Food Trade Talk

June 2008
by Nina Weiland

It gives me great pleasure to welcome our 28th annual Food Trade News Market Study to the annals of food history! This, our signature issue, is still considered by those in the retail food business as the definitive word on the food retail industry. It is nationally acclaimed and quoted for the inside information that only Food Trade News can provide. This is the most comprehensive and detailed audit of the food industry you will find. Most importantly, we want thank our loyal advertisers for their strong support of this issue. We couldn’t do this without them! They know from experience this issue is seen and read by all their customers and potential customers not only after publication but throughout the year. We are proud of the fact that just about every retailer in the United States - big and small – receives our June Market Study issue and we can confidently state that they read it from cover to cover. It is not only read by retailers but by manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and brokers. How do we know? Because each year, after publication, we receive subscription requests from all over the United States. Without our advertisers’ support we could not report the news, cover all the events and supply the various IRI studies and take the infamous photos of the food industry each and every month. They are our lifeline and we are most thankful to them.

An issue of this magnitude does not just happen without the hard work and talents of many. My appreciation goes out to:

Jeff Metzger, our president/publisher, has the amazing ability to crank out 12 great issues a year based on his vast knowledge of the food industry that he has accumulated over his 30-plus years in the business. Solely based on his relationships with retailers, Jeff is able to extract all the proprietary information needed to prepare this tremendous undertaking of a market study. People trust Jeff and respect his opinions and believe it or not, honesty still sells. This market study is Metzger’s personal “piece de resistance!” It’s Metzger at his best, and no one else could do it but him!

Thanks to our Chairman Emeritus Dick Bestany, who continues to love the food industry after all these years. Dick is still the consummate salesperson delighting people with his great stories, engaging personality and informed opinions.

Thanks to the trained eye of Terri Maloney, editor and a 19 year veteran of Best-Met, for orchestrating all the data by plugging in the numbers, laying out the paper, writing stories and captions for the photos and organizing all the information becomes the final paper. Helping Terri out this year was Jenna Gandolfi, our summer intern.

Thanks to Beth Pripstein, our office/circulation manager and 12 year veteran of Best-Met, who keeps us on track. She keeps us organized and, with her support, our tasks are made easier no matter what we request of her. She performs multiple job functions and keeps a never-ending supply of chocolate (and aspirin) in the office, too!

Thanks also to Matt Danielson and his staff at Electronic Ink in Leesburg, VA. Matt, Jenny Jones and E-Ink’s professional team of graphic artists produce our paper each month through the precision of their computers coupled with their creative talent.

Thanks, too, to our newest addition, Carol Cherington, who has brought her vast food retail experience to the company. She started last June and has earned her stripes as VP of advertising by making the rounds and learning the publishing business from top to bottom! Last but not least, thanks to our veteran salesmen, Mike Keba and Lou Rosenthal, two hard-working men who bring expertise and personality to the job. With their enormous energy and work ethic, Best-Met is very fortunate to have these two well-seasoned men selling for them. Our entire staff at Best-Met Publishing is very proud of this 2008 Food Trade News Annual Market Study and hope you find it as valuable as always.

This year, Associated Wholesalers Inc. raised and recently presented $11,600 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Pennsylvania and Southern West Virginia. AWI raised money for the foundation by selling everything from flowers and fruit baskets to salads to its employees and visitors at its headquarters in Robesonia. Customers of AWI’s eight corporately owned grocery stores in Adams, Berks, Cumberland and York counties also contributed by purchasing paper trucks for a dollar each. Nell’s Shurfine in Hanover collected $1,437, more than any participating store. The total contribution to Make-A-Wish topped AWI’s goal of $10,000, allowing the company to grant three wishes this year. “AWI truly is a blessing to the foundation,” said Marisa Campanici-Salm, regional manager of Make-A-Wish’s Pottsville office, as she accepted the contribution. “You’ve been so generous. In two years you’ve granted five wishes. This is phenomenal.” In addition to donating money to the foundation, AWI entered one of its tractor-trailers in the May 4 Make-A-Wish “Convoy for Wishes,” which follows a 48 mile course starting in Hanover.

Acme Markets has also made a mark in the community with its organization VIA, Volunteers In Action. On June 3, Acme’s president, Judy Spires, welcomed nearly 200 VIA members to The Variety Club Camp and Developmental Center in Worcester, PA. The group of Acme volunteers gathered to help prepare the summer camp for the hundreds of children with disabilities who would be attending. When asked about VIA, Spires said, “VIA is very important because it allows us to give back to the communities we serve. It’s important to our customers to show that we care. It’s also important to our employees to get to be part of a movement like this, to be out in the community and giving back.”

Acme also partnered with the Vincent Giordano Corporation to raise money for Variety. For the eighth annual Beef up for Kids campaign, the Vincent Giordano Corporation donated 50 cents for every pound of its deli meats purchased at any Acme store in May and June to Variety. Judy Spires and Guy Giordano, president of Vincent Giordano Corporation, assisted two young boys (ambassadors for the campaign) in slicing the first piece of roast beef to kick off the event. Acme and Giordano have collected more than $275,000 for Variety’s program funding for children over the past seven years.

Variety, The Children’s Charity, has been providing programs and services for children with disabilities since 1935. If you would like more information about Variety, or to donate, please go to www.varietyphila.org.

The 15th annual ALS Curt Schilling Golf Outing will be held on November 5, 2008 at the Green Valley Country Club in Lafayette Hill, PA and Meadowlands Country Club in Blue Bell, PA. The outing is organized to raise funds to support people and families living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Major League pitcher Curt Schilling will be in attendance, as always. For information about the event please contact The ALS Association, Greater Philadelphia Chapter at (215) 643-5434 or stacy@alsphiladelphia.org.

Happy June birthday wishes go out to: Brian Chick, Charles Ritter; Tom Morrison of Integrity Food Marketing/ESM/Mid-Atlantic; Safeway’s Hank Cominiello and Karl Schroeder; Charles Mallowe, St. Joseph’s University’s Academy of Food Marketing; and Mark Tarzwell, Burris Logistics. Special Birthday wishes to our own Jeff Metzger and Terri Maloney and to Dick Bestany’s granddaughter, Kathryn Dougherty Ireland on her second birthday!

Congratulations to all the June wedding anniversary couples, including: Ron and Michelle Benjamin, Innovative Food Sales; Tom and Bekki Dempsey of Utz; Chet and Liz Dudzinski, Leidy’s; Curt and Trish Gruber, Acosta; and Charlie and Pat Poletti, Acosta.