(Schenectady, N.Y.)  Price Chopper/Market 32 announced today that they will host a Local Supplier Summit to provide opportunities for all local food, beverage, wellness, beauty, and general merchandise suppliers. The event, set to take place in Schenectady on Thursday, November 16, will provide entrepreneurs the opportunity to connect with the chains’ decision-makers, share their products, and receive feedback with the ultimate goal of being stocked on local shelves of some of the chains’ 130 stores in New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire.

Price Chopper/Market 32 has supported the local economy through its commitment to bring locally grown, produced, and manufactured products to market since the 1930s, partnering with New York egg producers to ensure that the State had its own source of supply and investing in innovative horticultural programs through 4H and Cornell Cooperative Extension that provided seeds to young farmers along with the promise to purchase back the best of their harvest. This Summit marks the chain’s most recent proactive effort to expand local circles of supply.

“This is a wonderful way for us to innovate and diversify our product mix while helping other local businesses to grow and succeed,” said Blaine Bringhurst, president of Price Chopper/Market 32.

“Many suppliers connect with us through industry channels. This Summit broadens those channels to ensure that we are considering as many high-quality local suppliers as are interested in the possibility of partnering with us,” said Tom Tomaselli, group vice president, merchandising for Price Chopper/Market 32.

All sourcing and product submissions will be made through RangeMe, the industry-standard online product discovery and sourcing platform operated by ECRM. Applications for participation in the summit will be accepted through September 25, 2023 at https://www.rangeme.com/pricechoppertopslocalsummit.

ECRM will qualify suppliers, create curated meeting schedules, and facilitate face-to-face meetings with Price Chopper/Market 32 category business managers so that suppliers can introduce new and innovative products into the marketplace. ECRM’s dedicated support team is available to address questions about the application process via [email protected].

“We look forward to extending seats at our table for the Summit and expect local entrepreneurs to bring forward some unique and wonderful items. Knowing how much our customers appreciate local products, the potential here is dynamic,” added Tomaselli.