| Industry | Grocery |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1935 |
| Headquarters | Avenel, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Products | Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks, liquor |
| Website | foodtown.com |
Foodtown is a northeastern United States supermarket cooperative founded in 1935 by Twin County Grocers, Inc. Currently, there are 68 Foodtown stores; 24 in central New Jersey, 34 in New York, and 7 in eastern Pennsylvania.
Foodtown's corporate offices are located in Avenel, New Jersey. However, like competing supermarket cooperative ShopRite, all Foodtown stores are independently owned and operated, either by one person, or by companies operating multiple stores. Foodtown also distributes its store-brand items to several independent grocery stores on a contract basis.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Foodtown was a major player on Long Island and in New Jersey, with its biggest cooperative members, Melmarkets Inc. and Mayfair Supermarkets Inc. operating 17 stores on Long Island and 28 stores in New Jersey, respectively. At the height of its success in 1994, Foodtown's Twin County Grocers, the chief supplier headed by Martin Vitale, who also served as CEO of the cooperative, supplied 165 Foodtown stores and had wholesale revenue of over $1 billion.
In 1995, Dutch retailer Royal Ahold purchased Melmarkets Inc. and Mayfair Supermarkets, Inc; all 45 stores were changed to the Edwards Super Food Store banner. Two Long Island stores owned by Food Parade left the Foodtown cooperative, becoming part of ShopRite Supermarkets in 1997.
The resulting loss Foodtown's largest cooperative members was devastating, since Melmarkets and Mayfair made up over half the volume of the cooperative. In 1998, Foodtown declared bankruptcy and an embezzlement scandal followed. Following these events, many Foodtown stores converted to other banners, or closed (including Vitale's six New Jersey stores)[1]; Vitale previously owned a store in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, that closed well before his bankruptcy.) In 2004, Foodtown closed its warehouse; it now is serviced by various wholesalers. The cooperative is still responsible for negotiating with suppliers, Foodtown advertising, promotions, and marketing programs.
Since the late 1990s, Foodtown has shown a resurgence, opening five stores in Pennsylvania and bringing stores, which left the cooperative following the scandal, back into the fold. In addition, many of the existing members have expanded and/or remodeled their stores. Foodtown now consists of 66 independently-owned-and-operated supermarkets.