8 Ways C-Stores Can Sell More Snacks

CHICAGO -- When it comes to meal occasions, the only rule is that there are no rules, not anymore. As on-the-go consumers continue to prioritize convenience, snacking has become a potential sales driver for foodservice retailers and restaurants. Overall, 80% of consumers say they snack between meals at least once a day, and 57% say they snack twice a day or more, according to Technomic’s 2018 Snacking Occasion Consumer Trend Report.

To become snacking destinations, convenience stores need to stay up to date on how consumers view snacking. The Technomic report found that 39% of consumers—and 57% of those ages 18-34—say their definition of snacks has changed in the past two years to include a wider variety of foods and beverages. Time-pressed customers are increasingly replacing meals with snacks and are looking for something more than a granola bar to satisfy hunger.

The restaurants that are able to win over the munching masses not only understand snackers’ behaviors, they are also tuned into the top snacking trends. Here’s what c-stores can learn from the restaurants that drive snack sales ...

Sports bars and other varied-menu casual-dining concepts are big on shareable snacks, such as nachos, cheese fries, chips with dip, garlic knots and other group eats. These foods can often be mixed and matched in a to-go box to add variety to the snacking experience. But shareables are also growing on the sweet side: Dessert pizzas and bags of mini doughnuts and cookies are trending as shareable sweets.

• Atlanta-based Moe’s Southwest Grill, for example, offers white queso in four variations: original, black bean queso, chili con queso and spicy queso. Larger groups can order all three flavored varieties as a shareable snack, or customers can snack on one variety. Each order comes with tortilla chips for dipping.
• Buffalo Wild Wings, Minneapolis, has a shareables section of its menu, complete with sampler selections for snackers. Included are some of the casual-dining chain’s signatures, such as nachos, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, boneless wings, fried pickles, spinach-artichoke dip and chili cheese fries. Dipping sauces are included too.
• To satisfy consumers’ cravings for sweet snacks, Plano, Texas-based Pizza Hut offers shareable cinnamon sticks with a creamy icing dip. The crisp pieces of baked pizza dough, coated with a cinnamon-sugar glaze, can be ordered to eat in or take out.

Retailers can play up an area where c-stores shine: on the go. Foodservice operations are creating snack boxes, curated with ingredient-driven components that reflect the menu. Portability and healthy options are important drivers, with 27% of consumers saying they would purchase to-go snack boxes that are made fresh daily.

• Bon To Go is Boston-based Au Bon Pain’s newest entry in the snack-box arena, following on the success of its Petit Plates downsized entrees. The six snacks include everything from a simple cheese and fruit box to one that includes smoked salmon, herb cream cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, pickled onions, greens and a sprouted grain roll. They are available for grab-and-go all day.
• The tossed-to-spec Just Salad, New York, also sells toast boxes marketed as snacks. These vegetarian items feature multigrain toast topped with a spicy avocado mash or hummus, each garnished with veggies, seasonings and other extras.
• Plano, Texas-based Zoes Kitchen offers a trio of Mediterranean-themed snack boxes, including its health-focused Balanced Bites box. It’s a combo of grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, pasta salad and mixed fruit, all in snack-size portions. Also in the lineup are the Hummus Duo & Veggies box and the Modern Mediterranean box, with chicken, hummus, mozzarella, cucumbers and tomatoes.

With erratic work schedules, early morning fitness commitments and parenting responsibilities, consumers are increasingly grabbing a midmorning snack. Maybe they skipped breakfast or downed a quick smoothie early in the morning, but around 10:30 a.m., they’re ready to refuel. As per Technomic’s Snacking Occasion Consumer Trend Report, 44% of consumers say that they are eating snacks as a second breakfast once they get to work or school. Retailers can offer portable breakfast snacks, such as empanadas, muffins and protein shakes, to fulfill this demand.

