KEASBEY, N.J. — Wakefern Food Corp. announced the appointment of Travis Riepenhoff as group vice president, Fresh. Riepenhoff succeeds Mark Van Buskirk, who now leads Wakefern’s Center Store divisions as group vice president.
As GVP for Fresh divisions, Riepenhoff will oversee Wakefern’s fresh food divisions, including food service, bakery, meat, seafood, produce and floral. In this role, he will be responsible for maintaining the cooperative’s high 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 over 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, where he developed high impact merchandising programs, led assortment optimization and worked to elevate product quality across the chain. Prior to that, he was senior director of meat and seafood at Kroger, managing a team of 120 associates across 2,742 stores. Recognized for his strategic vision, operational excellence and commitment to innovation, Riepenhoff has consistently driven growth and strengthened supplier partnerships across produce, floral, meat, seafood, deli, bakery and prepared foods.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Shawnee State University and completed leadership education and development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In his new role, Mark Van Buskirk succeeds Paul Patten as Wakefern’s group vice president of Center Store. Patten is retiring after a distinguished 43-year career with the cooperative.
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