The convenience store sector continues to
drive top
line sales, bottom-line profits and incremental year over year customer
counts garnering new and repeat customer from the grocery store sector, dollar
store sector and the restaurant sector according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based
Foodservice Solutions®.
With new guidelines and restrictions on
restaurants due to the COVID-19 pandemic, somedays C-store fresh food retailers
are moving one step forward others it seems they are taking one step back.
However, their foodservice has become a
safe and reliable source of fresh, delicious and convenient meals for
breakfast, lunch and dinner for all according to new research from Nielsen.
Brian Ferguson, vice president and chief
merchant for Pilot Co., stated, “While some guests will gravitate toward grab
and go, our freshly prepared hot food is especially popular for professional
drivers who are on the road for long periods of time and look forward to a warm
meal while away from home,”
Ferguson continued adding “that Pilot Flying J stores added back
self-service options such as roller grills and soup bars in June, offering
single-use disposable paper sleeves for guests to use when handling tongs and
ladles. Details like this emphasize the company’s focus on “keeping health and
safety top priorities,” Ferguson said.” While roller grills are one step back,
Johnson noted that hot fresh food from a visceral display roller grill rings
true for many seeking comfort foods.
Exploiting new expanding daypart opportunities
Pilot Flying J is promoting availability of bold flavored and new flavored selections with
daily, weekly and monthly deals, which are communicated via digital coupons
through its app, special prices through its loyalty programs and seasonal
limited-time offers (LTOs).
Among the promotions are ‘Thungry’ (buy
one snack get one free with purchase of beverage) and the professional
driver-oriented ‘Hungry Driver’ (savings on freshly prepared meal bundles
including five-piece wings or tenders meal with beverage purchase).
Get this Flying J is not alone as the
Nielsen report noted, during the four-week period beginning in mid-June, food
sales “exploded” for Kwik Trip and Kwik
Star, according to Paul Servais, the company’s retail food service director.
Sales from that period were ahead of those during the same time the year
before.
C-stores are filling a gap by adding
technology, for marketing, messaging, and delivery. Servais continues “new customers were
pleasantly surprised to find that the stores’ shelves were always well stocked
with basics such as milk, butter and eggs from their own dairy, commissary and
bakery” “In many cases, we were the only game in town,” he said. “We also offer
home delivery in some areas by partnering with two third-party services.”
The stores have resumed normal
foodservice operations including self-service condiment bars, dispensed
beverages and single-serve bakery. In the works are promotions through the
company’s loyalty program and the development of take-home family meal
offerings.
Joshua Clark, category manager for fresh
foods at Nouria
noted “Switching popular self-service foodservice items such as pizza and hot
dogs to prepackaged or full-service. Pizza slices and, in some locations, hot
dogs on buns are prepackaged in bags. At some stores, roller grills were moved
to the back for service by associates. Clark described breakfast as “the canary
in the coal mine.” Which regular readers of this blog understand well. How are you repositioning your brand,
products, to garner new customers?
Are you ready for
some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday
than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® can edify your retail food brand while
creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation
and individualization? Email us
at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit us on our social media sites by clicking the
following links: Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter
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