• Pret A Manger, based in New York, expanded its line of Pret Pots to cater to second-breakfast seekers. The roster includes several yogurt, fruit and grain combos, such as a blueberry and granola pot and a mini acai bowl. Bircher muesli, billed as “the perfect pot for breakfast,” is composed of shredded apple, Greek yogurt, granola and honey, topped with pomegranate seeds and lightly toasted almonds.
• Seattle-based Starbucks has a wide selection of muffins, pastries and coffee drinks to satisfy midmorning munchies, and the chain’s Sous Vide Egg Bites satisfy protein cravings. They are available in a few varieties, including bacon and Gruyere and egg white and red pepper.
• The empanadas at Chicago-based 5411 Empanadas are sized right for snacking. Breakfast varieties include bacon, cheddar and egg; chorizo, black bean and egg; and banana and Nutella—the latter for snackers seeking something sweet. For convenience, customers can order online and opt for delivery.

Foodservice operators are downsizing sandwiches, salads, sides, and chicken and seafood preps to turn them into portions more suitable for snacking. From an operational standpoint, these smaller versions of entrees are cost-effective and easy to execute—most SKUs are already in inventory.

• To boost traffic between 2 and 5 p.m., Firehouse Subs, Jacksonville, Fla., launched a small sub that’s exactly half the length of its medium-sized sandwiches. To make the snackable subs, staffers simply cut the sub roll in half and fill it with smaller amounts of the same ingredients available in 10 of Firehouse’s signature sandwiches. Less filling and bread means all the subs come in under 500 calories—and boast a smaller price tag of $3.99 to $4.50.
• Burger King, Miami, turned a favorite side dish—macaroni and cheese—into bite-size snacks. Burger King’s Mac n’ Cheetos are cheesy nuggets dusted with Cheetos crumbs and Flamin’ Hot Mac n’ Cheetos are the spicy version. Both are sold in small bags to eat in or take out.
• Limited-service restaurants aren’t the only ones downsizing entrees. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Houston, launched Crab Cake Bites as a snack option. They’re a mini edition of the seafood chain’s crab cake entree.

Consumers in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a long tradition of on-the-go snacking from street carts, outdoor kiosks and market stalls. These global street foods are often portioned in small sizes and adapt very well to today’s snacking lifestyle in the United States. Younger consumers are especially in favor of having access to ethnic snack choices, with 42% of Gen Zers expressing interest in seeing more international street foods on menus, according to Technomic’s College & University Consumer Trend Report.

• Asian buns stuffed with Thai curry chicken, barbecued pork and spicy Mongolian beef are based on the bao served from street carts and stalls in China. Chicago-based Wow Bao also offers some creative takeoffs, such as bao filled with chocolate, edamame and coconut custard. All are sized for snacking and portable.
• Authentic street tacos are prepared on street carts in Mexico. Vendors grill chicken, beef or pork on braziers, then wrap the meat in small, warm tortillas, adding a squirt of hot sauce or a spoonful of salsa. Taco trucks popularized these stateside, but now chains, including East Coast Wings + Grill, Winston-Salem, N.C., are menuing their own versions. The ECW+G Street Tacos feature pork belly topped with Korean barbecue sauce, pico de gallo, shredded cheddar and chipotle sour cream in flour tortillas.
• Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, Huntington Beach, Calif., jumped on the street-food trend by naming one of its snacks Roasted Street Carrots. Drawing on ethnic street-food flavors, it is composed of organic rainbow heirloom carrots, garlic, queso blanco, cilantro lime crema and Mexican pepper sauce.

Full-service chains are taking advantage of the snacking trend by extending and expanding their happy hours beyond a single two-hour stretch into separate late afternoon, early evening and late-night promotions. These are prime opportunities to offer a special snack or bar food menu to pair with cocktails, wine and beer—and several concepts are going that route, often value pricing the food and drinks.

