Greetings all and here’s hoping that we’re only a few more weeks away from Mother Nature turning up the thermostat a little bit and we can shed the winter coats and put the snow shovels away once and for all.
Well, Key Food Stores kicked off the 2025 show season with a new approach to their unparalleled version of trade selling shows. Rather than the twice a year schedule, Key is going with a four shows approach. Two grocery shows and two perishables shows will be available for vendors and Key Food owners. The first Grocery show was held in early February at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island and Key Food will roll out versions of the show to the Jersey side of the river for the first time when the first perishable show takes place on May 8 at the Meadowlands Convention Center in Secaucus. No concerns necessary though, the Key Food shows will continue to be (to quote Dean and George’s favorite singer) “Heart stopping, pants dropping, hard rocking, bootie shaking, love making, Viagra taking, testifying, death defying and Legendary!” As I’ve always said, if you haven’t experienced a Key Food Show, you must put it on your calendar. With the potpourri of circus acts, little people, live music and much more, the shows have always delivered.
Word around the street was that ShopRite’s annual Can-Can sale delivered and then some this year. The beloved and much anticipated January promotion offered shoppers extraordinary savings on canned goods and other popular items and special $1 deals on select own brands products, including Bowl & Basket and Wholesome Pantry items through the month. Now in its’ 54th year, the Can-Can campaign continues to resonate with shoppers.
“The Can-Can Sale is a cherished event for both our customers and retail teams,” said Darren Caudill, chief sales officer at Wakefern. “This promotion is more than just a sale, it’s a tradition that brings our communities together with savings, nostalgia and fun. We’re excited to mark another year and continue providing the exceptional value that our shoppers expect and love.” Like I said earlier, my insiders tell me that this has been the best Can-Can in several years. Well done to all!
RDD Associates, the large perimeter independent sales and marketing agency, held its first annual Leadership Bootcamp January 14-16 at The MC Hotel in Montclair, NJ. The event brought together RDD’s president and CEO, leadership staff, senior business managers, and directors for three days of strategic collaboration and deep-dive discussions focused on propelling the company into 2025 with a clear vision, enhanced capabilities, and shared commitment. The primary goals of the retreat were to leverage the collective knowledge, experience, passion, and professional equities of the leadership team, align the company around its strategic plan, operating priorities, and proprietary initiatives, and build the velocity, momentum, and scale necessary to execute these initiatives successfully.
Kicking off the event, president and CEO Bob Weinmann provided a compelling recap of the company’s progress, highlighting key achievements including new and existing client growth, the successful company rebrand, the launch of the RDD Essentials series, and the introduction of a new organizational structure. His remarks set the stage for an intense and productive series of sessions aimed at refining the company’s approach for 2025 and beyond. Throughout the retreat, attendees engaged in focused sessions, covering topics such as: 2025 Strategic Plan Activation Roadmaps – led by Tommy Caruana, James Perillo, senior directors of client services and Chris Vuono, VP; Financial Excellence – led by Andy Galligan, CFO; Marketing and Communications Strategy – led by Lisa Bothfeld, director of marketing; and communications Client Portfolio Development – led by Mike Conese, VP; Client Portfolio Growth Customer Sales and Operational Goals – led by Matt Avallone, director of sales and client team leader; HR Initiatives – led by Carolee Pacifico, VP of people, purpose and culture; RDD Essentials, Learning & Development Plans – led by Paul Mulvaney, director of business insights and analytics; Characteristics of Outstanding Sales Organizations – led by Mitch Cohen, Mike Huberfeld, Debbie Kultzow, Vinny Reddy, senior business managers, and Art Sacher, director of retail. These collaborative workshops were designed to ensure alignment across departments, streamline efforts, and drive actionable outcomes.
An added feature of the retreat was a keynote session from Bob James, chairman of Solomon Group International and author of Music. Not Noise – Pitch Perfect Leadership. In his presentation, James shared valuable leadership insights from his book, emphasizing the importance of identifying and addressing discordance within an organization. The three-day retreat fostered a deeper understanding of the company’s strategic priorities for 2025 and also energized the leadership team to take bold, actionable steps toward achieving them.
Kudos to the good people at Price Rite Marketplace and Feed the Children as the two groups celebrated 10 years of partnership and announced that 2024 resulted in $1.4 million in food and essentials being donated to families in the battle against hunger. “Our Feeding Minds & Bodies program is at the heart of Price Rite Marketplace’s charitable giving, and we are thankful for Feed the Children and all our community partners whose support has allowed us to help our neighbors over the last 10 years,” said Kevin McDonnell, president of Price Rite Marketplace.
“We are grateful for a decade of partnership with Price Rite Marketplace, helping to make a difference in the lives of children and families,” said Emily Callahan, president and CEO of Feed the Children. Since partnering with Feed the Children, Price Rite Marketplace has contributed over four million pounds of food, totaling more than $14 million in gift-in-kind donations, providing support through 76 community events helping more than 228,000 people across the Northeast. Outstanding job by all!!
There was a really nice industry event in mid-January at the Garden City Hotel in Garden City, Long Island as the Catholic Institute of the Food Industry (CIFI) named Joe Fantozzi, president and chief operating office of Allegiance Retail Services (ARS) as their Person of the Year.
More than 200 industry professionals were on hand to network and help recognize Joe for the accomplishment. The recognition celebrated his leadership in the food industry and his
commitment to charitable causes. CIFI, established in 1946, recognizes leaders in the food industry who demonstrate exceptional commitment to charitable giving and community service. The organization’s selection of Fantozzi reflects his dedication to these values and his industry leadership.
“It is my honor to be the 2025 CIFI person of the year” remarked Joe Fantozzi. “I believe in CIFI’s four pillar foundation for which the organization stands on. The contributions given to those in need make me embrace my catholic faith with great pride. The act of giving will always create good fortune for those who think more about others than they do about themselves.” Joe delivered touching comments about his own faith and spiritual foundation as well as his guilty pleasure of watching Triple D on the Food Network. ;-). Over all a wonderful evening.
And another big industry event will take place at the Garden City Hotel on March 19 as the National Supermarket Association (NSA) will present Empowering Women, Inspiring Change.
The NSA Women’s Forum 2025 will celebrate and support the incredible achievements of women in various fields and is designed to foster collaboration, provide valuable insights, and create a platform for women to share their experiences and stories.
Throughout the day a lineup of speakers including successful entrepreneurs, renowned professionals, and trailblazers will share their stories.
This is an incredible event that celebrates the achievements and potential of women in our industry. For more information, call Denise Diaz at 718.747.2860 or Denise.Diaz@nsaglobal.org.
We heard about an incredible gesture from two very humble and private people. Irv Glass and Andrew Kent of Glass Gardens ShopRite recently partnered with the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey to deliver Purim bags to 750 isolated senior citizens. Irv, Andrew and the team at Glass Gardens, generously donated all of the food to fill and deliver the baskets for the seniors to celebrate Purim. Great job by a couple of real mensches!!
That will wrap it up for now. The Spring food show and dinner season is upon us and I do hope to see you out at one of the many events on our calendar. As always you can reach me at 201.250.2217 or kevin@foodtradews.com.
