Wakefern expands wholesale sales

ELIZABETH, N.J. Wakefern Food Corp. announced today that after more than 60 years of selling almost exclusively to its ShopRite members, it is expanding its wholesale sales to other supermarkets and institutional customers -- both within and beyond its traditional Northeastern market.

Wakefern chairman Joe Colalillo said new customers will benefit from Wakefern's buying power and expertise in procurement, with the company's full range of brands, products and services available to them.

Dave Baer, who last fall became director of wholesale sales and is leading the growth initiative, said Wakefern recently began selling more than 300 ShopRite-brand grocery and non-food items to Heinen's Fine Foods, a 17-store chain based in Ohio. Previously, the brand was available only at ShopRites in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and in a few other supermarkets overseas.