TULSA, Okla. -- The summer might be coming to an end, but retailers are not cooling down on cold-brew coffee. QuikTrip Corp. is the newest retailer to add the beverage to its made-to-order menu lineup.
All of the convenience-store chain’s QT Kitchens will serve the housemade drink, which is steeped for 12 hours and poured over ice.
Customers can customize their cold brew with complimentary hazelnut, vanilla and sugar-free vanilla flavorings, as well as sweet cream. The c-store is expanding the item’s relevance across seasons with rotating flavor add-ons, such as pumpkin.
For the past few years, c-stores have been filtering into the cold-brew space. Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz launched its cold-brew offering in 2016 and a cold-brew float the following year. Since then, about half a dozen brands have menued their own versions of the cafe item, including Wawa Inc., Rutter’s, 7-Eleven Inc., GetGo, Kwik Trip and Family Express.
Over the past five years, the share of foodservice operators menuing cold brew has grown to 4.8%, according to data from CSP sister research firm Technomic’sMenu Monitor. Additionally, Technomic’s Convenience-Store Beverage Study says 48% of consumers would like c-stores to offer cold brew, and more than half would like retailers to add more flavors of cold brew.
Tulsa, Okla.-based QuikTrip is an $11 billion company with more than 750 stores in 11 states. It is No. 12 on CSP’s 2018 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by number of U.S. company-owned retail outlets.
Photo courtesy of QuikTrip
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