Fall Brew

Fall Brew

Samuel Adams OctoberFest is brewed to celebrate the arrival of autumn. The first thing customers will notice when pouring a glass of this seasonal beer is the color. Samuel Adams OctoberFest has a rich, deep golden amber hue, which itself is reflective of the season. This hearty lager is rich with a blend of four [...]

War Games Lighters

War Games Lighters

DjEEP has introduced War Games, its newest full-color lighter design series, available now and throughout the balance of 2010. The War Games lighters will replace the DjEEP Freedom Series, which has been on the market since 2003. The new designs are done in a more combat-oriented color pallet to reflect the reality of America’s position [...]

New Apple Sauce Flavors

New Apple Sauce Flavors

To enhance its line of Musselman’s single-serve apple sauces, Knouse Foods is launching two new flavors: Totally Fruit Mixed Berry and Healthy Picks Granny Smith. Perfect for a multitude of foodservice operations, the apple sauce cups are an on-the-go solution, healthy meal accompaniment and anytime snack option. With flavors that appeal to all ages, each [...]

Fueling New Sales

Fueling New Sales

FuelQuest Inc., an on-demand software and services company for the downstream energy industry, has released ForeSite, an innovative, map-based fuel inventory management solution that deploys in a single day. Offering real-time views of inventory across multiple sites, ForeSite gives retailers control and visibility over their fuel inventory, reducing runouts and retains, as well as optimizing [...]

Mini Wine Flavor Cigarillos

Mini Wine Flavor Cigarillos

Swisher International Inc. has combined one of its newest and most popular flavors with the convenient shape of mini cigarillos to make the new Swisher Sweets Mini Wine Cigarillos. These new, smaller cigars offer the quick smoke many customers prefer, and come individually wrapped with the company’s unique special sealed-fresh wrapper to ensure fresh, flavorful [...]

Understanding Your  Foodservice Customers

Understanding Your Foodservice Customers

Now more than ever convenience store executives recognize that both survival and prosperity depend on their ability to adapt to changing customer preferences and the evolving business environment. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the changing role of convenience stores as a foodservice provider for budget-conscious, time-sensitive consumers that have scaled back on restaurant [...]

The Keys to  Cleanliness

The Keys to Cleanliness

How can you get your employees to excel at a part of the job they probably can’t stand—cleaning the store in general and the restrooms in particular? “It’s a good question, and a never-ending pursuit,” said Tony Bartys, vice president of retail operations and marketing for Valero Energy Corp. in San Antonio. “It’s a challenge, [...]

Placement    Strategy      Helps  Prepaid    Prosper

Placement Strategy Helps Prepaid Prosper

As the U.S. economic recession continues, it’s no secret that customers are altering their shopping habits to save a few dollars wherever they can. The silver lining for convenience store retailers could be the resulting affinity credit-crunched customers have developed for the prepaid segment. In a credit weary and increasingly online world, prepaid is helping [...]

The Future  of Retail Technology

The Future of Retail Technology

Imagine a day when your customers pay for coffee by scanning a cell phone, and play their favorite music at the gas pump with a quick swipe of a loyalty card. Well, ready or not, such technology is already out there and it’s coming for c-stores—the only question is how soon. As the Millennial generation [...]

Maintaining Strong Smokeless Sales

Maintaining Strong Smokeless Sales

The slew of new regulations governing the sale of tobacco products has convenience store operators scratching their heads and wondering where the next assault will come from and what to do about it. For example:• The federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act) went into effect on June 29, 2010. Its goal is to [...]

Sweet  Success

Sweet Success

There’s little doubt that bakeries are big. Bakeries, pastry shops and bagel sellers are growing at a rate of 5%, according to AnythingResearch.com. When launching a bakery program, convenience store retailers are urged to start with an in-depth market study that profiles the target customer base, current sales in the market area for the product [...]

Planning Your Packaging Needs

Planning Your Packaging Needs

With foodservice sales booming and more retailers making the leap to fresh foods, operators are turning their attention to take-out packaging and finding that, with all the options and considerations, choosing the proper packaging can be as tricky as selecting the foodservice program itself. “There are so many things to think about when you’re looking [...]

Express Convenience Centers Comes of Age

Express Convenience Centers Comes of Age

At A Glance: Express Convenience Centers   Stores: 19 in the Fox Cities region of Wisconsin. Fuel: 17 proprietary-branded Excelerator stati ons and two BP stations. Leadership Team: • John Schmidt, President and CEO, U.S. Venture • Paul Sippl, Director of Branded Fuel Supply, U.S. Venture • Jim Anholzer, General Manager, Express Convenience Centers • [...]

Fresh  from the Farm

Fresh from the Farm

Focus on the Franchise   Minimum Franchise Requirements: Net Worth: $750, 000; Liquid assets: $250, 000 Targeted growth areas: Swiss Farms is looking for single and multi-unit franchisees in the following counties: Northern Delaware: New Castle County; Eastern Pennsylvania: Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Bucks and Philadelphia County; New York: Nassau and Suffolk County; New Jersey: Camden, [...]

Strengthening Safe Security

Strengthening Safe Security

Cash control practices are an essential part of any c-store operation—from having a cash management system in place to training employees in proper security protocol in everyday cash handling and in the event of a robbery. But more often than not, it’s in-house theft that c-stores need to be most vigilant about. “If you have [...]