Wakefern Food Corp. recently promoted Chris Ruane to director of own brands, according to a spokesperson for the supermarket cooperative.
In his new role, Ruane will oversee a newly created team that will handle strategy and growth for the company’s private labels, with a focus on quality, value and loyalty. Wakefern’s house brands include Bowl & Basket, Wholesome Pantry and Paperbird. He reports to Wakefern Chief Sales Officer Darren Caudill.
Ruane has worked in the wholesale and retail food sectors for about 20 years and has held several positions at Waldern, where he served most recently as dairy procurement manager. Earlier in his career at Wakefern, he served in category management roles for the dairy, frozen food, health and beauty, and grocery departments.
“Chris has a proven track record in driving sales growth, innovation, and mentoring team members,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Wakefern created the group that Ruane heads in connection with a reorganization of its sales and marketing operations that is currently in progress. As part of that restructuring, the co-op is replacing 79 jobs with slightly fewer positions that will be divided between in-house roles and jobs at an outside marketing agency.
“In recent years, we have grown significantly the number of retail banners that we support, and we are aligning our teams to best support those banners along with our growing portfolio of Own Brands. Chris Ruane’s promotion is part of that,” the spokesperson said.
Karen Meleta, Wakefern’s chief communications officer, said Ruane was promoted ahead of the restructuring, which is set to take effect on May 16.
