Forager

Village Super Markets is hiring - Forager role available with Fairway Markets and Gourmet Garage

At Fairway Market, discovery is part of the shopping experience — and we’re looking for someone passionate about finding the next great product, emerging brand, or local maker that will excite customers and set our assortment apart.

Village Super Market is seeking a creative, trend-focused, and highly connected Forager to identify innovative products and emerging brands that strengthen Fairway Market’s reputation as a destination for specialty food discovery. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives at the intersection of food trends, merchandising, brand development, and customer experience.

About Us:

For more than 80 years, Village Super Market has proudly served communities across the tri-state area through our family of brands, including ShopRite, Fairway Market, and Gourmet Garage.

We are a family-led, growth-focused organization built on quality, service, innovation, and community — with fresh foods at the heart of the customer experience.

About the Role:

The Forager partners closely with Category Merchants and cross-functional teams to identify emerging products, evaluate new vendor opportunities, and introduce trend-forward assortments that enhance the customer experience and support business growth.

This role is ideal for specialty food merchants, product scouts, brand development professionals, food buyers, or trend-focused retail leaders looking to shape the future of assortment innovation within a highly respected specialty retail environment.

What You’ll Do:

• Identify emerging local, regional, and national brands that align with specialty assortment strategy
• Scout trade shows, markets, incubators, and food trends to uncover innovative product opportunities
• Partner with Category Merchants to identify assortment gaps and support category growth initiatives
• Evaluate vendor readiness, product positioning, and scalability for multi-store retail distribution
• Monitor competitor assortments and NYC specialty food trends to identify exclusive and first-to-market opportunities
• Present curated product recommendations supported by market insights and commercialization potential
• Build relationships with emerging vendors and support onboarding through launch readiness

What We’re Looking For:

• Experience in specialty retail merchandising, sourcing, product development, or brand scouting
• Strong understanding of premium food trends and specialty retail environments
• Excellent relationship-building, storytelling, and presentation skills
• Ability to identify emerging trends and translate them into commercially successful assortments
• Strong business acumen and understanding of retail merchandising strategy
• Passion for food innovation, customer experience, and brand discovery

Ideal Background:

This opportunity is perfect for:

• Specialty Food Buyer
• Category Specialist
• Product Scout
• Brand Development Manager
• Retail Merchandiser
• Food Trend Analyst

Experience in specialty grocery, premium retail, emerging food brands, or product innovation is highly valued.

Frequent travel throughout the NYC metropolitan area, including stores, markets, trade shows, and vendor visits, is required.

Why Join Village Super Market?

• Family-led culture focused on people, growth, and development
• Opportunity to help shape one of the region’s most exciting specialty food assortments
• Entrepreneurial environment that values innovation and creativity
• Career growth opportunities across multiple banners and locations
• Competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and professional development

If you’re passionate about discovering what’s next in food and retail innovation, we’d love to connect.

Salary: $63,300 - $73,300