Acme shopping tips include how to get easy pass, local brands, find sales, cash back

For some, grocery shopping is a matter of getting in and out of the store in the shortest amount of time with the lowest number possible on the receipt.

To others, it’s about supporting community businesses and local efforts.

Many see it as a weekly chore to be tackled in the most hassle-free way.

Luckily, there are facts and tips to address each of these priorities when shopping at Acme Fresh Market.

New grocery store: Acme Medina opens Thursday with familiar items, experiences — and some new ones

The local grocery chain founded in Akron more than 130 years ago currently operates 17 stores in the Greater Akron area. Medina was the latest market to acquire a 56,210-square-foot Acme with a bakery, deli, full-service meat department and pharmacy.

Along with hyper-local products and a fundraising program, Acme also has a few cost-saving tricks up its sleeve that shoppers may not be aware of. Check out some fun facts about Acme, as well as a few pointers for shopping at the local grocer.

Acme easy pass

Easy pass members receive additional perks throughout the year, including free pick up for all orders over $35 and four free deliveries on orders over $100.

Acme’s easy pass costs $49.99 annually and includes insider-only deals and prices, extra rewards and freebies according to the grocery chain’s website. Members receive a free reusable grocery bag after signing up.

Scan and go is a feature only available for easy pass members that allows them to scan items with their phone as they shop and checkout with one barcode.

Community cash back program

Non-profit organizations can utilize Acme’s community cash back program as a fundraising tool.

In this program, the grocery store donates 5% of qualifying purchases made on receipts dated between Aug. 1, 2025 and Feb. 15, 2026. There is a minimum collection amount of $2,000 in community cash back totals.

Participating brands are Acme Fresh Market, Paws Happy Life, Food Club, Wide Awake Coffee Co., TopCare, Crav’n, Pure Harmony, Tippy Toes, That’s Smart, Simply Done, Cape Covelle Seafood Market, Full Circle Market, Sweet P’s Bake Shop and Over the Top.

Groups can register now through Dec. 31, 2025. Receipt submissions are due Feb. 15 through Feb. 28, 2026, and checks will be mailed to organizations between March 1 and March 31, 2026.

Local brands at Acme

Acme partners with a variety of local and – depending on the city – hyper local brands that customers may find familiar.

Some of those brands include Gerber’s Amish Farms Chicken (based in Kidron), Mid’s Pasta Sauce (Navarre), Gold’n Krisp Potato Chips (Massillon), Sarah Jane Breads (Munroe Falls), NORKA Sparkling Beverages (Akron) and Devitis (Akron). Some brands, such as Buckeye Brownies (Akron), are “in and out” according to the season or other factors.

Acme’s newest store in Medina also sells items from Medina-based businesses, such as Root Candles/The A. I. Root Company and Cool Beans Coffee. That location also offers cut flowers from Uniontown-based Bloom Hill.

On your mark, get set… Crawl!: Acme hosts Diaper Derby in Medina 👶

Acme app perks

There’s an app for just about everything you can think of, and that includes shopping at Acme.

In the Acme app, shoppers can scan items they need at home to build a shopping list. Those building a weekly meal plan can also browse recipes and add its ingredients to their shopping list or cart in one click.

Customers can access their Acme savings card within the app, as well as shop for groceries and schedule pickup or delivery services. It also sends push notifications for sales.

Acme is not ACME

While the two companies have similar names, Acme Fresh Market and ACME Markets Inc. are not the same.

In 1891, Frederick W. Albrecht started Albrecht’s Grocery on a site where Buchtel, Sumner and Center streets intersected. Nine years later, he renamed the business Acme Cash Stores after a trip to Philadelphia, where he visited one of the first chain grocery companies in the nation, called “The Acme Stores.”

Albrecht integrated “The Acme Stores” yellow paint job and cash-only business model into his own shop upon his return. By 1918, the entrepreneur had expanded to as many as 40 stores in the area.

Today, the local supermarket chain is still owned and operated by Albrecht’s descendants.

In 1891, Samuel Robinson and Robert Crawford decided to open a neighborhood grocery store at the intersection of South Philadelphia’s Second and Fernon Streets, according to acmemarkets.com. In 1917, Robinson and Crawford merged with four other local Philadelphia area grocery chains to form the American Stores Company, or ASCO as it was known to shoppers.

American Stores Company decided to create a full-service supermarket in 1937 and rename itself ACME Markets after the ACME Tea Company, which was the largest of the five original companies that became ASCO. In 1999, parent company AB Acquisition LLC acquired American Stores, a move that added ACME Markets to the Albertsons roster of banners.

As of 2025, there are 158 ACME Markets between Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.

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Got a story recommendation? Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Instagram @TawneyBeans. And follow her adventures on TikTok @akronbeaconjournal.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Acme grocery sales, community cash back, easy pass and more