We have passed through summer and Labor Day, and we are now into early fall, getting ready for all of the holiday selling season. Our industry has always been dynamic, and supermarkets can be a key part of the socialization, food satisfaction, and community involvement that this time of the year brings. Let’s embrace it and make it a successful fourth quarter for everyone.
The 2026 Krasdale Vendor Summit was held at the DeCicco & Sons Market in Sleepy Hollow, New York in one of the spectacular event spaces the DeCicco’s have put together. Over 90 attendees were on hand for the program and over 300 broker and vendor partners connected virtually. Jenn Vannucci, the director of marketing of Alpha 1 Marketing, welcomed everyone to the meeting and reminded everyone of Krasdale’s longevity in the market at 118 years. She reviewed the successes of the last years’ programs (like C-Town 50th & Fiesta de Fútbol) and then brought up Dennis Hickey, the chief merchandising officer. Dennis started with the state of the business. He stated that, “The New York Metro independent channel remains relevant and resilient, but growth is becoming more localized, more value-driven, and more dependent on precise execution. Krasdale’s role is to connect neighborhood insight with scale, supply-chain capability, and stronger vendor partnerships.” Hickey also introduced the audience to a new program that will roll out in the first quarter of 2027, called Alpha Access. Alpha Access will produce measurable outcomes for all vendors who participate. It will deliver case sales percentages versus last year (and by item) and dollar sales plus percentages versus last year (and by item). Service levels, fill-rates, on-time delivery percentages, Food show sales totals, and item breakouts will also be part of the program. Connected to that is the allowance as a percentage of sales for the show. And to wrap it up, new items versus prior year count, marketing participation versus prior year, and sales lift for marketing programs versus prior year. That’s pretty extensive information at everyone’s fingertips.
Hickey continued, “Service levels have been bad across the industry and a lot of the lower case numbers can be attributed to the SNAP reductions. However, we will expand our capabilities with technology, and we can have ways to improve scratches and service levels. For example, with direct to store programs for certain manufacturers that meet the criteria, we can ensure our customers are receiving timely and full deliveries. I believe we are adaptable, flexible, and working with our vendor community to address and improve the situation.”
Cynthia Krasne, chief sales & customer officer, was next to the stage. She focused on precision targeting and distribution growth. Krasne stated, “This is not one market with an average customer; it is 3,200 specific retailers. As SNAP is contracting nationally, it remains a major component of the food-at-home and metro New York and New York City economies.”
Although SNAP reductions across the country are significant, scale in the metro area remains substantial. For example, there is $1.75 billion in monthly SNAP benefits across our customer base reaching nearly 9 million participants and 5.2 million households.
New York remains the anchor with $607.7 million in monthly benefits and a more moderate decline than the national trend. The rate of SNAP change is not consistent from one market to another. Florida and Massachusetts experienced much sharper benefit reductions than New York and New Jersey. The opportunity we have is not waiting for recovery; it’s adapting faster than others. Protect trips, sharpen value perception, and focus investment on the items where it can make the greatest difference. Krasne continued, “We need clean data from our trading partners. Clean data turns insight into retailer opportunity. Accurate data means faster speed-to-shelf, stronger shopper visibility and more reliable measurement.
“We know these retailers, every store, what kind it is, how it buys, and who lives around it. We know what is changing around them. SNAP is contracting, and in some neighborhoods the pressure is not SNAP at all. We know how their shoppers pay and we can act on all of it. But not without the item data.”
She summarized that the Krasdale customer is not an average customer and stressed to not treat the market as one, but instead by neighborhood.
Jenn Vannucci came back to the stage and emphasized the point that the NYC Metro area is not one market – it’s hundreds of communities – and stressed not to “target the Hispanic consumer.” Instead, it’s better to understand the Hispanic communities surrounding each store and build marketing that feels created for them. “Bring occasions to market – not just ‘here’s my item’ and ‘here’s my budget.’” Overall, it was a very informative day with ideas and insights shared, all with a shared vision to serve the independent retailer. Well done to the team at Krasdale Foods.
Congratulations to Stan Barrasso, executive vice president, Eastern U.S., and his team at Acosta Sales & Marketing as they held the firm’s 6th Annual Acosta/MDA Charity Golf Outing at the Glen Ridge Country Club in Glen Ridge, NJ. With Dana Capra, Rebecca Note, and Dean Nesto coordinating and leading the way, the spectacular day brought together customers from around the Metro New York/New Jersey market as well as the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Acosta principals for a fun-filled day of golf, dinner, and networking. Acosta has been involved with MDA for 41 years and has raised over $100 million for the cause over that span. Great job by the entire Acosta team!
I received some very sad news at the end of September. My dear friend, Gary Rosenthal of JOH, lost his beloved wife and partner of fifty years Barbara Rosenthal on September 28th as she passed away peacefully surrounded by her family. Gary and Barbara met at the University at Albany where Barbara earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She then enjoyed a 40-year fulfilling career in nursing, but her real joy was her family. Gary and Barbara raised four children, Jessica, Lisa, Melanie and Steven and eventually welcomed their three sons-in-law, Michael, Sean, and Matthew, into the family with open arms.
But the title Barbara loved most was her promotion to “BB,” with the arrival of her six grandchildren: Asher, Kennedy, Logan, Lincoln, Parker and Ryder. Being BB was one of the greatest joys of her life, and her grandchildren adored her just as deeply. I had the pleasure of meeting Barbara many times at various industry events over the years and always found her to be warm, friendly, and very insightful. When she started to face her health struggles, she still had fight in her and a will to win as Gary became her “nurse” through the process. As Gary shared with me, the family took on a “we got this” attitude and it became the family motto. The family requests that any donations made in her memory be made to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (https://ovarian.org/) My deepest thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to Gary and the Rosenthal family. May she rest in eternal peace and perpetual light shine upon her.
That’s all for now. Hope to see you out in the field as we start wrapping up the year. As always, you can reach me at 201-250-2217 or kevin@foodtradenews.com.