WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- Kum & Go LC's recently introduced premium coffee line, Java Ridge, which the retailer began rolling out this month at its more than 450 convenience stores, represents an evolution in the chain's coffee program that parallels the evolution of the coffee drinker.
Greg Tornberg, Kum & Go's vice president of fresh foods, told CSP Daily News that "as the American coffee consumer has evolved over the last 10 or 15 years thanks to companies like Starbucks and the specialty coffee industry, we saw it as an opportunity to revamp [image-nocss] our offering to be a little bit more in line with the consumer of today, but at the same time, not abandoning the customers that got us to where we're at through the offering of 100% Colombian. We were strictly a 100% Columbian offering prior to November 1, and we've maintained that, because it's an important customer. But we wanted to reach a broader audience through some taste profiles that were more up to date with today's consumer."
The rollout is also a response to growing competition, which Tornberg sees coming, not from the likes of Starbucks, but from other convenience stores. "That specialty coffeehouse customer is a different customer, although I think there is the opportunity to capture some of those customers with a quality offering, especially as we head into an uncertain economy. Maybe people are watching their pennies."
He added, "Starbucks is good for the overall category. It moves the needle, drives awareness to coffee. It has been good in terms of the focus that it has placed on the category and the education it has done for a wide variety of customers about coffee. It has also had a positive effect on consumption."
As first reported in CSP Daily News in early November, Java Ridge is made from 100% premium Arabica beans. Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, serves as the roaster. The line includes a variety of coffees and cappuccinos, including 100% Colombian caffeinated and decaffeinated, dark roast and house blend coffees. In addition, customers can purchase 12-oz. bags of ground coffee.
The new coffee comes in three sizes: 12, 20 and 24 oz., and it is one price for both coffee and cappuccino. It range in price from 89 cents to $1.25.
Kum & Go's previous proprietary coffee program had been branded Hiland. "Hiland has been a great brand for us over the years," Tornberg said. "We use it on a variety of items within Kum & Go. We have Hiland water, chips, cookies. Hiland was a name that Kum & Go purchased a dozen or more years ago. Its heritage here in Iowa is that it was a very strong regional potato chip company, and so it has Iowa roots. We've used the name over the years to run our private-label or control items under. In some areas, like coffee, we've taken Hiland off, and other areas, we've grown the Hiland name, so it's somewhat of a moving target."
And although he declined to give specifics as to the company's strategy, he said, "We're going to continue using the Hiland name, but for coffee we saw an opportunity to develop and launch a new brand with a new offering in Java Ridge."
Upgrading the program was a deliberate process, he said. "We recognized the success that Hiland had over the years, and we did not want to go out and do something without data to support a change, and making sure we were doing something that would take a good program and make it better and that customers would embrace."
Kum & Go is promoting Java Ridge with extensive in-store point of sale and market by market with radio spots. And it is doing some special-event and guerilla-type marketing in some areas through various sports teams. "We're doing a Java Ridge Day at a local semi-pro hockey game, and we're going to have a cold coffee chugging contest between the periods," said Tornberg. "But our best ambassadors are our stores. We've placed sample-cup dispensers in all stores so the customer can give it a try with no risk involved. We think that will help our conversion rate."
The chain is also updating its foodservice program. "We're in the process of introducing Go Fresh Market. It's a new line we just launched in October, and we're going to continue growing that," he said, adding that the company is considering a new fountain program, but that it is "still under development as far as exactly what we're going to land on, if, indeed, we are going to brand the fountain area." Currently, the only branding for fountain is the Kum & Go logo on the cups, as well as the Koolee frozen carbonated beverage offering.
West Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go operates more than 450 stores in 13 states (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Colorado, Arkansas, Wyoming and Wisconsin).
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