Hot Stuff Foods has introduced Hot Stuff Foods Xpress, a new foodservice distribution partnership and license initiative. Hot Stuff Foods Xpress offers the retailer delivery through their distributor, coupled with trusted Hot Stuff branding. It is designed specifically to occupy minimal space, utilize less labor and require less capital expense while offering strong gross margins…
Sealed-Fresh Foil Wrapping
Due to popular demand, Swisher International has introduced Sealed-Fresh foil wrapping on all of the company’s Swisher Sweets Cigarillos. First introduced on Swisher Sweets Wine Cigarillos, the new Sealed-Fresh packaging proved to be a huge success among retailers and customers. Expanding on that success, the new technology is now incorporated as the standard packaging for…
Environmentally-Friendly Chewing Gum
Revolymer Ltd. has launched Rev7, a confectionery chewing gum with long-lasting flavor. The product is also removable and degradable, making it the first commercially available environmentally-friendly gum. The company has studied the gum’s removability and degradability characteristics in a variety of climates. The gum can be removed from clothes using soap and water, and tests…
New Look for Beef Jerky
Jack Link’s Beef Jerky has teamed with Realtree Camo to offer a “snack hunters can’t go without” promotion. Through December 2010, a selection of Jack Link’s beef steak products are available in blaze-orange-colored packaging, featuring distinctive Realtree Camo patterns. The standout blaze orange packaging adds extra visibility, while the beef steak offers hunters a satisfying…
Premium E-Cigarette
Kretek International Inc. offers a new line of CIG2O (sig-two-oh) e-cigarette products. The CIG2O rechargeable water vapor cigarette was developed in the U. S. for Kretek by Spark Industries. CIG2O e-cigarettes was successfully launched in smoke shops early in 2010. The strength of adult consumer response led to the current nationwide roll out. The initial…
Warming Up to Soup Sales
This is Foodservice 101: when the weather turns cold, consumers want warmth—often in the form of soups and hot convenience foods. Giving your consumers what they want is Convenience Store Success 101. Putting hot soups and other ready-to-go items on the menu this the fall only makes sense, and isn’t all that hard to do.…
Is Your Kitchen Fully Equipped?
Where there’s successful foodservice programs, there’s efficient foodservice equipment, and in the convenience store industry, there’s foodservice everywhere. According to NACS’ State of the Industry numbers for 2010, foodservice provided the largest slice of the in-store gross-margin pie, at 26.35%, and was second in in-store sales only to cigarettes. As consumers contemplate what to eat,…
Seizing Real Estate Opportunities
Prying Properties Loose Important for retailers to understand is that commercial real estate today is an industry in transition. Its landscape is littered with landlords, if not desperate, than at least strongly motivated to make deals work. “Things are tight,” said George Anderson, vice president of market analytics for NAI Global in Princeton,…
NACS CAFÉ Serves Up a Foodservice Education
It began with a simple, yet powerful premise: Convenience store retailers, with their great locations and high customer traffic are well-positioned to capitalize on the development and execution of meaningful foodservice programs. All they need is a solid foundation of information, support, solutions and best practices to succeed. Enter Greg Parker, president and CEO of…
Bottled Water Bouncing Back
Bottled water’s bubble may have burst the past couple of years, but retailers with private label water have done just swimmingly, and retailers are optimistic that the next 12 months will be equally strong. The packaged beverages subcategory enjoyed decades of growth, as consumers increasingly chose refreshment that fit their healthier lifestyles. From 1984 to…