How to Win With Fresh Food

Michele Wojciechowski
July 2, 2015
CSD Staff


Convenience stores continue to meet consumers’ growing penchant for healthy food options.
If you think many convenience stores are offering more fresh and healthy food choices for consumers, you’re right. It’s possible to provide these kinds of food options while still appealing to customers who may not be quite as health conscious.
According to Nancy Caldarola, president and general manager of Food Training Group, some c-stores like Wawa have been offering freshly-made sandwiches as far back as the 1970s. Why is there an increase in demand for fresh and healthful foods in the last few years?
“The timing was right. People were starting to hear what doctors were saying,” said Caldarola. “They were starting to listen to what different groups were saying about how you should be eating, what kids should be eating, and what healthy really means and how it affects your lifestyle.”
One consumer group that really influenced the c-store changes, said Caldarola, is the Millennials, who are deciding that they want less processed foods and more fresh and healthful foods. In addition, parents, working people who are on the go and Gen X’ers are also searching for more fresh offerings.
That doesn’t mean they aren’t going to want a fattening piece of cheesecake or decadent ice cream, “but they’re not going to do it on a regular basis, and they are going to be a little bit more discerning,” said Caldarola.
C-stores are responding in kind. Since 2012, Kum & Go has offered fresh fruit items and some healthy sandwich options in many of its stores. It has also expanded its varieties of yogurt to include Greek yogurt. In July 2014, it added two additional lower-calorie sandwich options.
Kum & Go owns and operates a chain of 440 convenience stores in Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming
“We believe in offering choice and selection for all our customers, including those who are looking for healthy, lower-calorie options, so we’ve integrated several fresh, healthy foods into our stores,” said Erin Kouri, category manager leading Kum & Go’s “Balanced Choices” initiative.
“One way we’re doing this is by moving away from using the fryer and, instead, we are using rapid cook technology so that a majority of our items will be baked—not fried—which is also better for you,” Kouri said.
Additionally, Kum & Go offers fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts, string cheese and protein bars. It also serves freshly-made sandwiches that have less than 380 calories and at least 18 grams of protein. Two of these sandwiches are served on nine-grain bread, and one is on a Flatout wrap.
“We know customers are looking for low-calorie, high-protein options at mealtime,” said Kouri. In the fall of 2014, Kum & Go began serving a thin crust pizza, which is lower in calories and carbohydrates than its regular pizza.
In January 2014, it began offering an egg white breakfast sandwich, which—like the egg wrap the chain has offered for quite some time—has less than 300 calories. “So people can get their days started in a healthy way,” said Kouri.
It’s already paid off. In May 2015, Kum & Go sold more than double the number of egg white sandwiches than it sold in May, 2014. “Our salad and produce sales have grown significantly in same store sales in the past year,” Kouri said.

SWIRL WORLD
In 2012, Dawsonville, Ga.-based RaceTrac Inc. debuted Swirl World, a frozen yogurt bar of 10 Swirl World Yogurt flavors with more than 40 toppings in its prototype, 6,000-square-foot store. Since then, RaceTrac has offered new and seasonal Swirl World flavors as well.
“When implementing new flavors and limited-time offers (LTO), we typically feature indulgent flavors in the winter and fruit and sorbet flavors in the summer,” said Ashleigh Collins Womack, senior communications manager at RaceTrac. “In 2015, we will be swirling Mango Tango, Strawberry Lemonade and Strawberry Kiwi—all dairy-free sorbets that are popular and refreshing in the hot summer months.”
The healthful fresh fruit toppings such as blackberries, raspberries and strawberries are popular with customers. So are the indulgent toppings of chocolate, gummies and other candies. The chain also offers LTO toppings for holidays—candy corn for Halloween or Sour Gummy Hearts for Valentine’s Day.
This year, RaceTrac tested waffle and cake cones so that customers can enjoy Swirl World on the go. The test was successful and in the upcoming months cones will roll out to all Swirl World-equipped locations.
But, retailers can’t offer new food options without knowing the benefits of the offering. Sellers must be able to anticipate patrons’ questions and expectations, also.
FRONT AND CENTER
Part of making sure that consumers are aware of new fresh and healthful food offerings is to be sure that they can see them. C-stores are finally putting new products on display out front, said Caldarola, who explained that c-stores can use moveable display units to switch out food items at different times of the day, or different days.
“It’s not hard to do this stuff, but you have to plan for it,” she said.
In addition, Caldarola recommended c-store owners think about what to put with the fresh offerings. For example, put the right types of snacks to go with your fresh-made sandwiches.
“Snacks still sell big time,” Caldarola said. “So the appropriate snacks to go with those items makes a big difference.”
She said that with sandwiches, you can put baskets of all-natural, baked chips. If you have fresh veggies with peanut butter or hummus, put boxes of gluten-free crackers near them. Caldarola stresses that how you set up your products and how you make them work will determine if people will buy them.
Kum & Go has done a lot to draw customers’ attention to its fresh and healthful products.
“In addition to offering protein bars and other healthy snacks as part of special deals displayed in grab-and-go baskets at the registers, we’re also beginning to display and balance signs near the selection of healthier items to help customers navigate to those offerings,” said Kouri. “We’ll also be displaying calorie counts for all fresh foods, which will help customers better understand the nutritional aspects of their choices.”
Caldarola said that c-stores need to use signage in their stores, but they also need to make customers aware through their Websites and by using social media. Kum & Go has done this.
“We have leveraged a variety of messaging vehicles to drive awareness for our fresh food offerings including social media, in-store signage and inclusion in special offers,” Kouri said.
Before you make the move to adding fresh and healthful options, however, make sure that your customers will purchase them.
“You’ve got to have a strategy,” said Caldarola. “Be aware of new trends, and follow the new products. But talk to your customer, and make sure you are really being thoughtful and strategic before you make a move.”