Dive Brief:
- Wakefern Food Corp. has named Travis Riepenhoff as group vice president of fresh, the East Coast grocery cooperative announced Wednesday.
- In his new position at Wakefern, Riepenhoff will be responsible for departments including bakery, meat, seafood, food service, produce and floral.
- Riepenhoff is taking over from Mark Van Buskirk, who has become group vice president of Wakefern’s center store divisions.
Dive Insight:
Riepenhoff and Van Buskirk both bring decades of experience at other supermarket companies to their roles at Wakefern.
Riepenhoff is joining the retailer-owned co-op from Giant Eagle, where he served most recently as vice president of fresh merchandising, the co-op said in an emailed press release. While in that role, he oversaw assortment planning and worked to boost product quality for the Pennsylvania-based regional supermarket operator.
Before moving to Giant Eagle, Riepenhoff was senior director of meat and seafood for Kroger, where he led a 120-associate team across more than 2,700 stores. Earlier in his career, Riepenhoff held positions including district manager, meat merchandiser, health and wellness manager for Kroger and served as a customer science analyst for Dunnhumby, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“Travis’s deep industry experience and passion for fresh foods make him the ideal leader to guide our fresh divisions,” Wakefern Chief Sales Officer Darren Caudill said in a statement. “His leadership will help us continue to deliver the exceptional quality and variety our customers expect while supporting our retail members in growing these key categories.”
Van Buskirk is taking over his new role heading Wakefern’s center store divisions from Paul Patten, who is retiring after 43 years with the grocery company. Van Buskirk joined Wakefern in late 2024 after serving as senior vice president of merchandising and marketing for The Save Mart Companies. He has also worked for Jacksons Food Stores, Albertsons, SuperValu and Kroger.
Wakefern encompasses more than 380 supermarkets in nine states under banners including ShopRite, Dearborn Market, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Fairway Market, Gourmet Garage, Di Bruno Bros. and Morton Williams, which Wakefern acquired at the start of October.
