Ask The Experts: Ryan Draude, Giant Food

Ryan Draude has spent nearly 15 years building nationally-recognized loyalty programs at brands like Choice Hotels, RITE AID, and now Giant Food — where he currently serves as the head of loyalty.  But as cross-shopping, value-seeking behavior becomes the norm, earning loyalty from grocery shoppers is getting harder every day. We spoke with Ryan about […]

Posted inIndependent Store News, News, Northeast, Produce News, Tops Friendly Markets

Tops Markets Launches 2026 Produce Winter Olympic Games

Tops Markets has launched its 2026 Produce Winter Olympic Games, a four-week, company-wide competition Feb. 1-28 that challenges store teams to showcase produce displays, innovative merchandising and strong sales performance. Throughout the competition, stores participate in weekly themed events designed to highlight freshness, presentation and promotional creativity within the produce department. Teams compete for thousands […]

Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Albertsons, News, Northeast

Albertsons Media Collective Opens NYC Office, Unveils Brand Refresh

Albertsons Media Collective has opened its first New York City office in Midtown Manhattan and launched a brand refresh as part of the retail media network’s expansion strategy. The new office positions the retail media division at the center of the advertising industry to enable closer collaboration with agency partners, advertisers and industry leaders. It […]

Posted inWholesaler/Distributor News, News, Northeast, UNFI

UNFI Celebrates 50th Anniversary With $2M Foundation Grant Initiative

As part of its “50 for 50” initiative marking the company’s 50th anniversary, United Natural Foods Inc. and the UNFI Foundation will award $2 million in grants to 50 nonprofits across all U.S. states in 2026. The announcement came during UNFI’s first Spring and Summer Selling Show of 2026 in Long Beach, California, honoring the […]

Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Executive News, News, Northeast

Grocery TV Adds 3 Execs As In-Store Retail Media Accelerates

Grocery TV has appointed Neil Murphy as SVP of retail partnerships, Steve Sapp as SVP of media partnerships and Chris Lee as chief technology officer, the New York-based in-store retail media platform announced Jan. 28. The leadership hires arrive as Grocery TV has grown its retailer-owned network 33 percent over the past year, to more […]

Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Finance News, Foodtown, News, Northeast

Instacart Expands ARS Partnership With Omnichannel Technologies

Instacart has expanded its partnership with Allegiance Retail Services to deploy omnichannel retail technologies across ARS’s network of more than 125 independently-owned supermarkets in the Northeast. The expansion includes the introduction of Instacart’s AI-powered Caper Carts at select Foodtown stores, alongside new capabilities designed to unify Allegiance’s digital, loyalty and in-store experiences. Storefront Pro – […]

Posted inIndependent Store News, News, Northeast, ShopRite

ShopRite Expands Locked-In Price Program

ShopRite has launched an enhanced Locked-In Price program featuring extended price locks of four to six weeks or longer on thousands of grocery staples throughout 2026. ShopRite, a registered trademark of Keasbey, New Jersey-based Wakefern Food Corp., said the effort aims to provide customers with predictable savings on popular items across all departments. Items will be […]