You won’t find University of Michigan gear at the 7-Eleven on South Main Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, even though the store is only a few blocks from the Big House, the giant stadium that’s home to the national football champion Wolverines.
But you will find several flavors of burritos from Baffo’s, a Riverview, Michigan-based food company, two types of craft beer from Bell’s Brewery, founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the distinctive blue bottles of Saratoga Water, familiar to the East Coast students who attend U-M.
Those local products mark a noticeable trend among convenience stores: stocks of local and regional products, mixed in with more-familiar national brands.
Experts say it’s an effort by c-stores to mix up their assortment of food, gear and souvenirs and become more appealing to younger consumers who are demanding more choices. For small producers, the shelf and refrigerator case can give them exposure beyond local gourmet, grocery and liquor stores.
“Everyone is trying to engage the customer and offer something different. People are leaning into the novelty and cult following of local brands,” said Andrew Sharpee, a partner and managing director with AlixPartners, a global analysis firm based in Chicago.
One factor is the speed with which trends spread across TikTok, Instagram and other social media. Big brands like “Nestle, Mars and Frito-Lay take years to develop products,” Sharpee said. “Many local and regional brands can fill that gap and offer a more compelling assortment than the standard brands.”
One of the most prominent players in this pro-regional push is Buc-ee's, which has 58 locations spread primarily across the South, in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee, with rumored expansion to other spots. Buc-ee's has an enthusiastic fan base that trades info on the stores’ offerings on a Facebook page, with some members setting up road trips just to visit different outlets.
- Buc-ee’s is No. 116 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
Those visitors find a variety of local, regional and seasonal items. During Mardi Gras season, the stores sell a purple, green and gold t-shirt, echoing colors that abound across New Orleans, even though there are no Buc-ee's in Louisiana.
A friend who visited the Buc-ee's store in Fairhope, Alabama, sent me a dozen photos of Southern products, including Auburn University caps, t-shirts and serving trays. Not to be outdone, there was a shelving unit full of University of Alabama gear, from coffee mugs to Hawaiian style shirts, and a corn hole game for weekend tailgates.
There is lots of food with local ties, too, such as Georgia pecans, and boxes of pecan pralines. Area presences are reflected in prepared food, too; Buc-ee’s offers barbecue sandwiches from 11 a.m. to midnight, and stores offer a jerky bar (popular with hunters) as well as homemade fudge.
Even brands whose snack offerings are predominantly national brands mix it up when it comes to hot food. Cumberland Farms, part of the EG America family of convenience stores, rolls out a grilled limited-time offer (LTO) approximately every 10 weeks, said Kate Weisman, manager of foodservice and franchise brands.
- EG America is No. 5 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 U.S. c-store chains by store count.
She said customers on the West Coast and in Florida stores have a greater interest in spicy foods, so those specials might stay on the menu longer in those locations.
Meanwhile, the lineups in some c-store chains fit the trend completely. “Fresh and local is one of our themes. The majority of our products are made in our manufacturing plants,” said Robin Cooper, public relations manager for Stewart’s Shops across New York State and southern Vermont.
- Stewart’s Shops is No. 23 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
All the eggs used in the 360 Stewart’s stores come from a single farm, while the company buys milk from 20 dairy farms across its region. Stewart’s makes its own ice cream, eggnog and a variety of food to go, including subs, sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, chili and soups, which change several times a year.
While locals are its primary market, Cooper said Stewart’s increasingly serves urban customers with second homes in New York and Vermont, as well as travelers who stay in Airbnbs. That mix of shoppers keeps Stewart’s eye on evolving food trends.
AlixPartners’ Sharpee said manufacturing in house can help a c-store chain keep control of inventory, something which can be harder to do when dealing with local and regional brands. “It doesn’t happen overnight. There’s a lot of due diligence that must be done” on smaller companies to make sure they can manage a big chain’s demand, Sharpee said.
Additionally, “Your store managers have to be taught and trained so that they don’t over order” and get stuck with items that shoppers simply overlook, he said.
But with consumers demanding variety and emerging brands developing social media followings overnight, Sharpee sees the trend continuing. “The consumer likes it, because it’s considered giving back to the local community,” he said. “The margins can be higher for the [stores]. It’s a win-win.”