Festival Foods

What Festival Foods does

Festival Foods is a privately held regional grocery retailer founded in 1946 and headquartered in De Pere, Wisconsin, operating 35+ full-service stores across Wisconsin communities. The company offers standard grocery departments — Meat & Seafood, Deli, Bakery, Beer/Wine/Spirits, Pantry, Produce, Frozen, Dairy, and Natural & Organic — alongside Cake Ordering and full-service Catering, all sold under a traditional transaction-based retail pricing model with weekly ads and promotional discounts.

The company's digital surface includes an e-commerce website (festfoods.com) and iOS/Android mobile apps that support online ordering with delivery and in-store pickup, backed by a layered loyalty ecosystem of Digital Coupons, Price Slice discounts, a Gas Rewards program, and an Ibotta cashback integration. Festival Foods' go-to-market is direct-to-consumer through physical storefronts and digital channels, targeting Wisconsin families and individual shoppers with a values-driven, community-focused brand positioning ("Love People," servant leadership).

In 2024, Festival Foods was acquired by 1939 Group, Inc., a Schnuck family-controlled grocery collective that also encompasses Hometown Grocers, Inc. and operates 163 stores across four states with nearly 19,000 employees. Festival Foods continues to operate under its brand identity as a subsidiary of 1939 Group, with Mark Skogen serving as CEO & President and Todd Schnuck Jr. appointed CFO of the parent in June 2026. No public revenue or financial filings are disclosed.

Name

Festival Foods

Legal name

Festival Foods

Website

https://career.festfoods.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Festival Foods is a privately held Wisconsin regional grocery retailer operating 35+ full-service stores with e-commerce, mobile app, and catering offerings, serving local families under the 1939 Group umbrella.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

De Pere

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. In-Store Retail Sales: Traditional grocery retail sales through physical store locations offering meat & seafood, deli, bakery, beer/wine/spirits, pantry, produce, frozen, dairy, natural & organic products, and cake ordering/catering services.
2. E-commerce and Delivery: Online grocery ordering with delivery and in-store pickup options available through website and mobile app.
3. Catering Services: Full-service catering for events and gatherings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Festival Foods operates a regional grocery retail business across 35+ Wisconsin store locations, offering fresh and packaged grocery products through full-service departments including Meat & Seafood, Deli, Bakery, Beer/Wine/Spirits, Pantry, Produce, Frozen, Dairy, and Natural & Organic. The company supports online ordering through its website and mobile app with delivery and in-store pickup options, and provides Cake Ordering, Catering services, and customer loyalty programs such as Gas Rewards, Digital Coupons, and Price Slice.

Product overview

Festival Foods is a regional grocery retailer operating as part of the 1939 Group. The company offers a single unified retail platform with multiple store departments including Meat & Seafood, Deli, Bakery, Beer/Wine/Spirits, Pantry, Produce, Frozen, Dairy, and Natural & Organic. Additional services include Cake Ordering and Catering. The company also provides customer loyalty programs including Digital Coupons, Gas Rewards, and Price Slice. A mobile application is available for iOS and Android devices, and grocery delivery service is offered. The portfolio does not include a modular software platform; all offerings are physical retail services and associated loyalty programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Festival Foods Mobile App Native iOS and Android mobile application providing customers with access to Festival Foods online grocery shopping, digital coupons, loyalty rewards, and account management. Available on the App Store and Google Play.
• Catering Full-service catering for events and gatherings ordered through Festival Foods store locations, providing prepared food options for customers hosting special occasions and events.
• Cake Ordering Custom cake ordering service for special occasions, offered through Festival Foods' in-store Bakery department via the custom bakery ordering page.
• Delivery Grocery delivery service enabling customers to receive Festival Foods orders at their home, ordered through the website or mobile app.
• Gas Rewards Fuel rewards loyalty program that allows Festival Foods customers to earn gasoline purchase discounts based on their grocery spending.
• Digital Coupons Digital coupon system accessible via mobile devices, integrated with the Festival Foods weekly ad to provide customers with promotional discounts.
• Price Slice Discount pricing program featuring reduced prices on select items available at Festival Foods stores, providing ongoing savings opportunities for shoppers.
• Weekly Ad Weekly promotional advertisement publication featuring current deals and discounted products across all Festival Foods store departments.

Quantifiable outcome

• 34,000+ pounds of protein donated to Wisconsin food assistance programs in partnership with Smithfield Foods

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Smithfield FoodscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 November 2025Smithfield Foods partnered with Festival Foods to donate over 34,000 pounds of protein (ham, bacon, and pork chops) to food assistance programs in Wisconsin, providing more than 137,000 servings to families facing food insecurity during the holiday season. This community-focused partnership addresses rising food insecurity in Wisconsin communities.
• Hometown Grocers, Inc.coreOthers · 1 January 2025Festival Foods was acquired as part of 1939 Group, Inc., a grocery collective established in 2024 through acquisitions of Festival Foods and Hometown Grocers, Inc. The 1939 Group now operates 163 stores in four states with nearly 19,000 employees.
• IbottaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFestival Foods has integrated Ibotta, a cashback and rewards app, allowing customers to earn additional savings on their grocery purchases through the Ibotta platform.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Walmart: Dominant mass retailer with extensive grocery operations across Wisconsin. Sets the floor on grocery pricing in the region and is a key constraint on Festival Foods' price competitiveness and gross margin.
• Kroger: Largest pure-play U.S. supermarket operator with significant Wisconsin presence. Sets the competitive bar on private label, digital/loyalty infrastructure, and supply-chain scale — directly relevant to assessing Festival Foods' competitive position.

Direct peers

• Publix Super Markets: Employee-owned regional grocery chain known for strong customer service, fresh departments, and a robust loyalty program. Operates in a different geography but is highly comparable on full-service, community-led, employee-centric operating philosophy.
• Meijer: Family-owned Midwestern supercenter/grocery hybrid with stores across Wisconsin. Comparable on family-controlled ownership, regional scale, and full-service format; broader footprint provides scale advantages relevant to Festival Foods' growth path.
• ALDI: Hard-discount grocery chain with aggressive Wisconsin store expansion. Competes on price/value and forces regional grocers like Festival Foods to defend mid-tier price positioning, especially in packaged and frozen categories.
• Woodman's Markets: Wisconsin-based, family-owned regional grocery chain operating a similar full-service, multi-department supermarket format across Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Most directly comparable to Festival Foods on geography, scale, and store model.
• Schnucks: St. Louis-based family-owned regional grocery chain whose founding family controls 1939 Group (Festival Foods' parent). Operates a comparable full-service format with strong fresh, deli, and pharmacy departments, making it the most operationally and strategically aligned peer.
• Hy-Vee: Employee-owned Midwestern regional grocery chain with comparable store count, full-service departments, strong private label, and an integrated loyalty/rewards program. Highly comparable on operating model and customer demographic.
• Hometown Grocers: Sibling brand under 1939 Group operating community-focused supermarkets in Wisconsin and Michigan. Direct portfolio peer sharing the same parent, IT/procurement backbone, and operating playbook as Festival Foods.

Regional players

• Sendik's Food Markets: Wisconsin-based, family-owned regional grocer operating a premium fresh-focused supermarket format. Comparable on Wisconsin geography and community positioning, though smaller in scale than Festival Foods.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/852657

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Festival Foods