• Food and drink specials are offered in Firebirds Wood Fired Grill’s Firebar and patio from 4 to 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. to closing every day. At this Charlotte, N.C.-based chain, guests can order items such as crisp mahi tacos, roasted garlic Parmesan fries, grilled shrimp, sliders and a Bavarian pretzel with beer cheese from the exclusive Bar Bites menu at a discount of $3 off the non-happy hour price.
• Leawood, Kansas-based Houlihan’s recast its appetizer section as Social Snacks to spur sales from 2 to 5 p.m. Houlihan’s had noticed an uptick in late-afternoon traffic, and the menu items are designed to feed those between-lunch-and-dinner customers. The menu includes avocado toast with burrata, stuffed mushrooms, pan-fried pork dumplings and flatbread.
• Vegetable snacks are increasing on menus, sometimes taking the place of meat and chicken in traditional preps. Cauliflower is getting a Buffalo treatment, spiralized beets are getting crisped and used as chips, and roasted vegetables are being served up on platters with bold sauces. Eureka Restaurants, Hawthorne, Calif., recently introduced Cauliflower Bites, seasoned with bonito flakes, garlic aioli and lemon zest.

Of the consumers surveyed for Technomic’s report, 34% say they are snacking on healthier foods compared to 2016, and 25% plan to snack more healthfully in the next 12 months. Health attributes with the greatest appeal include “high in protein” and “energizing.” Snacks that spotlight chicken, seafood, nut butters and protein-rich grains are on target for customers looking for a healthful bite that’s high in protein.

• The Energii Bites at Chicago-based Freshii fit the anytime snacker looking for a protein-rich pick-me-up. The all-natural snacks are made with peanut butter, honey, oats, coconut and chocolate chips; they are packaged for grab-and-go to satisfy midmorning or afternoon munchies.
• Naked Chicken Chips were launched as an LTO at Taco Bell, Irvine, Calif., but like many of this chain’s most popular items, they returned, and may eventually make it to the regular menu. A six-piece order comes with nacho cheese sauce. While not low in calories—390 per serving to be exact— the chips are made with white meat chicken breast and provide a good dose of high-quality protein.
• Eggs are a great protein source, and more limited-service chains and airport kiosks are offering simple hard-cooked eggs as snacks. Now, though, deviled eggs are trending at full-service restaurants, with operators adding signature touches to this Southern classic. Fatz Southern Kitchen menus deviled eggs spiked with hot sauce and topped with crispy pork skin, paprika and parsley. Soon-to-open The Capital Burger, Darden’s spinoff of The Capital Grille, also menus deviled eggs on its snack menu. Its version is topped with candied smoked bacon.

Smoothies, blended coffee drinks, shakes and juices are increasingly being marketed and purchased as between-meal snacks. Technomic found that 59% of snack occasions include a beverage, with or without food, and consumers are increasingly including beverages in their definition of a snack. Sometimes customers are seeking a drink that offers simple refreshment; other times they are looking for an option with added protein, functional benefits or other healthy claims.

• The Superfood Smoothies lineup at Atlanta-based Tropical Smoothie Cafe offers beverages with a functional bonus. The Chia Banana Max, for example, includes peanut butter and whey for a protein boost, while the Avocolada includes antioxidant-rich kale and spinach, along with avocado, pineapple and lime. Others in the roster boast acai, blueberries and chia, ingredients known for their health halos.
• Cold-pressed juices and juice blends are the ticket at Nekter Juice Bar, Santa Ana, Calif. On hand are beverages that flush out toxins, energize and nourish. The Little Beet is a blend of cucumber, carrot, beet, lemon, orange, fennel and ginger, touted as having cleansing properties.
• Chicago-based Potbelly Sandwich Shop has built a steady shake business in the afternoon, when customers looking for an indulgent snack come in for the chain’s signatures, all hand-dipped and served with a mini cookie threaded on the straw. There are the standards, including vanilla, chocolate and coffee, as well as mixed berry, Oreo and banana.