COVER STORY | RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Wakefern wins with blend of scale and adaptability Wakefern Food Corp. earns Supermarket News’ Retailer of the Year honors for its unwavering commitment to empowering independent grocers, driving innovation across its cooperative network and delivering exceptional value to communities throughout the Northeast
BY MARK HAMSTRA
WITH A UNIQUE BUSINESS MODEL that melds the community connectivity of an independent grocer with the leverage of a large supermarket chain, Wakefern Food Corp. has become one of the industry’s most enduring success stories. The Keasbey, N.J.-based company, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, continues to evolve to meet new challenges and expand its reach into
new markets, where its sharp pricing and locally tailored assortments provide a formidable bulwark against its would-be competitors. In recognition of its longstanding suc- cess and ongoing innovation, Supermarket News has named Wakefern as its 2026 Retailer of the Year. The nation’s largest retailer-owned cooperative, Wakefern describes itself
as a “family of families,” a reference both to its individual member-owners, many of whom have been with the company for multiple generations, but also to the families of the customers it serves in com- munities throughout the Northeast. “Even though we operate under sim - ilar cooperative-owned brands and cooperative-owned retail names, every store has its own personality to support the
20 SUPERMARKETNEWS.COM SUMMER 2026
Powered by FlippingBook