High traffic, quick product turnover and a propensity for impulse sales make convenience stores the perfect emporium for CPG introductions. With its shoppers often on the hunt for new products, the channel is a showcase for supplier innovation. 

“C-stores are often the first place consumers look for new products,” said Keri Weekley, senior category manager at Brunswick, Maine-based Rusty Lantern Markets, which has more than two dozen stores in New England. “We provide real-world trial opportunities and immediate consumer feedback.”

Marketers couldn’t agree more. According to Jim Dodge, vice president of convenience, specialty and unattended retail for Mars, a whopping 71% of adult consumers say they find new products and brands in c-stores, making them ideal for launching unexpected products. 

Yvette Fossum, vice president of sales, convenience stores, for Ferrero, said the channel’s emphasis on single-serve packages makes it a key player in a brand introduction. “There’s a strong tendency for consumers to purchase a small or single-serve package of a new product over a larger pack size,” she said. “That’s why it’s super important to start in a c-store when launching an item to get a good understanding of what a reach it’s going to be and how successful a larger pack might be.” 

While c-stores compete fiercely with other trade channels on metrics such as product assortment, pricing and promotional support, convenience retailers have the edge when it comes to new products. Farris Jamal, director of merchandising at New Paltz, New York-based Chestnut Market, which has more than 70 stores in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, pointed to the “visibility” c-stores provide new offerings. 

“You can walk down the aisles of a grocery store every day and still not see every product,” Jamal said. In c-stores, which have far fewer SKUs, new brands can be easy to highlight. 

“C-stores have a major advantage because they’re more intimate with the customer,” agreed Roy Strasburger, CEO of StrasGlobal and president of Compliance Safe. “They have a more limited selection and fewer distractions than [grocery stores],” which allows customers to focus more keenly on the selection.

That plays well for products such as new packaged beverages in the cold vault. Liz Sizemore, senior director of channel strategy and operations, convenience retail, at The Coca-Cola Co. North America, said c-store consumers’ shopping habits mean the stores play a crucial role in the introduction of new Coke products, such as the recent Coca-Cola Orange Cream. 

“Shoppers visit c-stores primarily for speed, simplicity and immediate satisfaction, completing trips typically in under four minutes,” Sizemore said. “This immediacy aligns with introducing innovative products that cater to quick-consumption needs.”

Forging Successful Partnerships

CPG marketers recognize convenience stores’ value in the introduction of new brands or line extensions. 

“With over 150,000 locations, c-stores offer incredible reach,” said Nick Dewitt, customer vice president, convenience channel, at General Mills. “Plus, the impulse-driven nature of c-store shopping provides a prime opportunity to trial new formats and flavors, particularly single-serve sizes.” Moreover, c-stores make for effective testing grounds during early trial of new products. “It’s a great channel to test and learn before launching products more broadly across our retail organization or launching into new categories.”

Fossum of Ferrero said partnering with c-stores on new products allows manufacturers to get a granular look at consumer response to the items. C-store introductions generally provide “insight on what shoppers are looking for, what they need, what they want,” she said. Suppliers can also more easily measure affinities between certain products with a c-store product launch. Those affinities—such as the purchase of a doughnut with a candy bar—and shopper behaviors are “important in helping manufacturers understand what we can produce that will have a strong reach going forward,” she said.

Of course, new products benefit convenience retailers as well. Jamal of Chestnut Market said the recent introduction of pricey Dubai chocolate bars at his stores led to higher basket rings. Due to the larger size of the bars, “we couldn’t put them in the planogram or on the candy shelves,” he said. “So we put them at the register. Thanks to social media buzz for Dubai chocolate, we saw a lot of impulse buys.” 

“An innovative launch can position c-stores as trend-forward, helping them compete with QSRs and other retail formats,” Sizemore of Coca-Cola said. “New product launches create excitement, attract repeat customers and provide consumers with reasons to visit more frequently amid declining overall trips.” 

