Brian Numainville, principal at Lake Success, NY-based Retail Feedback Group, a consultancy that designs feedback systems for retailers, says there’s no doubt that consumers are seeking more fresh produce in 2020.
He believes some aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic may be prompting consumers to visit convenience stores more frequently.
“With smaller footprints, especially in the age of Covid-19, convenience stores have fewer shoppers congregating, which is appealing to shoppers trying to social distance,” explains Numainville. “While some convenience stores have relatively small displays and few items, others are expanding into a broader, fresher selection.”
This is true for Carmi, IL-based Huck’s in the Midwest. A rebranding, as Huck’s Market, began earlier this year, emphasizes the 125-unit chain’s new focus on fresh over prepared foods.
Convenience Store News covered the transition and quoted one company executive as saying, “Today we’re a gas station that sells food. In the future, we want to be known as a restaurant that sells gas.”
Murat Tokad, Huck’s president and chief executive officer, confirmed the transformation was all about food—from more snack, meal, and drink offerings, including both made-to-order fresh sub sandwiches and salads with plenty of fruit and vegetable fixings, to traditional grab-and-go fare like pizza, hot dogs, and breakfast sandwiches.
Folsome, PA-based Wawa, Inc. is well known for its fresh, made-to-order hoagy sandwiches, along with wraps and salads chockful of vegetables. The East Coast chain, with more than 750 locations, recently debuted a new dinner menu at select stores, offering customized grab-and-go meals of burgers, pasta (with roasted vegetables), rotisserie chicken, and pot roast.
Expanding access
For its part, Rutter’s, the York, PA-based chain of 78 convenience stores, is expanding the size of new stores to be similar to truck stops offering restaurants and refrigerated cases featuring fresh and processed produce items in takeaway packaging. The chain works with a Maryland-based distributor for a variety of fresh-cut and packaged produce.
Given its commitment to fresh produce, Chad White, foodservice category manager at Rutter’s, says he hopes more consumers will look to C-stores for their fresh produce purchases.
“I think it will take some time to get customers used to picking up fresh produce at convenience stores,” he notes, but says over the next couple years stores will have larger sections devoted to fresh and packaged produce items.
Last year, prior to the pandemic, Rutter’s offered locally grown produce including zucchini, heirloom tomatoes, blueberries, apples, and watermelon. This summer the chain is limiting its locally grown offerings to blueberries.
“This year was tough with everything going on,” White admits. “But blueberries have done well—we’ll bring them back.” He says the blueberries are also offered in other items the store sells, including smoothies and shakes.
This is an excerpt from the cover story of the November/December issue of Produce Blueprints Magazine. Click here to read the full feature.
