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Food on the Fly
Eating on the go has become a way of life
By Cecelia Blalock
Dinner time in a Boca Raton kitchen. On the menu is a sushi appetizer followed by breast of chicken stuffed with artichoke and brie, fresh bread, and a scrumptious dessert. Yet not a bowl or a pot is visible on the counters. This gourmet meal came courtesy of a stop at a convenience store where the consumer chose from among the likes of freshly made seafood ravoli or chicken piccata as she filled up her tank.
NexStore Marketplace might not be your typical c-store – yet. But it’s indicative of a growing interest among c-stores to capitalize on the trend of grab-and-go dining. For many folks, food preparation means flipping on their car’s turning signal to pick up food, either to eat in the car or to take home.
"The fastest growing appliance in foodservice is the car," says Harry Balzer of NPD, the Chicago-based consumer marketing and research group. Their research has shown that more than half of all foodservice is take-out and one out of every five meals is eaten in the car. In fact, people don’t even want to get out of their cars to get their food, witness the popularity of the drive-thru and the recent increase in curbside delivery.
This eating pattern may not bode well for our physical or emotional well-being, but it offers big opportunities for convenience stores.
"Time is money is more than a phrase for most people today," says Jeff Lenard, director of public affairs for the National Association of Convenience Stores. "People will patronize stores that save them time. C-stores sell time. We’re solving their time problem."
Foodservice also is solving the c-store’s challenge of filling the profit gap left by gas and cigarettes. In the 1970s, less than 10 percent of c-stores operated gas pumps. Today, 80 percent do. According to Lenard, gas accounts for two-thirds of a typical c-store’s sales but less than one-third of its profits. So c-stores need to find a way to make money inside the store.
"You can make more from a 12-oz. cup of coffee than from a 12-gal. fill-up," Lenard says. "And unlike gas, where a customer may frequent the c-store once or twice a week based on the price, coffee might draw the same customer once or twice a day based on the coffee itself. They become an inside rather than an outside customer."
Know what they want
Recognizing a trend and understanding a trend are two different things. If c-stores are to take advantage of the grab-and-go market, they need to understand the eating and shopping behavior of today’s consumer. In its January 2005 Industry Outlook: CONVENIENCE STORES report, www.retailforward.com cited a study in which 87 percent of consumers say speed and ease of preparation are important in meal planning. Some 62 percent of those surveyed say they sometimes or often are too busy to sit down and eat. Over one-third of them eat lunch at their desks and more than one-quarter often eat while driving. One third says they are willing to pay 20 percent more for a single-serving package.
Instead of viewing c-stores as a destination for gas, smokes and some fill-in groceries, consumers are beginning to see c-stores as a supplier of immediate needs, as in "I need something to eat at my desk" or "I need to pick up something for dinner." A c-store that can fill these needs has a big edge.
"The c-store has the advantage of being convenient," says Don Montouri, editor of Packaged Facts. "It should be their strong suit. There are more of them, they are open more hours and they are easier to navigate than a grocery store. That’s very important. Think of the time people spend in their cars. They don’t want to walk around a supermarket finding the foodservice and standing in line at the checkout."
Some forward-looking c-store chains are developing databases on their most loyal customers to ascertain more specifically what these customers are buying and the types of products they seek. Others do regular in-store surveys or develop ongoing contacts with customers in other ways.
Getting fresh
While convenience remains a top priority for the grab-and-go diner, there is no doubt that many consumers are trying to maintain a more nutritious and healthful diet. That can be tough, given the traditional fast food or c-store foodservice offerings. Here too, this trend can mean opportunity for c-stores, not only for additional dollars, but also for more diversity in their customer base.
A strong foodservice offering may allow a c-store to expand beyond the "Bubba demographic" to attract a wider variety of customers, Montouri noted.
That’s the idea behind GetGo, the c-store chain offshoot of the popular Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle supermarket company.
"At GetGo, we focus on providing an environment and product offering that appeals to a much larger audience than just the traditional male convenience store customer, says company spokesperson Brian Frey. "Through our family-friendly layout, branding efforts with our inviting color schemes and food imagery, great customer service and broad variety of delicious meal alternatives, our GetGo locations attract customers of varying demographics looking for take-home meal solutions as well as grab-and-go breakfast, lunch and dinner items."
