Wawa Reigns Supreme

Regular readers know that leaders lead and when it come to the c-store channel Wawa’s leadership shines through breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night. While there are no Wawa stores on the West Coast Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson of Foodservice Solutions® knows that Wawa’s food quality, service and pricing are the three key driving of their success. 

In the report released at the 2017 NACS Show in Chicago, Nielsen named the top ranked c-stores by brand equity. Wawa, Pa.-based Wawa had the highest equity among convenience stores in 2017, followed by Westborough, Mass.-based Cumberland Farms, with Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz Inc. and La Crosse, Wis.-based Kwik Trip Inc. also ranking in the top five in the United States.

Fresh food matters, according to Nielsen, one third of convenience shoppers expect to purchase fresh food in the convenience channel in the future. And when it comes to foodservice, convenience retailers should focus on differentiating the destination by offering fresh ready-to-eat/healthy foods, as quality is the biggest claimed barrier for purchasing fresh food in c-stores.

In addition Nielsen found that shopping experience/satisfaction can increase with focus on store operations around good customer service, store cleanliness, quick in-and-out, and product availability.

"Now more than ever, consumers value convenience.

As a result, retailers are placing big bets across a variety of hot button topics to differentiate themselves and drive growth," said Nikhil Sharma, vice president consumer and shopper analytics, Nielsen. Wow you have to love the fact that our Grocerant Guru® has been telling you that in our blog since 2009. 

Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing 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:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.