3 Trends on Independent C-Store Menus
By Alaina Lancaster on Jan. 25, 2018CHICAGO -- Independent convenience stores often offer a temperature reading of the food flavors and dishes heating up in the foodservice industry. At CSP’s sister data firm Technomic, researcher offers a view of the life cycle of ingredients, which often are born at one-off foodservice innovators.
“We’re expanding our horizon every day,” said Paul Allen, owner of Farm 2 Counter in Springfield, Mo., an independent grocer known for its constantly evolving foodservice offerings.
Here's a look at what’s cooking at three forward-thinking foodservice concepts ...
1. Indulgent, health-conscious sandwiches
Farm 2 Counter offers foods free of high fructose corn syrup, certain artificial sweeteners and GMOs. When Allen, a former yacht chef, can’t source SKUs locally, he springs for a certified organic option. However, menuing an item dubbed the The Turken Sandwich, which has three kinds of meat, might seem counter to this idea: The sandwich is made up of nitrate-free bacon stuffed inside chicken, stuffed inside turkey. But this meat-heavy creation still offers consumers an ethically sourced option with a dimly lit health halo to sink their teeth into.
The independent retailer also offers housemade organic chocolate-chip-cookie ice-cream sandwiches. One flavor, chocolate chip and Mexican vanilla bean ice cream, caters to consumers’ craving for origin transparency. Other ice-cream options include Andes mint with chocolate-flavored ice cream, butterscotch and vanilla.
2. Catering to global flavors
At CJ’s Deli and More in Ephrata, Pa., co-owners Carmen Leger and Jose Ricar put an international spin on their convenience store’s foodservice program. Along with salads and sandwiches, the owners, who are natives of the Dominican Republic, serve pulled pork, fried fish, stewed chicken and twice-fried plantains, according to Lancaster Online.
The c-store also offers off-premise catering, which allows CJ’s to break into a $55.5 billion market, according to the 2016 Technomic Catering Insights Program, powered by Ignite. “Casual get-together? Have empanadas ready for your guests,” the company wrote on its Facebook page. “Fun birthday party? We can have rice, beans and whatever type of meat you'd like. We even do fancier plates, if that is what you are looking for.”
3. Unconventional partnerships
When four-unit retailer Flory’s Convenience & Deli approached Boar’s Head about a partnership, the upscale purveyor of meat and cheese was reluctant to make a deal with the convenience store, according to The New York Times. Today the Hudson Valley, N.Y.-based c-store offers more than 30 specialty sandwiches, many of which are prepared with Boar’s Head products.
But Flory’s is more than a lunchtime destination. The retailer serves up several breakfast items that go beyond the traditional bacon, egg and cheese. About 20% more consumers have chicken for breakfast at least once a month than they did in 2014, according to Technomic’s Center of the Plate: Poultry Consumer Trend Report, powered by Ignite. The c-store capitalizes on this growing trend with its Chicken & the Egg dish, made up of scrambled eggs, sliced grilled chicken, mozzarella, cucumber and mayo.