Allegiance Hires 2 Category Managers

Allegiance Retail Services LLC has brought two new category managers on board: Martha Granado and Edward Kaulfers have joined the company in the respective areas of grocery and ethnic, and deli.

Bringing to her new role experience managing multiple grocery categories, including private label, and a strong background in merchandising and marketing to Hispanics, Granado spent 10 years at Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern Food Corp., where she began as a procurement analyst in 2004 and rose to category manager-grocery in 2011.

"Her addition to our team will enhance the ethnic and grocery merchandising we provide to our stores," noted Vince Colatriano, VP-grocery at Iselin, N.J.-based Allegiance.

Kaulfers' 25-year supermarket industry career began as an ice cream/frozen food category analyst at Wakefern, where he spent 13 years, eventually taking on the successive roles of buyer-frozen food and category manager-dairy/deli. He also worked as a dairy/deli buyer at with Avenel, N.J.-based GHI Wholesale Grocers. His most recent position was as a merchandiser/buyer for dairy/deli/bakery at Staten Island, N.Y.-based Key Food Stores Cooperative, which he joined in 2001.

"Ed's previous records of success, coupled with his extensive background in deli, will be an invaluable asset to Allegiance," said Steve Hungerbuhler, the company's VP-dairy/deli/frozen.

Allegiance provides independent supermarkets, among them Foodtown, Freshtown, D'Agostino, LaBella Marketplace, Farmtastic and Brooklyn Harvest, with marketing, advertising, technological and merchandising support, as well as a full line of Foodtown private label products.