Festival Foods is a family owned grocery company operating stores throughout Wisconsin. It was founded as Skogen's IGA by Paul and Jane Skogen in 1946 in

Onalaska, Wisconsin Onalaska is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 18,803 at the 2020 census. It borders the larger La Crosse, Wisconsin, and is a part of the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Area. Onalaska is built on a ...

, and is still owned by the Skogen family. Festival's

private label A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...

brands are supplied by SuperValu, with the majority under their Essential Everyday label.

History

In 1946, Paul and Jane Skogen opened Skogen's IGA with just $500. Paul's son, Dave Skogen, took over the company in 1976. In 1979, they acquired the

Red Owl The red owl (''Tyto soumagnei'') is an owl in the barn owl family Tytonidae. It is also known as the Madagascar red owl, Madagascar grass-owl and Soumagne's owl. It is a rare resident of Madagascar that was virtually unknown from its discovery i ...

store in

Holmen, Wisconsin Holmen is a village in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,661 as of the census of 2020. It is part of the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Holmen was settled by Norwegian immigrants ...

. In 1991, Festival Foods opened their first store in

, with the name licensed from Supervalu. In 2005, Dave Skogen was named 'Grocer of the Year' by the Wisconsin Grocers Association, in recognition of his work with Festival Foods. In 2006, Dave's son Mark Skogen became CEO. In 2014, Mark Skogen was also named 'Grocer of the Year' by the Wisconsin Grocers Association. In 2021 it was announced Festival Foods would open two more locations in the Milwaukee Area.

Road sign controversy

In December 2016, Festival was sued by Metcalfe Inc., which operates three grocery stores in Wisconsin, over the use of Festival's "Road Sign Marks", which both Festival and Metcalfe used to promote local products. Metcalfe accused Festival of "intentional, deliberate and willful" violations of trademark laws, since Metcalfe applied for a trademark on its "Wisconsin Food Miles" road sign as compared to Festival's "Locally Grown" road sign. Festival said that it would fight the suit.

Weight violation and labeling error

In September 2019, Festival Foods was fined $32,016 by state agency for labeling errors. The company had 39 weight violations and two labeling errors that the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection found in seven Wisconsin stores, based on legal documents filed in Eau Claire County Court.

Subsidiaries

In 2010, Festival Foods purchased the Apple Creek Inn of De Pere, and renamed it The Marq. The Marq is a 550-seat banquet and catering facility. In 2013, Festival added a second Marq location in Suamico. On May 19, 2020, Festival announced the closure of the Marq due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Corporate governance

Corporate headquarters

In September 2015, Festival announced plans for a new corporate headquarters facility in

De Pere, Wisconsin De Pere ( ) is a city located in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 according to the 2020 Census. De Pere is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. History At the arrival of the first European, Je ...

. Festival Foods also maintains a support office in

Charitable giving

In 18 cities in Wisconsin, Festival Foods sponsors an annual fireworks show. Festival Foods also hosts the Turkey Trot, a 2 and 5 mile walk/run that takes place on Thanksgiving in ten communities in Wisconsin. Proceeds from the event go to the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

and the

Boys and Girls Clubs of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, ...

. Festival Foods also sponsors the

Green Bay Marathon The Green Bay Marathon is an annual race event that takes place on the 3rd week of May in Green Bay, Wisconsin. History The Green Bay Marathon began in June 2000 by Gloria West. The current Race Director is Toni Jaeckels. The races includ ...

Lifest Lifest is an annual Christian music festival that takes place in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at the Sunnyview Expo Center. Lifest has the slogan "A Party with a Purpose." It is one of the largest Christian music festivals in America. History Lifest start ...

, and Grocers on the Green Golf Outing. In 2021 Festival Foods partnered with

Hormel Foods Hormel Foods Corporation is an American food processing company founded in 1891 in Austin, Minnesota, by George A. Hormel as George A. Hormel & Company. The company originally focused on the packaging and selling of ham, sausage and other pork, ...

to donate 7,000 lbs of

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut of pork, cut that has been food preservation, preserved by wet or dry Curing (food preservation), curing, with or without smoking (cooking), smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. Lo ...

to help feed homeless people in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

References

External links

Official Wisconsin website
{{Supermarkets of the United States Economy of the Midwestern United States Supermarkets of the United States