software-as-a-service platform providing food wholesalers and distributors with financial management, sales and online ordering features, inventory management, lot traceability and tracking, grower accounting, and automated routing and logistics tools.

Mike Gross has joined Weis Markets as its new VP of center store sales and merchandising. The 25-year grocery veteran comes to the grocer from Cub Foods/UNFI in Stillwater, Minn., and has also worked in store operations, merchandising and category management for Shoppers Food and Pharmacy and SuperValu.

In his new position at Weis Markets, Gross will oversee the day-to-day category management, merchandising and pricing for the company’s grocery, dairy, frozen, health and beauty care/general merchandise and adult beverage departments. He is a native of Frederick, Md., and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Maryland.

Gross reports to Bob Gleeson, SVP, merchandising and marketing. He comes to Weis Markets at a dynamic time, as the company recently reported company-high sales of $4.2 billion for its fiscal year ending Dec. 25, 2021.

Sunbury, Pa.-based Weis Markets operates 197 stores in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and West Virginia. The company is No. 60 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. The retailer was also recently named as one of PG's Top 10 Regional Grocers to Watch.

Amid a surge in grocery and gas prices, Giant Eagle is helping customers maximize savings by giving them until the end of the year to accrue and use their grocery and fuel Perks. As such, all current Perks will not expire until Dec. 31, effective immediately. 

"Rising fuel costs present very real challenges for our communities, so we're creating more opportunity for Giant Eagle customers to accumulate and redeem Perks by extending expiration through the end of 2022," said Jannah Jablonowski, Giant Eagle's spokesperson. "In addition to extended expiration, customers can save even more by taking advantage of AdvantagePAY and new opportunities with MyPerks."

Giant Eagle also announced that its new myPerks rewards program has rolled out to customers throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia. The dollar-based program offers a $1 reward for every 50 Perks earned and allows customers to redeem the perks whenever and however they choose.

With almost $10 billion in annual sales, Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle operates more than 470 stores throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. Strategic partnerships highlighting digital innovation were key to Giant Eagle’s recent inclusion in Progressive Grocer’s Top 10 Regional Operators to Watch. The company is also No. 37 on The PG 100, PG’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Market Basket’s latest location is now open in Hanover, Mass., about 20 miles southeast of Boston. The retailer held a grand opening for the store at 1775 Washington Street on March 11.

Market Basket has a strong presence and history in New England, with more than a century in business and a family-centric structure. Based in Tewskbury, Mass., the grocer’s footprint includes more than 90 locations in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

The Hanover store will be open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Sunday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.  In addition to traditional grocery products and meat, seafood, dairy, frozen, deli and bakery departments, the new location includes a prepared food area, café and sushi station.

Market Basket was recently featured in Progressive Grocers’ list of Top 10 Regional Operators to Watch and was also ranked third in the annual dunnhumby Retailer Preference Index (RPI), behind Amazon and H-E-B.

In an effort to help feed seniors in need, Food Lion Feeds, the grocer’s hunger-relief initiative, is donating $50,000 to Meals on Wheels America. The donation will allow Meals on Wheels to offer 5,000 meals to seniors and recognizes the 50th anniversary of the federal legislation that created the program.

Food Lion’s charitable foundation is also partnering with Meals on Wheels for a 50-hour fundraising initiative that begins at 12 a.m. March 15. Food Lion Feeds will give $2 for each $1 donated through the Meals on Wheels donation website, up to $50,000.

“Fighting senior hunger is one of Food Lion Feeds’ focus areas, so we’re excited to partner with our neighbors and Meals on Wheels to make a meaningful difference in nourishing homebound seniors,” said Kevin Durkee, manager of Food Lion Feeds. “Partnering with organizations like Meals on Wheels to eliminate barriers our neighbors face to access affordable, nutritious food is critical. Additionally, the added benefit of a personal connection for homebound seniors in the towns and cities Food Lion serves is an important program component, especially during the isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion has more than 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, and employs more than 82,000 associates. Its parent company, Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize operating more than 2,000 stores across 23 states, is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

ShopRite of Yardley will hold the grand opening of its new beer and wine department and in-store café on Saturday, March 19.

The grand opening of the newly remodeled section will be commemorated with wine and beer tastings, along with cheese pairings from the  store’s cheese department. The new department will feature nearly 200 kinds of beers and wines for shoppers to choose from, including domestic, imported and craft beers, as well as top-selling wines, wines produced by smaller and organic producers, and kosher wines.

“We look forward to offering our customers a special collection of wines and beers that have been carefully selected by our knowledgeable staff and beverage manager,” said Joe Colalillo, president of ShopRite of Hunterdon County and the owner and operator of the ShopRite of Yardley, located at 1603 Big Oak Road in Yardley, Pa.

The new department also includes an adjacent café that allows customers to enjoy a snack or meal from the store’s food offerings, along with a beer or glass of wine.

Visitors can check out the bottle shop and tasting event during the grand opening, which will take place from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The largest retailer-owned grocery cooperative in the United States, Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern comprises nearly 50 members that independently own and operate 361 supermarkets under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage and Fairway Market banners in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Together with its member companies, Wakefern employs nearly 80,000 people. The company is No. 23 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 listing of North America’s top food and consumables retailers in North America.