TOP PERFORMERS BIC Corp. Lil’ Drug Store Products Inc. Novelty Inc. HONORABLE MENTIONS Convenience Valet Procter & Gamble The 63 key decision makers in the HBC and general merchandise segment identified BIC Corp., Lil’ Drug Store Products Inc. and Novelty Inc. as the category’s top performers. Honorable Mentions include Convenience Valet and Procter & Gamble. [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Wells-Blue Bunny Ben & Jerry’s Unilever (Good Humor, Breyers, Klondike and Popsicle) HONORABLE MENTIONS Nestlé USA Masterfoods Regarded as the ultimate snack indulgence, ice cream and frozen novelties are an important, albeit often overlooked, retail segment. The category’s understated consistency in delivering a mix of premium, super premium and regular brands with just [...]
C-store customers are discovering what Native Americans learned thousands of years ago: A handful of nuts or sunflower seeds can satisfy hunger and boost energy reserves without risking adding excess body fat—and researchers have found that people who include nuts and seeds in their diets lower their risks for heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Though [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Deli Express Pierre Foods Landshire HONORABLE MENTIONS Lettieri’s Made Rite/Goliath While branded and proprietary foodservice programs get a lot of attention at retail, hot and cold prepackaged sandwiches have quietly and profitably filled a valuable niche for retailers. Grab-and-go sandwiches offer consumers a quick, easy meal solution that is affordable and available in [...]
TOP PERFORMERS FritoLay (PepsiCo) Kellogg/Keebler Kraft Foods Inc. HONORABLE MENTIONS Jack Links Beef Jerky Nabisco/Planters Lance Inc. Frito-Lay, Kellogg’s/Keebler and Kraft head the list of top performers in the packaged snack category, according to 84 category buyers representing 12,600 convenience stores. Honorable mentions in the category were Jack Links Beef Jerky, Nabisco/Planters and Lance. The [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Subway Subs & Salads Hunt Bros. Pizza Dunkin’ Donuts HONORABLE MENTIONS McDonald’s Corp. Hot Stuff Foods Blimpie Foodservice remains among the strongest in-store categories for convenience store owners, and fast-food brands are helping drive the business. According to the 45 key decision makers to participate in the CSD Brand Preference Study, Subway, Hunt [...]
Self-Service Gift Cards Paul Burel, director of marketing strategy for U-Scan, Fujitsu’s self-checkout line, said gift cards are a good option for c-store operators “because it’s convenient. It’s the kind of point-of-presence transaction to generate that last-minute gift that someone needs to get.” Going with a self-service gift card program is “really not an add-on,” [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Sara Lee Foodservice Bon Appétite Ruiz Foods Inc. HONORABLE MENTIONS Tyson Foods Prairie City Bakery Don Miguel Mexican Foods Inc. A solid bakery program is crucial for building breakfast daypart sales. In an effort to secure those morning dollars, convenience retailers have added bakery programs, which they hope will in turn boost their [...]
A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag is like a barcode on steroids. A barcode printed on a cracker box may indicate that the box contains crackers and possibly identify the manufacturer, while an RFID tag carries a serial number that distinguishes that particular box of crackers from all others in the world. Although some companies [...]
TOP PERFORMERS The Hershey Co. Wm. Wrigley Co. Mars Snackfood U.S. HONORABLE MENTIONS Cadbury Adams/Jaret International Nestlé USA Convenience stores continue to be a dominant retail outlet for confections, and the outlook for 2008 is just as strong. That was the message delivered by the National Confectioners Association’s (NCA) U.S. Confectionery Market report released in [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Sara Lee Foodservice S&D Coffee Kraft Foods Inc. HONORABLE MENTIONS Farmer Bros. Boyd Coffee Co. In a recent issue of Time, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said he returned to his post as head of the Seattle-based coffee chain in part because he was concerned about "the growing competition from convenience stores." It took [...]
TOP PERFORMERS PepsiCo Coca-Cola Co. ICEE (J&J Snack Foods) HONORABLE MENTIONS Slush Puppie (J&J Snack Foods) Dr Pepper (Cadbury Schweppes) Dispensed cold and frozen carbonated beverages (FCB) accounted for $294 million at the 69 chains responding to CSD’s Brand Preference Study. Respondents operate a total of 10,350 stores and average category sales of $28,406 per [...]
TOP PERFORMERS USST Inc. Swisher International Inc. Conwood Sales Co. HONORABLE MENTIONS Swedish Match John Middleton Inc. Altadis USA Offering smokers new alternatives has been a stepping stone for huge growth in the OTP segment. The category as a whole has been showing big numbers, but MST, in particular, has been leading a bold charge [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Philip Morris USA R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Lorillard Tobacco Co. HONORABLE MENTIONS Commonwealth Brands Inc. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. No single category has been as important to the convenience store industry over the years as cigarettes. The 86 retailers to participate in the CSD Brand Preference Study reported a total of $5 [...]
You pick up on a few things after 15 years in a business, but nothing more important than this: Always listen to the customer. “We’re getting more and more inquiries every day about customers that want alternative fuels in their stores,” said Brian Beggs, owner of Walt’s Petroleum Service in Schofield, Wis., the company he [...]