C-Store Dispensed-Beverage Trends
Product Evaluations conducted an online and telephone-based survey of 150 c-store operators—67 independents with one to 10 stores, and 83 chains with 11 or more units—on behalf of CSP in January 2015. Each of the interviewees in this Annual Trend Report was a purchase decision maker at the store level and offered foodservice items not packaged by a manufacturer.
Eighteen percent of the retailers in the sample have a “limited dedication” to foodservice, meaning they offer four or fewer food items. Nearly half—or 49%—of the operators have a “moderate dedication” to foodservice, meaning they offer three to nine items, while 33% have a high dedication (10 to 15 items).
Below are beverage highlights from the survey, revealing where retailers have established offers—brewed coffee and/or cold dispensed—as well as a few segments with growth potential.
Most Commonly Offered Beverages
Almost all retailers participating in the 2015 CSP Annual Trend Report offered brewed coffee, regardless of the depth of their overall foodservice offer. Among those with “high dedication” (as measured by the number of items they sell), specialty hot teas and milkshakes were more common than those with more limited offers.
The average number of beverage items offered by retailers in the CSP survey: 3.9.
| Food item | Sample | High dedication | Moderate dedication | Limited dedication |
| Brewed coffee | 96% | 96% | 96% | 96% |
| Dispensed cold beverages | 89% | 90% | 92% | 82% |
| Specialty coffee drinks | 84% | 90% | 88% | 63% |
| Dispensed frozen drinks | 65% | 66% | 70% | 52% |
| Specialty hot teas | 29% | 50% | 25% | 4% |
| Milkshakes/malts/smoothies | 22% | 44% | 14% | 4% |
| Other | 2% | 4% | 1% | NA |
Source: CSP-Product Evaluations Annual Trend Report
Top Growth Prospects
Most c-store retailers in the CSP Annual Trend Report expect sales increases for brewed coffee, milkshakes and specialty coffee beverages in the coming year.
| Beverage item | Percentage of retailers expecting increase |
| Brewed coffee | 39% |
| Milkshakes/malts/smoothies | 36% |
| Specialty coffee drinks | 32% |
| Dispensed cold beverages | 31% |
| Dispensed frozen drinks | 24% |
| Specialty hot teas | 22% |
Source: CSP-Product Evaluations Annual Trend Report
Percentage of Sales of Hot-Dispensed Beverages by Day of the Week/Month
| Day | Percent of sales |
| Sunday | 12% |
| Monday | 15% |
| Tuesday | 15% |
| Wednesday | 15% |
| Thursday | 15% |
| Friday | 16% |
| Saturday | 13% |
Source: Management Science Associates
CONTINUED: Dispensed Beverage Menu Trends
C-Store Beverage Menu Trends
Technomic’s MenuMonitor c-store database features menus from 40 retailers in the United States. What follows is a snapshot of their dispensed- and packaged-beverage offerings in 2014 as part of their wider foodservice program.
A quick explanation of terms: “Penetration” measures the “reach” of a product on a menu or of operators offering an item. For example, as shown in the chart below, cappuccino made up 1.4% of all items on the menus at retailers in the MenuMonitor database during second-quarter 2014.
Meanwhile, 19.7% of all c-store hot-beverage items in the database were cappuccinos. And 82.5% of the 40 operators in the sample have cappuccino on their menu.
Hot Beverages at C-Stores
Coffee, cappuccino and hot chocolate were the most common hot dispensed beverages found on the menus of c-store retailers in Technomic’s MenuMonitor sample.
| Product | Menu incidence | Total menu penetration | Hot-beverage menu distrbution | Operators offering | Operator penetration |
| Coffee/filtered coffee | 47 | 1.9% | 26.4% | 40 | 100.0% |
| Cappuccino | 35 | 1.4% | 19.7% | 33 | 82.5% |
| Hot chocolate/cocoa | 28 | 1.1% | 15.7% | 27 | 67.5% |
| Hot tea | 14 | 0.6% | 7.9% | 14 | 35.0% |
| Latte | 14 | 0.6% | 7.9% | 10 | 25.0% |
| Mocha | 14 | 0.6% | 7.9% | 11 | 27.5% |
| Other specialty coffee | 11 | 0.4% | 6.2% | 9 | 22.5% |
| Espresso | 4 | 0.2% | 2.2% | 4 | 10.0% |
| Macchiato | 4 | 0.2% | 2.2% | 4 | 10.0% |
| Specialty tea | 4 | 0.2% | 2.2% | 4 | 10.0% |
| Americano | 3 | 0.1% | 1.7% | 3 | 7.5% |
Source: Technomic Inc. MenuMonitor, Q2 2014
Cold Beverages at C-Stores
All retailers in Technomic’s MenuMonitor sample offered CSDs and fountain drinks on their foodservice menus, with iced tea and iced coffee the next most common cold beverages.
| Product category | Menu incidence | Total menu penetration | Cold-beverage menu distrbution | Operators offering | Operator penetration |
| Arnold Palmer | 1 | 0.0% | 0.7% | 1 | 2.5% |
| Energy drink | 15 | 0.6% | 10.8% | 8 | 20.0% |
| Flavored water | 3 | 0.1% | 2.2% | 3 | 7.5% |
| Iced coffee | 18 | 0.7% | 12.9% | 15 | 37.5% |
| Iced tea | 21 | 0.8% | 15.1% | 19 | 47.5% |
| Juice | 6 | 0.2% | 4.3% | 5 | 12.5% |
| Lemonade | 10 | 0.4% | 7.2% | 10 | 25.0% |
| Limeade | 3 | 0.1% | 2.2% | 2 | 5.0% |
| Milk/chocolate milk | 3 | 0.1% | 2.2% | 2 | 5.0% |
| Other nonalcohol beverage | 4 | 0.2% | 2.9% | 4 | 10.0% |
| Soft drinks/fountain drinks | 48 | 1.9% | 34.5% | 40 | 100.0% |
| Sports drink | 7 | 0.3% | 5.0% | 4 | 10.0% |
Source: Technomic Inc. MenuMonitor, Q2 2014
Customer in Focus
High volume does not necessarily mean high octane when it comes to coffee. Research by Mintel shows that 52% of “high-volume” coffee consumers—those who drink coffee more than once per day—are interested in coffee with 10%, 30% or 60% caffeine levels. Meanwhile, 30% of these coffee consumers wish that ready-to-drink bottled coffee were available with a lower caffeine content.
Customer in Focus
Among all generations, millennials show the lowest rate in ownership of multiserve drip coffee makers, according to 2014 research by Mintel. In fact, 51% of millennials own an old-fashioned coffee pot, compared to 59% of Gen Xers, 70% of baby boomers and 67% of “Swing Generation” Americans. Millennials rank just behind Generation X in ownership of single-cup coffeemakers and are most likely to own a single-serve drip coffee maker.
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