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ShopRite of Hunterdon County, a family-owned company that operates five supermarkets in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, is welcoming its next generation of leadership.

The grocer recently announced that Sam Colalillo joined the business and will work with his father, company President Joe Colalillo, as well as retail teams at the family’s ShopRite stores.

Founded in 1965 by Joseph Colalillo, ShopRite of Hunterdon employs more than 1,300 associates across its three New Jersey stores (Flemington, Greenwich and Clinton) and two Pennsylvania locations (Yardley and Bethlehem).

The business is now helmed by the founder’s son Joe, who has also served for the past 18 years as chairman of Wakefern Food Corp., the Keasbey-based retailer-owned distribution and merchandising arm for all ShopRite supermarkets.

Like his father, Sam Colalillo spent time in his family’s ShopRite stores growing up and loved visiting his grandfather and dad at the supermarkets before he could officially work. Once he was old enough, he worked in produce, bakery and online shopping during school breaks.

Before returning to his family’s business, Sam Colalillo served as global vice president of dmbedded and retail analytics at NielsenIQ, creating products to help retailers and manufacturers in the food industry use scalable analytics to improve their business.

From 2017 to 2021, he led NielsenIQ’s Global Revenue Management and Optimization Software Suite, developing price and promotion software. Prior to his product management experience, he supported a major manufacturer’s category management organization, using price, promotion, assortment, space, and marketing analytics to drive sales and customer engagement.

Reflecting on the transition back to his family’s stores, Sam Colalillo shared that he is “thrilled to return to the business to work and train with my dad. It’s an exciting time for the supermarket industry and I look forward to getting to know our store teams and customers. ShopRite of Hunterdon County has a long commitment to the communities where our stores operate, and I want to help carry on that tradition with my parents.”

Joe Colalillo commented, “We are very excited to have Sam join us in the family business. Sam is a next generation leader who is passionate about growing the business in new and innovative ways to make our stores the best they can be – for our associates and customers.”