Pizza is the Gateway Vehicle for C-store Success

It might not be just Pizza that will drive continued foodservice sales success within the C-store sector but Fresh prepared, Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat pizza might help usher in a new era in C-store foodservice sales.  

Regular readers of the blog know how highly we think of Casey’s General Stores.  Today there pizza is famous and in 2014 Casey’s fresh prepared food sales were up 11.8% and the first two Quarters of 2015 they are up another 11.1 %.  That’s a two year sales gain of 22.9%!  

According Technomic, 75% of consumers eat pizza three times a month or more, and 55% purchase their pies from fast-casual eateries. Wawa considers itself a Fast Casual To-Go, and Casey’s is famous for pizza today and industry leading SSS prepared food year over year growth. 

Dana Evaro, vice president of marketing for Land Mark Products reports that “Foodservice is the No. 1 category in c-stores right now, and pizza still ranks in the top three categories for sales,” “In order for c-store operators to grow business and compete with QSRs, they must offer a variety of products to win, and the better the quality, the more business they’ll see because consumers are beginning to demand better food.”

The food business is not brain surgery according to many, Evaro added, Piccadilly fresh pizza programs—which look and operate like a Pizza Hut Express—can generate over $200,000 a year in revenue. Well you have all heard about copy-cat menus this is simply a copy-cat modular concept that drives sales. 

The grocerant niche filled with Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is booming in large part because it caters to consumers drive to customize and personalize meals and meal components.

 In fact Technomic reports that close to 75% of consumers prefer a wide variety of toppings when it comes to their pizzas, and more than half of consumers (59%) purchase take-home pies at least once a month, another key opportunity for convenience retailers.

In short if you are not in the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food grocerant niche at this time.  Pizza may be just the product platform to drive your success. 

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  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 since 1991 Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us