Move over, sandwiches and pizza: Protein-rich chicken items are taking a bigger share of the convenience-store profit pie as consumers look for hand-held, portable snacks beyond the basic bread-based options.
According to the National Restaurant Association’s 2016 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast, fried chicken continues to be the top perennial favorite among consumers, with 63% of survey respondents indicating that it remains an ongoing trend.
According to Mintel, analysts have predicted poultry sales to reach nearly $40 billion in 2018, an increase of 22% since 2013. And, as commodity prices for beef and other proteins continue to rise, chicken stands as a more affordable favorite among both operators and consumers (good thing the USDA has predicted a 3% increase in chicken production this year).
Aside from a quick lunch, hand-held chicken items, such as tenders, strips and wings, also offer c-store retailers the potential to boost snack sales, especially when bundled with beverages.
“One reason c-stores might want to add chicken is to target consumers with different need states,” said Rob Ramsey, senior category manager at Tyson Foods. “Many consumers choose chicken not only for meals, but also in between meals like a snack. With some good merchandising, you can draw even more sales for chicken items throughout the day and night.”
Beloved and versatile, chicken items also offer the perfect base for experimenting with different sauces and bolder flavors.
“It’s easy to offer sauces to accentuate chicken products you already have, or consider trying new chicken products that come with their own sauces,” said Tim Barry, corporate director of fresh and foodservice at Core-Mark, a manufacturer-supported foodservice distributor offering a range of chicken tenders, bites and wings for c-store customers. “Chicken is a great platform for playing around with bolder and ethnic flavors, and you can rotate different flavors in and out.”
While Buffalo remains king among wing sauces, other dipping sauces for chicken tenders and bites could include Nashville-style hot and spicy sauces to milder barbecue and ethnic sauces such as teriyaki, chipotle ranch and more.
But with consumer sensitivity to fried foods such as chicken, retailers have to take certain steps to ensure the freshness and quality of the items when preparing and warm-holding these foods.
Poultry Preparation
Pre-breaded, frozen chicken tenders, bites, strips and wings are especially convenient for c-stores, especially those with limited kitchen space or capabilities. These items require only a small convection oven to bring the food from frozen to heated, and a warmer for display and service.
In some cases, operators can build onto existing warming units to create more space for the chicken items, or stack a separate convection oven atop an existing one to make more cooking room.
“Starting off with a fully cooked product provides all c-stores, but especially smaller, independent store operators, with some level of assurance in terms of quality control and food safety because you’re not handling raw poultry product,” said Ramsey.
Replenishing the stock also takes less effort and reduces waste because of the bulk packaging, said Barry. “The advantage of bulk chicken tenders and wings is that they come in 10-pound bags so you can take as many as you want out at one time, and they only take about 15 minutes to bring up to a temp of 140 degrees internal,” he said. “This makes it easier to serve chicken products at any time of day.”
Hot-Holding
Chicken tenders and wings have a tendency to dry out if they’re served in open boat containers or just displayed in bulk in the warmer, Ramsey said. Specialty boxes that close help maintain freshness, temperature and moisture.
With such boxes, chicken items will hold for about three to four hours maximum in a warmer. Open packaging is two to three hours, according to Ramsey.
Newer models of closed-box chicken packages come with see-through windows on the top so consumers can more easily view the product inside and take note of quality and variety.
Display and Marketing
With short prep times, it’s easy to maintain a well-stocked chicken selection throughout the day and evening, especially as more consumers look to chicken for mini-meals and snacks.
“My suggestion to c-stores is to not get overly concerned with stales; it’s easy to figure out how much product sells, and it’s better to have a good display case,” Ramsey said. “If there are just a few tenders laying around, the case won’t look well-maintained, and customers will assume the food is not fresh.”
Traditional in-store marketing can further help draw sales beyond a well-stocked warmer.
“Posters and photos of the product can be set up near the warmer and throughout the store to offer quality cues that draw consumers to the foodservice area,” Ramsey said.
Consider bundling, too—and not just at lunch. Some customers choose chicken and a beverage for a quick afternoon snack or to refuel on the way home.
“We have seen pretty good research that c-stores can sell as many chicken tenders as some of the tried and true items like breakfast sandwiches, pizza and hot dogs,” Ramsey said. “The key is to be able to confidently pick the right products and know the correct prep to successfully add chicken to your menu and see it perform up to par with rest of the menu.”
Barry added, “Many of our existing customers are complementing their chicken offer with other hot food items we carry to round out their product assortment, combat menu fatigue and increase their overall foodservice sales.”
This post is sponsored by Core-Mark