TOP PERFORMERS Pepsi Cola (PepsiCo) Coca-Cola Co. Dr Pepper/7-Up (Cadbury Schweppes) HONORABLE MENTIONS Lipton (PepsiCo) Tropicana (PepsiCo) The coolers in convenience stores today are a great deal different than they were a decade ago. While carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), juices and teas used to among the top sellers in the cold vault, they’ve slowly given…
Isotonics and Energy Drinks
TOP PERFORMERS Gatorade (PepsiCo) Powerade (Coca-Cola Co.) Red Bull HONORABLE MENTIONS Monster Kronik Few categories continue to grow as quickly, and as profitably, as energy drinks and isotonics. Eighty-five decision makers representing 12,750 stores reported $486 million was earned by this lucrative beverage category. Isotonics, which have been performing well in c-stores long before energy…
Bottled Water
TOP PERFORMERS Nestlé Waters Aquafina (PepsiCo) Dasani (Coca-Cola Co.) HONORABLE MENTIONS Fiji Water Evian New flavors, new packaging and consumer demand are among the primary reasons retailers remain excited over bottled water. The category continues to post some of the strongest sales numbers in the store, and is expected to keep increasing for the foreseeable…
Beer and Adult Beverages
TOP PERFORMERS Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. SAB/Miller Coors Brewing Co. HONORABLE MENTIONS Heineken USA There were 73 chains representing 11,000 stores and $1.5 billion in beer sales to participate in the CSD Brand Preference Study. As expected, the beer companies made an impression with retailers, 62% of whom said they had viewed at least three sales…
Dispensed Beverages (Cold)
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…
Dispensed Beverages (Hot)
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…
Whipping Up a Retail Destination
Big box operators and supermarkets seem to dominate the Texas retail landscape. But while most of those stores focus on getting bigger, some convenience operators are finding that connecting with the consumers on a personal level is better. Consider Whip In, a dynamic marketer based in Austin, Texas. It doesn’t have the size and real…
Coffee’s Hotter Than Ever
Data released by the National Coffee Association shows the market penetration for coffee has surpassed that of soft drinks, reversing a 20-year pattern. Fifty-seven percent of American adults drink coffee daily versus 51% for soft drinks. Coffee drinking among 18-24 year-olds also jumped 6%, the fourth year in a row for such an increase. Given…
Clearing a Crowded Cold Vault
Energy drinks and isotonics are following two increasingly divergent paths, just part of the fast-paced beverage category about which convenience store operators are spending more time planning than ever before. The crazy-quilt influx of new brands, products, line extensions, flavors and varieties is jamming cooler doors and sales floors, and calling for some hard choices.…
Tax Debate Swarms Bottled Water
It’s back to the barricades once again for the convenience store industry, which—as in the past—is being targeted by environmental special interest groups and revenue-hungry legislators. This time they’re focusing on bottled water containers. Bottled water remains a tremendously popular and trendy product category, which is just what attracted the attention of these two groups…