Wakefern acquires Di Bruno Bros. portfolio

Co-op Wakefern Food Corp. has acquired Di Bruno Bros. portfolio— a specialty products company based in Philadelphia which has both wholesale and retail distribution.

Di Bruno Bros., which has sold gourmet cheeses and cured meats in the Philadelphia area since 1939, was also one of the first specialty grocers online when it began selling its products nationwide in 1998, according to a press release.

The five Di Bruno Bros. retail locations and a bottle shop in Philadelphia were recently acquired by DB Gourmet Markets, LLC and are being operated by Wakefern Member Brown’s Superstores, which is owned by the Brown family, a Wakefern member that operates 12 ShopRites and a Fresh Grocer store in the Philadelphia area.

In a separate transaction, Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern acquired the Di Bruno Bros. trademark and portfolio of branded products—Italian and European specialty groceries.

Wakefern will continue to offer the brand to its existing customers as well as its cooperative members and wholesale customers.

Third-generation grocer and Di Bruno family member Emilio Mignucci, an expert cheesemonger, has joined Wakefern as VP of the Di Bruno Bros. brand.

Wakefern Food Corp. is the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States. Founded in 1946, the cooperative is comprised of 45 member families who independently own and operate hundreds of supermarkets under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage, Fairway Market and Di Bruno Bros. banners in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

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