Monday, July 20, 2020

Dandy Mini Marts Innovative Foodservice Too Drive Sales



With 65 stores, a pandemic, costly digital demands, Dany Mini Marts understand the one undercurrent that will unite it customers base to come back is an expanding grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food platform according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.
Dandy Mini Marts is growing in store count, technology and foodservice options, while maintaining its values as a family-owned and operated c-store, dedicated to helping its customers and communities for nearly 40 years.
Marketing Director Bill Bustin recently told CStore Decisions Dandy has been in this business a long time, and we’ve continued to grow and innovate throughout the years,”
Like most operators every store is a little different, Dandy operates a variety of stores across the region, from small, rural communities, to major interstate highways, next to shopping centers, and near colleges and universities. 
Bustin continued, “At just over 5,500 square feet, Dandy’s current generation of stores maintains a balance between classic convenience and modern quick-serve restaurant (QSR). …We certainly have design principles we maintain throughout multiple generations of builds, but we are always flexible to how our stores fit within the communities they are located in,” he said. “Consistency is valuable, but we’re not applying a ‘one-size-fits-all’ (approach) every time.”
Dandy customer have evolved and so must it fresh food offerings, they have been working to update its foodservice, adding new flavors and styles to keep pace with consumer trends, such as breakfast wraps, loaded fries and Dandy’s new Chicky Bisky — a fried chicken filet on a homestyle biscuit with honey and hot sauce. Here is some of what is some of what Isabella Gustafason wrote in her piece on Dandy.
“We’re always looking to innovate — whether that’s new products on the shelves and in the coolers, or brand-new Dandy menu items that come from our foodservice team’s test kitchen,” said Bustin.

Select locations, such as its new store in Elmira, N.Y., offer freshly ground, bean-to-cup coffee, along with other features like a flat-top grill for burgers and cheesesteaks and an extended line of specialty coffee drinks including lattes, macchiatos and chai, along with cold-brew coffee, fruit smoothies and milkshakes. 
Dandy has also increased its number of beer caves and beer offerings to include hard seltzers and local craft beers, for example. And it’s piloted alcoholic, ‘Adult Slushies’ at one store in Athens, Pa., which has seen “super strong” results, Bustin said.
 The menu also includes an array of c-store classics, ranging from subs, burgers, pizza, chicken, roller grill and more. And every quarter, the chain features a few different menu items as part of its Dandy Value Deals, so there’s always a low-cost, high-quality option available for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  
“Our hand-pressed Dandy pizza is one of our customer favorites, along with our Dandy Deli line of subs, wraps and sandwiches,” said Bustin. “Cheesesteaks are always a big hit, and although we’re a few hours north of Philadelphia, our cheesesteaks are made with products from the Original Philly Cheesesteak Co. And of course, our regulars always come back for our Dandy coffee every morning.” What are you doing for your customers?  How are you evolving your grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food?
Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter





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