Strasburger, who is also a founder of the Vision Group Network—a group of virtual forums that explore retail topics—agrees. “One of the benefits of featuring new products is that you’re offering the customer something new and different,” he said. “It can be a competitive advantage if you have it and somebody else doesn’t. And if the product is successful, you become the location where people come to pick it up.”

Facing Space Constraints

Retailers and suppliers agree that the biggest challenge in launching new products in c-stores are the shops’ tight footprint. 

“Shelf space is limited, so we have to be strategic about what we bring in and ensure it aligns with who we are as a company and customer demand,” said Weekley of Rusty Lantern. The concern is similar at Chestnut Market. “We operate small stores,” Jamal said. “We don’t have the space for every flavor of Mountain Dew or M&M’s.” 

Time is also a factor. “A consumer can spend between 45 to 90 seconds in a c-store, whereas in grocery, the average visit is 20 to 30 minutes,” Fossum of Ferrero said. With such a small window in which to attract customers’ attention to new products, c-stores must employ “really good display vehicles, strong e-commerce and reward program support” when introducing new products, she said.

Small c-store operators can be more challenged with new products than larger operators. Because of the channel’s “fragmented nature,” Dewitt of General Mills said, “Achieving sufficient scale to meet supply chain minimums for unique c-store formats is crucial.” 

Supply is yet another concern for independent c-stores, Strasburger said. “If a product is successful, can the retailer continue to get supply?” If not, “it could work to a store’s disadvantage. Consistency of supply is a big deal.”

New products don’t stand a chance of succeeding in c-stores if retailers, marketers and their representatives don’t work together to drive trial and repeat sales and understand the role the items play in their early days on the market. Ferrero, for example, recently partnered with Casey’s on the LTO Salted Caramel Butterfinger, which had a tie-in to the store’s foodservice program. “There hasn’t been a lot of new news on Butterfinger for a while,” said Stacy O’Day, director of channel marketing for Ferrero. “Salted caramel helped give the whole brand a boost.”

Dodge of Mars said the company collaborates with c-stores on new products through a joint planning process, covering “everything from shopper insights and display recommendations to codeveloping merchandising plans.” And Mars’ Transaction Zone team helps retailers optimize the product mix, layout and signage at checkout to drive trial. 

“Partnership is key,” Dewitt said. General Mills engages with customers on new-product acceptance and launch plans through key meetings; in some cases, it will partner with retailers on early launches or exclusives. “Proactive alignment between retailers and manufacturers is essential to identify and execute robust launch plans.” 

Attracting Attention

Building brand awareness is more important for new entries than existing brands, so promotional and merchandising support in c-stores is critical. Weekley of Rusty Lantern said the stores rely on in-store signage, feature placement and bundling with other items for national brand introductions. New local items, meanwhile, are placed in the front of the store or in themed sections, such as the concept’s “Maine Made for You” areas. 

“New products perform best when placed in high-traffic areas like front-of-store coolers or endcap displays or near checkout counters,” said Sizemore, noting that the recent launches of Coca-Cola Orange Cream and Sprite + Tea received in-store sampling and cross-promotional bundling support. 

Stacey Urbaniak, director of commercial strategy at Kellanova Away from Home, which recently introduced Pringles Mingles, advised c-stores to secure secondary displays for new offerings that are “disruptive, engaging and eye-catching” to attract attention. For stores that can manage it, Strasburger suggests on-site demonstrations of new products in concert with vendors, even if they have to use parking lot space. 

Looking ahead, CPG marketers and observers say c-stores will continue to play a big—if not bigger—role in the introduction of new brands. Urbaniak and Sizemore point to the growing importance of younger consumers to the future of the channel and the cohort’s already proven appetite for quick, convenient
and exploratory shopping experiences. 

Citing the likelihood that fuel volume will decline in the coming years and that it will become increasingly challenging for c-stores to attract customers, Strasburger believes new-product offerings can be a big part of the solution. “New products are going to be key for convenience retailing to stay competitive in the future,” he said.