Wakefern Food Corp., the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States, said Oct. 15 that Travis Riepenhoff was named group vice president, Fresh divisions.
He succeeds Mark Van Buskirk, who now leads Wakefern’s center store divisions as group vice president.
Riepenhoff will oversee Wakefern’s fresh food divisions, including food service, bakery, meat, seafood, produce and floral.He will be responsible for maintaining the cooperative’s standards for quality and innovation while driving growth across fresh food categories in stores.
“Travis’s deep industry experience and passion for fresh foods make him the ideal leader to guide our fresh divisions,” said Darren Caudill, Wakefern’s chief sales officer. “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.”
With more than 23 years of experience in the supermarket industry, Riepenhoff brings deep expertise in retail operations and merchandising across all fresh departments. He most recently served as vice president of fresh merchandising at Giant Eagle. Prior to that, he was senior director of meat and seafood at Kroger.
In his new role, Van Buskirk succeeds Paul Patten as Wakefern’s group vice president of center store. Patten is retiring after a 43-year career with the cooperative.
