NACS Magazine asked a handful of c-store foodservice pros what’s ahead for foodservice operations in convenience stores this year. From value to simplicity to barista-style beverages, here are some of their top predictions.
Jessica Williams
FOUNDER & CEO
Food Forward Thinking LLC
1. Hands-On Training. Technology is a tool but not a substitute for hip-to-hip food and beverage instruction. As much as electronic job aids and checklists help store teams stay accountable and reference information anywhere, the act of SERVING our SERVICE teams with hands-on training will never go out of style.
2. Flagship Food. Destination-driving, differentiated items that are very specific to the identity of the brand and authentic to the location and the brand.
More than anything else, I am asked to design or identify the “hero” product for brands. It’s happening more frequently every year, and I think that’s because retailers want their brands closely connected with consumers, and there is no better way to make a connection to a person’s heart than through their stomach.
3. Quality. No one is willing to compromise. Consumers know they are spending more money for commodities and life in general than ever before, so if retailers can elevate the quality of their experience in the taste, format, packaging, anything—It is better than just a blanket price increase. Noteworthy: Elevating quality at the same time as retail price is a great opportunity for category managers to capture back some eroded margin.
4. Local. Now that retailers have asked for transparency on drivers behind higher costs, so often the reasons are fuel and transportation. The doors are open wide for locally produced items like coffee, sauces, breads and commissary items to show up on convenience chain shelves because these items help tie big brands to small communities and the people who live and work there.
Annie Gauthier
CFO, CO-CEO
St. Romain Oil Company
5. Foodservice customers will continue to focus on value and bundling will be an increasing opportunity.
6. We have unique opportunities to leverage bundling foodservice with go-to convenience packaged goods to leverage our unique offer mix.
7. Foodservice operators will continue to pare down menus and try to do more with fewer ingredients.
Chris Vestal
DIRECTOR OF FOODSERVICE
Wallis Companies
8. Customers shifting back to pre-COVID routines will increase morning daypart sales.
9. There will be pressure to increase retail prices due to persistent inflation and higher labor costs.
10. We will see increased adoption of technology to compensate for labor shortages.
Joseph Chiovera
Foodservice Retail/
Manufacturing Executive
11. Fully cooked proteins will continue to evolve in pre-portioned sizes, and you may even see sous vide enter the channel.
12. Menu rationalization will be taken to new heights due to labor constraints. “Less will be more! Do what you do well, and do a lot more of it.”
13. Innovation will be kept simple by utilizing existing pantry ingredients. More LTOs compared to product launches.
14. Simplicity is on-trend and red hot.
15. Delivery and order with pickup will be needed to compete.
16. Hot barista-style drinks will continue to grow, while traditional c-store drip and newly added bean-to-cup coffee will remain flat to down.
17. Cold barista-style drinks will grow double digits.
Jay Ellingson
Chief Scientific Officer
Kwik Trip
Evan Powell
Food Protection Manager–Retail
Kwik Trip
18. In 2023, c-store foodservice market share will continue to grow, and with that, the importance of a strong food safety culture and tech-enabled traceability will grow, also.
19. Two of the four core elements of the FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety that could impact c-store operations include measuring and strengthening food safety culture and improving visibility into the food supply chain through traceability methods.
Food safety culture means food safety is ingrained in the minds of employees who work with food, and tasks that need to be completed, such as handwashing and temperature monitoring, are instead the right thing to do because they know it protects consumers. Employees are thoroughly trained on why these steps are important and supported in taking the time to complete them day-to-day.
Quantifying the culture of food safety within the organization and then identifying areas for potential improvement will go a long way for risk mitigation with both food manufacturing and foodservice. Tech-enabled traceability allows for products that may be contaminated to be more quickly removed from commerce. Regulators must be able to identify potentially unsafe product faster, trace it back to the original source, find out where it was distributed and take action—all in a timely manner. Having the supply chain digitally connected will allow for more rapid identification of these products when compared to paper record- keeping. This is not an easy task and will take many resources to make this happen accurately from farm to fork for the industry.
Jim Bressi
DIRECTOR OF FOODSERVICE
The Spinx Company
20. C-store foodservice will continue to shine and offer value, convenience and be a major contributor to gross profit dollars.
21. Inflationary pressures will continue but to a much lesser degree. The new low is now 15-20% higher than 2021.
22. Supply Chain—there will be cost challenges but not anything like we saw in 2021-22. Most suppliers have shored up labor, logistics and production, but some items will remain “spotty,” especially for specialty products, paper and plastics.
23. Suppliers will get back to innovation after the “hunker down and survive” mode they have been in.