Fresh Fruit is “Better for You” and Convenience Stores Sales

Money, money, money makes the world go around and C-stores are getting more and more of it by adding fresh fruit.  Overall sales at convenience stores, including motor fuels, were $698 billion in 2014, roughly equal to sales at restaurants ($709 billion), and more than those at supermarkets ($638 billion).

How is that happening?  One way C-stores have learned that fresh fruit is fast food and C-stores are selling more and more of it in an effort to drive customer adoption or their Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat  fresh food offerings.
Hank Cardello, senior Fellow and director of the Hudson Institute’s Obesity Solutions Initiative, and Steve French, managing partner and co-owner of the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) in a new study found Convenience store shoppers are consuming more healthy food items, such as vegetables, fruits and healthy snacks compared to a year ago, and 75% of convenience store customers say they are eating healthier than they used to.”

Better for you fresh grocerant niche food means more sales.  C-stores need to look beyond simply meeting the needs of their traditional customers and embrace the growing customer segment that is demanding more and more better-for-you items that can be conveniently purchased, according Cardello.  

Today, the number of convenience store shoppers interested in healthy foods that can be eaten “on-the-go” has increased from 59% to 66% in the past seven years, and healthier snacking has become the norm.

Specifically, easy-to-access prepared foods present an opportunity for convenience stores with foodservice operations to capitalize on this customer’s desire to eat healthier more often. Foodservice sales are 19% of the industry’s $213.5 billion in in-store sales.

C-stores can spend more time focusing on products and messaging that meet the need for healthier products—on-the-go, breakfast and kid-targeted convenience—convenience stores can drive significant, new growth in this emerging category,” the report concluded.

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