Hello all and I hope this finds everyone doing well and getting ready for the summer season. Here at Food Trade News and Food World we are in the throes of putting together our annual Market Study issues. These are, without a shadow of a doubt, the preeminent statistical data publications representing the happenings of the retail food industry from southern New England down to the Carolinas! If you are interested in advertising in either of these issues, give us a call and we’ll be happy to let you know how to participate.
I had a chance to attend the opening of the new and spectacular Goya warehouse in Jersey City, NJ, just a stone’s throw from the old headquarters on Seaview Avenue in Secaucus. After a long and arduous search, Goya, the largest U.S. Hispanic-owned food company, chose to stay in the GardenState with its new corporate headquarters and regional distribution center. Goya had considered moving the company’s headquarters to New YorkState, where it said it was considering building an 893,000 square foot facility in Suffern, RocklandCounty. Instead, they will keep 400 jobs in New Jersey, and will add an additional 100 jobs at the new facilities. Located in Jersey City’s industrial western edge, the new eco-friendly center is Goya’s largest development in its history and just one piece of its $500 million global expansion plan. “Location, location, and location. Everything comes here. It’s one of the biggest transportation hubs,” says Bob Unanue, president of Goya Foods. “Almost half of our expansion investment (nearly $250 million) is going to New Jersey.” Goya unveiled the state-of-the-art headquarters in Jersey City in an event reminiscent of a political convention, including a speech by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a marching band, a string quartet, video productions and an explosion of confetti falling from the ceiling. The new building, which includes a 600,000 square foot warehouse, is the largest part of what the company says is a more than $500 million investment that will help Goya grow for years to come. Kudos go to Rafael Toro, Goya’s director of public relations, who did a masterful job of keeping the crowd smiling, laughing and engaged as he also welcomed everyone as an official member of “La Gran Familia Goya!”
The expansion plan also includes an upgrade to aforementioned Goya’s former headquarters in Secaucus, which will be solely dedicated to manufacturing when it is finished in July. The upgrade of the Secaucus location will enable the company to produce rice mix products six times faster than at present, or about 600 packages per minute. Together, the two facilities cost $250 million, company officials said. Bob Unanue said the work on the two facilities marks the last phase of “the largest expansion in Goya’s history. It is the culmination of almost 80 years of hard work,” and one that is “designed to reach new consumers and strengthen the Goya brand worldwide,” he said.
“To have an internationally acknowledged company like Goya, not only have roots in New Jersey, but to want to deepen those roots even more by building a building like this and making the type of investment that they have made in the state and in our people, is incredibly gratifying,” Christie said in his speech to the crowd.
Goya has 26 facilities in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Spain, with 4,000 employees, including 500 in New Jersey. Last year, the company opened new facilities in Texas, California and Georgia. It’s in the process of closing a Bethpage, Long Island facility. The expansion is driven by Goya’s increased sales in new geographic areas of the country, as well as to non-Hispanic consumers, said Peter Unanue, vice president. That’s been done partly by increasing the company’s product line from 900 items early in the last decade, to about 2,200 today, he said. “In the last 10 years, we have opened new territories, like Virginia, and Atlanta, expanding our facilities across the country to reach larger geographic areas and to get products into more households and pantries,” he said. “It’s a multi-pronged approach.” Buena suerte a todos en Goya!
Congratulations to Nebraskaland on being named an authorized vendor to the Associated Stores roster of customers. Associated had been a void for Nebraskaland, Daniel Romanoff, EVP at the company had told us, but now the Bronx based distributor is raring to go with all of the Associated, Compare Foods, Met Food, Metropolitan City Markets and other Associated customers……
Richie Saker and the Saker family recently unveiled a magnificent World Class ShopRite in Howell, NJ. The site is located in the FriendshipPlaza on Route 9 South and the new 80,000 square foot unit will be the Saker’s 30th ShopRite. What once was the site of one of the best-grossing Pathmark stores in New Jersey, has been expanded by 20,000 square feet by the Saker family. Other tenants in the shopping plaza are PetSmart which moved to the other end of the plaza to make room for ShopRite, and a Hobby Lobby. The store offers services that ShopRite customers have come to expect, including: a fresh bake shop, fresh meat cut to order, a floral department and fresh seafood delivered daily, as well as a broad selection of natural and organic products in every department. All “World Class” Saker ShopRites also offer customers a hot buffet bar, as well as a wide variety of freshly prepared entrées and gourmet delicacies, including fresh-baked pizza, fresh-made sushi, a cold buffet bar, a Mediterranean olive bar and cheeses from around the world. The ShopRite of Howell will have a pharmacy, an in-store café, a specialty Cigar Shoppe, and a full-service catering department to complement any occasion, from an intimate dinner for two to a full-scale gala event. In addition to the free services of an in-store Health and Wellness associate to assist customers in choosing healthy foods for their families, an onsite Beauty Advisor will be available to assist customers with skin care needs and cosmetic information. The store’s opening will also introduce ShopRite From Home® to the Howell community. ShopRite from Home allows customers to place online orders from their home computer or mobile device and have the order personally shopped for them, so they can pick up their packaged groceries at a convenient time.
Another feature at the new ShopRite of Howell is the Culinary Workshop where hands-on cooking classes are taught by area professional chefs. For a minimal fee, guests attend a two hour class and fully participate in the preparation of an entire meal.
The ShopRite of Howell has been outfitted with the latest energy-saving and sustainable technologies in refrigeration and lighting, including glass doors on the dairy and freezer cases, LED and T-8 lighting and environmentally-friendly refrigerant systems.
“We are very excited to extend our service to our Monmouth County neighbors with the opening of this state-of-the-art shopping destination,” said Richard Saker, president of Saker ShopRites, Inc. “The new ShopRite of Howell will represent the traditional low prices and outstanding services that ShopRite has always been famous for, in a brand new 80,000 square foot ‘World Class’ Store.” To commemorate the opening of this new, state-of-the-art location, the Saker family made a donation to the Food Bank for Monmouth and Ocean. The store will be managed by John Rowley.
Associated Food Stores held its inaugural selling show in late April at the Resorts World Casino in South Ozone Park, NY. It seemed puzzling that they opted to hold a two-day show with a late start time each day, but we later learned that, in the effort to offer a show to their customers and vendors, Associated was limited in their window of dates at the venue. While there was plenty of activity on the show floor, it would seem that since it is a local show with local customers, next time it might be better served (and have less vendor bickering) to create a full one-day event and maximize everyone’s opportunity.
Well, that’s it for his month. As I originally stated, we are gearing up for our annual Market Study issues. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to be a part of these must-have editions and I will be happy to let you know how to participate. See you out and about.