Wakefern Food Corp., the Keasbey, NJ-based wholesaler, has promoted Laura Kind to VP-brand strategy and announced that Ranjana Choudhry has joined the large cooperative as VP-advertising and social media.
Kind joined Wakefern in December 2018 as director of own brands marketing and packaging. Wakefern said he was pivotal in driving the successful design, positioning and launch of the company’s newest “own brand” offerings, Bowl & Basket and Paperbird.
In her new role, Kind will oversee strategic brand management for the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market and Gourmet Garage banners, and work to uniquely differentiate these banners in the marketplace, shape the brand identities and ensure connectivity in all customer facing initiatives.
Prior to joining Wakefern, Kind was director of brands at Jet.com, the Walmart-owned e-commerce company, where she helped build the company’s private label brand. She has also held marketing leadership roles at Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. Kind has a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.
Choudhry joined Wakefern in March and brings more than 25 years of experience as a global marketing and communications executive to her new role at the wholesaler. She will lead the company’s advertising and social media divisions to develop marketing and digital content strategies that harness the brands’ promotions, and also introduce fresh, new campaigns across advertising and digital channels.
Choudhry began her career with Grey Advertising, a global marketing communications agency. She relocated to New York while working for WPP, a multinational advertising agency where she led more than 400 team members in 220 countries across Asia, India, Africa, Eurasia, Europe, Latin America and North America for Colgate-Palmolive’s brands. Choudhry has a master’s degree in philosophy of advertising from Delhi School of Economics and a master of commerce in marketing from Shri Ram College of Commerce in India. She completed her bachelor of commerce degree from Jesus & Mary College, also in India.
