Harkin back to the
days that employee’s uniforms were back & white. Employees all dawned paper hats, a time that
the roller grill was introduced and ready-to-eat hot prepared food was
introduced in the Convenience store channel. It was a time when the
availability of food staples in extended hours of operations drove sales in
this dynamic channel. The Convenience
store channel continues to be dynamic, currently it is booming in the prepared
ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat food sector or what I call the grocerant sector. I believe that differentiation does not mean
different it means familiar within each food niche and this one is no
different. Consumers young and old are
demanding more choice, fresher quality and more contemporary food options.
Niche and industry
global leader 7-Eleven is de-emphasizing the roller grill and recently has
introduced Fresh Bananas, Pizza, and Chicken Wings. They are testing in new pilot stores
their “latest insights into market trends to provide a range of 45 freshly
prepared food products, including a hot breakfast menu and toasted sandwiches
cooked to order.” This test includes a “café-esque range of hot lunch
alternatives and will combine with Lavazza to offer barista-made coffee.”
Sheetz
& Wawa both offer a full range of prepared food choice including fresh
salads and fruit options. Good companies do good things over and over
again. Recently Wawa CEO Howard Stoeckel
detailed several efforts the convenience store chain is undertaking in during
the economic slump the US is in, He stated "we're performing better than
the vast majority of retailers," Fresh
prepared ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat food products are strongly contributing to
on-going sales and profit success.
Foodservice Solutions®
specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify,
quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand
leveraging integration strategy. Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant.
Best food business site I have seen.
ReplyDeleteSteven,
ReplyDeleteWe are currently designing a new cutting edge c-store, utilizing many of the items in your article. Looking reading more of your articles.
Ernesto Miranda
WALKER+MIRANDA design studio