Convenience store retailers are all too aware of the many problems related to selling cigarettes. Ever-increasing taxes equal lower profit margins, smoking prohibitions reduce retail sales, not to mention fire hazards, odor, and of course, health problems. NJOY changes the old paradigm for the better. It is a rechargeable electronic cigarette used by more than…
No Choke Mixture
Full Throttle Energy Drink introduces a new full-flavored formula complete with reliable energy ingredients. Prominently displayed on the can’s back panel is Full Throttle’s new “No Choke Mixture” promise: “full flavor you don’t have to force down, and reliable energy ingredients that help you get the job done. No mystery ingredients. No bull.” The mixture…
The Coffee Cup Hotel
C-stores are known for providing a myriad of services, but could your stores house customers for the night if the weather turned bad? Coffee Cup Fuel Stops, which operates eight 24-hour locations in the Dakotas and Wyoming, is no stranger to hosting overnight guests at its Summit, S.D. location, where winter storms have been known…
Empowering Foodservice Customers
The latest technologies being used to manage c-store foodservice programs—from touchscreens and POS ordering terminals to digital signage—are allowing marketers to enhance communications and streamline operations. Touchscreens communicate the menu in a very efficient way. This is especially important as chains look to build incremental sales and make more subtle changes like expanding the number…
Retailers Counting on COFFEE
Ten years ago, “experts” warned the coffee industry was becoming saturated; then they said it again five years ago and once more two years ago. Turns out they were wrong every time. There’s not a convenience store operator in America who doesn’t work at building coffee sales and expanding dayparts thanks to the category’s excellent…
Expanding the Foodservice Menu
Most convenience store operators don’t offer a whole lot of seafood on their menus, which is usually fine, because convenience store customers aren’t looking for seafood. Logistical issues, product-paucity, quality and food safety concerns are among the fears retailers have about investing in the seafood segment. But given seafood’s health benefits and generally growing popularity…
Breaking into Branding
Branded Check List Retailers planning to add a branded foodservice program should consider the start up cost as well what long-term factors will influence profitability such as additional labor and rising food costs. “You have to decide what’s best for you,” said Sandy Arrasmith of J&H Family Stores. “Take a look at the brand you…
Keeping It Fresh
Now that customers are used to finding fresh food at their local c- stores the pressure is on the roller grill to maintain its share of foodservice sales. Thanks to the innovation of retailers and suppliers alike, the roller grill continues to turn out strong sales. Chains are bundling meals with fountain drinks and chips…
Calming the Beverage Storm
As marketing category manager for Mansfield, Ohio-based EZ Energy USA Inc., Deb Davis oversees the beverage category and makes the critical call as to which products head to the cooler, and which don’t make the cut. Having just finished meeting with soda vendors to finalize the 2010 soda contracts, Davis is now busy overseeing beer…
7-Eleven Gets in the Game
By Brett Wilshe, Contributing Editor When Apple released iTunes in 2001, music retailers began to question their futures. The music industry, once an invincible force in the global market, suddenly seemed vulnerable. But a much larger question loomed: Would it stop with music? We live in an age where corporeal media is vanishing. Newspapers are…