Produce Category Buyer
McAneny Brothers
Ebensburg, PA
In a familiar story of industry veterans, Filiano started his career at 17 with a regional grocery chain, Giant Eagle. He worked there 18 years, as a produce manager for the last 10, going through the ranks of their stores. “I aspired to be a produce buyer, and McAneny gave me a great opportunity,” he says, now three years in his current position.
As a full wholesaler, Filiano fills the fresh produce needs of all customers big and small. “We do a lot of direct produce procurement with local farm sources. Logistics has been a nightmare for us. There are less truck drivers on the road, and prices have gone up, almost doubled in some places,” he says. “It’s a very challenging part of the business. Thankfully, we have great partnerships with logistics companies and brokers that have kept us supplied.”
That’s in no small part a credit to the company’s legacy. “We just had our 40th anniversary last year. As a small family business, we pride ourselves in the relationships we’ve gained with our buyers.”
Those relationships are exemplified by McAneny Brothers’ purchase in February, 2021, of Market Basket — another family-owned business mutually serving its communities in Johnstown and surrounding areas.
“We have four Hometown Markets and we just purchased our fifth. We kept the name Market Basket because of its local 50-year connection with the community,” says Filiano, adding, “We’re growing our retail side of the business as well as our wholesale side, expanding in every direction.”
To that end, “Produce Business is one of the top publications I comb through to keep up with innovations, market trends, and everything going on in the industry,” says Filiano, a family man outside of business too. “My wife and three kids — age eight, six, and four — are a full hockey family,” he says, carrying that active team spirit across many fields.
How To Win!
To win the Produce Business Quiz, the first thing you must do is enter. The rules are simple: Read through the articles and advertisements within the August issue to find the answers. Go to the Quiz page and fill in the form online. The winner will be chosen by drawing from the responses received before the publication of our OCTOBER 2021 issue of Produce Business. The winner must agree to submit a color photo to be published in that issue.
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