If not for the occasional booth hawking car wash equipment, tobacco products or gas pumps at this week’s NACS Show (the convenience-store industry’s biggest annual trade show), one might be excused for occasionally believing they were instead strolling the aisles of the National Restaurant Association Show.
Chefs dotting the 430,000 square feet of exhibit space at the Las Vegas Convention Center served birria steak fajita street tacos, fresh-baked French pastries, customizable pizzas, crispy fried chicken and so much more. NACS Show attendees washed the fare down with dirty sodas, nitro cold brew, “functional” juices and other beverages that would be at home in any coffee shop or fast-casual restaurant chain.
As cash-strapped diners pull back on restaurant visits, convenience stores see nothing but opportunity in foodservice. And many c-store suppliers and distributors are meeting the moment, creating what are essentially plug-and-play restaurant concepts that can be dropped in the middle of a gas station.
Westlake, Texas-based foodservice distributor Core-Mark, which is owned by Performance Food Group, for example, offers five turnkey programs for convenience stores: Contigo Taqueria, Perfectly Southern Fresh Fried Chicken, The Red Seal Pizzeria, Tru-Q BBQ and Deli 55. The foodservice operations vary by complexity, depending on the needs (and labor challenges) of c-store operators, said Sandra D’Asaro, Core-Mark’s senior vice president of strategy and excellence.
The company is testing an Asian concept, too, D’Asaro added.
“Customers today, they do want bold profiles, they want unique flavors,” she said. “We think the biggest thing that can help drive trips is going to be food and we want to capture that trip.”
Plus, with cigarette sales down and consumer perceptions around the health detriments of alcohol on the rise, food is the main source of opportunity in c-stores today, speakers said during NACS Show education sessions.
“Foodservice is the movement for convenience now in the absence of nicotine sales,” Jim Dodge, VP of convenience for Mars Wrigley, said.
An assortment of dispensed beverage options from Sunny Sky Products. | Photo: Heather Lalley
Convenience stores have an edge over restaurants when it comes to variety, said Sandie Ray, VP of foodservice sales and marketing for Frisco, Texas-based supplier Ruiz Foods. If the kids in a family want hot dogs, mom wants a sandwich and dad wants a cheeseburger, they can likely find it at a c-store, Ray said. Plus, most convenience stores have something for all dayparts, from early morning to late at night.
“We would win on price and speed and convenience,” Ray said. “And value meals. A lot of convenience stores are saying, ‘OK, QSRs, we’re going to compete where you’re winning by showing we have value.’”
In recent weeks, for example, we’ve seen Circle K, the country’s second-largest c-store chain, launch a line of value meals starting at as low as $3. In July, c-store restaurant brand Krispy Krunchy Chicken added a $4 value meal that includes two pieces of chicken or two tenders, plus potato wedges.
Stroll the NACS Show floor and you’ll find c-store analogues for virtually every on-trend restaurant concept.
The growth of Crumbl Cookies is fueling interest in Otis Spunkmeyer’s new line of pre-packaged cookies for convenience stores. Beverage concepts like Swig are paving the way for dirty sodas from companies like Houston-based Sunny Sky Products, whose setups, among other things, allow c-store customers to DIY a variety of customizable beverages.
“This is the future,” D’Asaro said. “A unique program you can execute throughout the day. You’ve got to have something that’s going to drive the trips.”
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