NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Road Runner convenience stores have partnered with Hungary-based bakery Fornetti to offer fresh European pastries, reported Arkansas Business. Available in a dozen Road Runner c-stores throughout Arkansas, the specialty pastries are being baked fresh in-house every day.
Seven varieties of the pastries—Chocolate Hazelnut Pastry, Cherry and Vanilla Pudding Pastry, Cinnamon Swirl, Cocoa Swirl, Caramel Pastry, Apricot Triangle and Apple Triangle—will be Fornetti’s initial offerings for U.S. convenience stores. There are also plans to expand Fornetti’s products to include specialty breads such as ciabatta and sourdough.
The pastries are prepared in an offsite bakery, frozen and then baked in the store. Employees use a bar-coding system to set the time and temperature on the ovens in Road Runner stores.
Road Runner stores in Hot Springs, Heber Springs, Fort Smith, Conway and Little Rock will debut Fornetti products in Arkansas.
For Coulson and Road Runner, the partnership with Fornetti elevates its foodservice program beyond conventional prepackaged offerings or fried foods, while appealing to customers who are in search of higher-quality fare.
"There's really nothing like this in the U.S. right now. There's certainly nothing like this in Arkansas," said John Harris, president and CEO of Coulson Oil, North Little Rock, Ark. "We thought it would be a great way to help grow our brand. It's something totally different at a nice price point consumers here in Arkansas will gravitate toward."
Founded in Hungary in 1997, Fornetti operates 6,000 locations in Europe with more than $100 million in annual sales, according to Fornetti USA CEO Nick Peters. The company is looking to boost its investment in the U.S. convenience-store market. It currently sells to larger supermarket and coffee-shop companies throughout Europe.
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