Food Trade News

What Food Trade News does

Food Trade News (legally Best-Met Publishing Co.) is a privately held B2B trade publishing company founded in 1945 and headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The company publishes two monthly print periodicals, Food Trade News and Food World, with a combined print circulation of approximately 51,361 (28,551 and 22,810 respectively), distributed primarily to grocery retail executives, CPG manufacturers and brokers, wholesalers/distributors, and food industry suppliers in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and New England markets.

The company's product portfolio spans print periodicals, the foodtradenews.com digital news platform with daily editorial coverage across market, retail, supply chain, technology, sustainability, policy, and people categories, the free Food Trade Today weekly e-letter, the Grocery Industry Directory, and annual regional market studies (Metro New York, Delaware Valley, Central Pennsylvania). Revenue is generated through four streams: recurring print subscriptions (12 issues per year for premium memberships), print and digital advertising (display ads, advertorial features, sponsored content, e-mail blasts, welcome mat/popup ads, and homepage placements at documented rate cards), Grocery Industry Directory advertising and listings, and a freemium e-newsletter used as a top-of-funnel lead generator. The underlying technology stack is a digital-first publishing platform combined with traditional print media production, without disclosed proprietary AI/ML, API, or integration capabilities.

The company operates with 1-10 employees under a sales-led and event-driven go-to-market motion, with a B2B sales team targeting CPG companies, retailers, wholesalers, and service providers seeking to reach grocery executives. Editorial presence at industry conferences (FMI Midwinter, NGA Show, IDDBA, IFPA) supports both subscriber acquisition and advertising sales. In 2025, the company underwent a leadership transition in which Jeff Metzger stepped down as publisher (held 1978-2025) and president (held 2007-2025) and transitioned to Publisher Emeritus; Alexander Wissel was appointed CEO and Executive Editor.

Name

Food Trade News

Legal name

Best-Met Publishing Co.

Website

https://foodtradenews.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Publishing

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Financial & Trade News Publishers (MPAJADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

Keywords

• Trade publishing
• Grocery industry news
• Retail food journalism
• B2B trade media
• Industry periodicals

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Print Subscriptions: Paid subscriptions for monthly periodicals Food Trade News and Food World. These publications deliver in-depth analysis and exclusive insights to industry leaders through 12 print issues per year.
2. Advertising: Food Trade News and Food World sell print and online advertising to CPG companies, retailers, wholesalers, and service providers targeting grocery industry executives. Ad products include display ads, advertorial features, sponsored content, e-mail blasts, welcome mat/popup ads, and homepage placements.
3. Membership Directory: Grocery Industry Directory advertising and listings generate revenue from suppliers and retailers seeking visibility in the industry directory.
4. Free E-Newsletter: Free Food Trade Today weekly e-letter provides signals and insights to generate subscriber base and advertising audience. Serves as lead generation for paid premium memberships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Food Trade News operates as a multi-platform trade media company publishing two monthly print periodicals (Food Trade News and Food World), a daily news website (foodtradenews.com), a free weekly e-letter (Food Trade Today), and the Grocery Industry Directory, delivering news, data, market studies, and analysis to grocery retail executives, CPG manufacturers, wholesalers, and food industry suppliers across the East Coast.

Product overview

Food Trade News operates as a multi-platform grocery industry news organization offering both print and digital products. The portfolio includes two monthly periodicals (Food Trade News and Food World), the foodtradenews.com website with daily news coverage, the free weekly Food Trade Today e-letter, and the Grocery Industry Directory. The publications share editorial focus on the $300+ billion East Coast grocery economy, covering markets from New England to the Southeast. Additional offerings include themed special sections, market studies with regional sales data, and advertising opportunities across print, digital, and email channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Food Trade Today: Free weekly e-letter providing signals, news and commentary on grocery retail issues.

Products and services

• Food Trade News & Food World Monthly Periodicals Monthly print publications covering grocery industry news with in-depth analysis, market studies, IRI listings, and exclusive reporting on the East Coast grocery economy. Delivered 12 times per year to subscribers across grocery retail, wholesale, and CPG segments.
• foodtradenews.com Digital News Platform Daily online news platform delivering grocery industry news, analysis, and archived content across multiple categories including market, retail, supply chain, technology, policy, and people. Provides free access to latest news with premium content reserved for members.
• Food Trade Today Weekly E-Letter Free weekly electronic newsletter delivering industry news roundups, signals, insights, and unabashed commentary on grocery retail issues to subscriber inboxes. Functions as lead generation for paid premium memberships.
• Grocery Industry Directory Industry directory providing listings across the grocery sector, available as part of membership benefits or as a standalone advertising vehicle with full page, half page, back cover, inside front/back, and tab position placements.
• Market Studies Annual retail market studies breaking down sales and market share data for retailers across key regional markets including Metro New York, Delaware Valley, and Central Pennsylvania.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Supermarket News: Supermarket News is a leading national B2B trade publication covering the grocery retail industry, including retail executives, CPG manufacturers, and suppliers. It directly competes with Food Trade News for grocery industry advertising and reader attention, though it offers broader national coverage while Food Trade News is East Coast-focused.
• Store Brands: Store Brands is a B2B trade publication focused on private label products in grocery and retail. Both titles serve grocery retail buyers and CPG manufacturers, with overlapping coverage of private label trends that Food Trade News features prominently.
• Convenience Store News: Convenience Store News is a B2B trade publication covering the convenience retail industry with print, digital, and events. Food Trade News's coverage explicitly includes convenience stores (5% of circulation), making it an adjacent comparable peer with similar format and audience.
• Winsight Grocery Business: Winsight Grocery Business (now part of Informa) is a major B2B trade title covering the grocery and convenience store industries with print, digital, events, and data offerings. It is comparable to Food Trade News in targeting grocery executives and CPG advertisers, though it operates at larger scale with national and multi-vertical scope.
• Refrigerated & Frozen Foods: Refrigerated & Frozen Foods is a B2B trade publication covering the refrigerated and frozen food industry. It targets CPG manufacturers and retailers with overlapping themes to Food Trade News's coverage of grocery merchandising and supply chain topics.
• Chain Store Age: Chain Store Age is a B2B trade publication covering retail industry executives across multiple formats including grocery. Comparable to Food Trade News in serving retail decision-makers and CPG advertisers with multi-platform content and similar revenue mix.
• Food Logistics: Food Logistics is a B2B trade publication covering the food supply chain, including wholesalers, distributors, and logistics providers. Food Trade News explicitly covers wholesale distribution and supply chain topics, making this a directly comparable peer serving overlapping audience segments.
• Progressive Grocer: Progressive Grocer is a long-established B2B trade publication serving the grocery industry with print magazines, digital content, and industry research. Both titles serve grocery retail executives and CPG advertisers, with similar revenue models spanning subscriptions, advertising, and data products.

Regional players

• The Shelby Report: The Shelby Report covers the Southeast grocery industry with regional print and digital editions, directly overlapping Food Trade News's Southeast coverage. Both serve similar readers and advertisers with regional grocery intelligence, making it a regional peer with comparable format and audience.

Emerging players

• Grocery Dive: Grocery Dive is a digital-first trade publication by Industry Dive covering grocery retail news, trends, and technology. It targets similar grocery executives as Food Trade News but competes primarily on digital, free-content model, representing a new-generation disruptor in the same audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/foodtradenews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Food Trade News