To satisfy customers focused on healthier lifestyles, GetGo’s Fresh to Go cases feature premium salads, fruit platters, veggie cups, bulk fruit by the piece, wraps and sandwiches, chicken tenders. Rounding out the menu are dessert and bakery items, gourmet coffees and other hot beverages.
The larger (4,500 sq. ft.) standalone stores have GetGo Kitchens that offer touch screen ordering so customers can design their own freshly prepared food items. All GetCo c-stores carry selected Giant Eagle brand items such as milk, bread, and snacks.
Frey called its chain’s customer service a "true differentiating factor" from its c-store competitors. In addition, "our ability to offer a consistent level of fresh food quality is a key point of difference in the convenience store arena."
A range of options
C-stores needn’t plunge into fresh, upscale food to satisfy those eating on the run. Much depends on the customer base and the size and location of the store. For those with more modest ambitions, suppliers have plenty of alternatives.
"Packaging with respect to portability plays a big role," Montouri observes. "Anything that makes portability easier will have an advantage."
Products that are drinkable, microwavable, easy to open, close and handle, are crush proof, single serving and can fit in a cupholder are hits with time pressed eaters. Automakers have turned the average vehicle into a rolling dining car with cup holders sprinkled throughout. Food manufacturers are designing products accordingly, with everything from soup to Skittles packaged in cups. Yogurt has gone gangbusters, offering both nutrition and convenience in a variety of forms. A sure sign that eating while riding is here to stay is the emergence of products designed to deal immediately with spills and stains.
Packaging can provide an innovative breakthrough, agrees Balzer, if it speeds the process and doesn’t affect the cost or the taste of the product.
Also popular are packaged foods that are lunch or dinner meal options that can be taken to home or office and popped in the microwave. Breakfast is still the leading meal segment for c-stores. But it need not be just a bagel or donut. Thanks to the healthier lifestyle trend, breakfast is in again. So frozen breakfast products are an alternative.
Even a well run coffee bar with high quality coffee can become a strong profit center for c-stores leery of the complexity of a larger food service operation.
Pitfalls
While grab-and go eating seems here to stay, a well thought-out foodservice operation is not without its pitfalls. It requires a change in mentality, warns Lenard.
"The hardest thing is going from a retailer to a restaurant," he explains. "It requires a whole new mindset. You have to think in terms of tossing out product that does not meet the standards. Throwing out product is foreign to a retailer. Foodservice demands a focus on consistency and cleanliness.
For c-stores there is also the problem of perception.
"There is still the notion in the minds of many customers that convenience stores cannot/do not offer high-quality and freshly prepared food items that taste great," says GetGo’s Frey. "So c-store operators are faced with the task of overcoming this mindset and driving trial food purchases."
Their solution to enticing customers into more than a routine fill-up has been to position GetGo as something other than the typical c-store. "The GetGo concept is designed to offer customers services and products that are not found at every corner fuel station, combined with a warm and inviting store décor and layout," says Frey.
C-stores also face increasing competition for the grab-and-go dollar from non-traditional retailers. Everyone from drug stores to hardware chains are sticking in cold cases or baskets of candy items at checkout. Channel lines are rapidly disappearing. Other retailers are beginning to sell gas as well, further eroding the c-store customer base. In its report, Retail Forward projected more shakeout in the c-store industry in coming years.
To remain competitive, progressive c-store operators must stay abreast of changing consumer shopping and eating patterns and get more in tune with shoppers’ needs, says Retail Forward. C-stores are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the market trends emphasizing the demand for convenience, easy preparation, and more grab-and-go items.
The fundamental tenets of retailing still apply: know your market and your customer base. Sell what people are actually eating not what experts say are the trends, Balzer says.
"In the end it comes down to time, money and taste," he observes. "People aren’t averse to trying new things, but it isn’t a trend. They are looking for things that are easier, less expensive and taste good."
Cecelia Blalock is a freelance writer based Jessup, MD.
Resource Guide
Harry Balzer, NPD (847) 692-6700
Brian Frey, Giant Eagle (412) 967-3637
Jeff Lenard, National Association of Convenience Stores (703) 684-3600
Don Montouri, Packaged Facts (301) 468-3650, ext. 209
Katherine Clarke, www.retailforward.com (614) 355-4009
NexStore (561) 241-1000
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