Description
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., is a privately held American supermarket chain; it is headquartered in Gates, New York. As of November 2020, Wegmans has 104 stores in the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions. The company has stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia and North Carolina, with planned expansions into Delaware and the District of Columbia. Founded in 1916 in Rochester, Wegmans has appeared on Fortune's annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list since the list first appeared in 1998. In 2020, the company was ranked at number three on the Fortune List of the Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2020 based on an employee survey of satisfaction.
History
Wegmans is a privately owned company, founded in 1916 by John and Walter Wegman as the Rochester Fruit and Vegetable Company. Wegmans is headquartered in the Rochester suburb of Gates. Danny Wegman is the chairman. His daughter, Colleen Wegman, is President and CEO; his other daughter, Nicole Wegman, is senior vice-president. Danny's father, Robert Wegman, who died in 2006, was previously chairman. Robert was the son of co-founder Walter Wegman. During his life, Robert Wegman was a pioneer in the retail food business, as well as a generous donor to educational institutions and other charities.
Wegmans brand
Wegmans began branding some products in 1979, offering basic commodities at a lower price than national brands. The Wegmans brand has gradually expanded. In 1992, it began a line of healthy products, Food You Feel Good About. Wegmans brand products marked with the Food You Feel Good About banner indicate that the product does not contain artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. The next sub-brand to be launched was Italian Classics, in 1995; it introduced pastas, canned tomatoes, and olive oils imported from Italy. In 2002, Wegmans launched a line of organic products. Organic Wegmans brand products are labeled with a green leaf. Wegmans now charges more for its own brand than they do for higher quality National brands.
In popular culture
The Wegmans brand was used extensively in the American sitcom The Office. The program is set in the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, which has a Wegmans store, although the series was filmed in suburban Los Angeles.
Wegman's Bake and Rise Four Cheese Frozen Pizza has been reviewed on Barstool Sports' One Bite Pizza Reviews by Dave Portnoy. The score for the frozen pizza was an 8.1. Per Portnoy, this score is on the frozen pizza scale and does not translate to an 8.1 on the normal pizza place scale score. However, as of April 9, 2020, this is the highest score Portnoy has given to a frozen pizza.