being uneducated about the foods are what keep people from eating healthier items. “Learning which items are better for you and how to cook with new, different ingredients can be intimidating, so I am currently working on an exciting project to provide shoppers greater access to dietitians who can help them learn how to eat specifically for their own health conditions, and how to cook new and healthier foods,” she said.
Farrah Tatone, program manager for pharmacy, Topco Associates With four promotions under her belt in seven years, Tatone is the definition of a riser. In her recent role, she helped lead the Topco Direct Generics Initiative to grow program participants by 275% and saw year-over-year sales increase by nearly 10% during tough coronavirus pandemic conditions. Tatone is driven to continue to help, too. “Given the current state of the economy and the unemployment rate at an alltime high, more consumers will continue moving towards private brand labels, and this presents Topco and its members with an opportunity to thrive,” she said. “Most importantly, because of the work we do, families and communities across the country will have the ability to make ends meet with quality products at affordable prices.”
Seth Nieman, product manager for own brands, Wakefern Food Nieman leads the center store portfolio of own brands for Wakefern, supporting all of the $17 billion company’s banners and doing it with exceptional attention to detail. He played an integral role in launching ShopRite’s Bowl & Basket and Paperbird lines, a program that took private brands to new heights at the company. His unyielding commitment to the own brands division and his leading efforts helped further steer the overall own brands portfolio to reach its goal of 25% own brand penetration in-store.
Glenn Figenholtz, group vice president/general merchandise manager for grocery and household, Walgreens Well-respected within Walgreens, Figenholtz has experience in several departments at the retailer, notably helping accelerate store brand growth and proprietary packaging for the Delish nut line, a private brand cookie assortment and its own brand water. He also led the merchandising and marketing work stream for the Walgreens and Rite Aid integration. In his current role in the grocery and household department, he is driving Walgreens to be a convenience retailer of choice for communities across America, and he loves the white space that own brands present. “Knowing who our customers are and what they want are key to meeting these needs,” he said. “Our category and 42
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product development team does an unbelievable job in turning those insights into customer solutions that drive longterm loyalty for Walgreens.”
Stefanie Kruse, vice president of digital commerce and omnichannel, Walgreens Bringing the digital and the physical together, Kruse powers Walgreens’ own brands and national brands into the omnichannel universe. For example, she has driven such initiatives as a national same-day delivery partnership with Postmates and similar programs through Walgreens drive-thru. Kruse said consumers today are more willing than ever to test and trust store brands. “From a digital standpoint — particularly as online shopping is now being widely embraced — this is exciting because it allows us to be more relevant and value oriented in an increasingly competitive marketplace. We can also use our owned brands to test, learn, and experiment, which allows us to add value for consumers in new ways.”
Luke Rauch, vice president of commercial strategy, Walgreens Rauch oversees Walgreens owned brand commercialization efforts, strategic supplier partnerships, and category and assortment strategy and execution. He’s responsible for the overall strategy for the merchandising organization across the company’s more than 9,200 stores. “I am passionate about offering a stronger and unique value to customers through our store brands portfolio,” Rauch said. “Not just in the traditional sense of price, where private label is just seen as a ‘cheaper’ alternative, but how do we genuinely develop and market new products to improve consumers’ lives, while at the same time not breaking their bank account. During these challenging times more than ever — COVID, joblessness, etc. — private label value will play an even more pronounced role in people’s lives.”
Gregory Heward, CEO, WSD Labs USA The only CEO on the rising stars list, he may have already risen, but the company leader younger than 40 years old is seeing private brands excel in teeth whitening solutions and hand sanitizer products for the company. For teeth-whitening products, the category is expected to pass $7.4 billion over the next four years and WSD’s retail clients are growing exponentially. “With economic uncertainty on the forefront of people’s minds, offering teeth whitening solutions that give the end user the feeling of youth, health and confidence is incredibly rewarding,” Heward said. “More than ever, people want to take control of their lives through brand ownership. We are proud to be able to offer a low investment, high quality product with an outstanding ROI.”
www.storebrands.com
8/6/20 10:31 PM