Joe Brumfield, senior category manager of beverages at Edinburg, Texas-based La Lomita Inc., which operates Tex Best Travel Centers and El Tigre stores, was a finalist for dispensed beverages, small chains, in CSP’s 2025 Category Manager of the Year (CMOY) awards.
This year's CMOY awards featured 14 winners across seven categories. Winners from both small (99 or fewer stores) and large chains (100 stores or more) were selected for the first time in each category.
La Lomita Inc. is No. 179 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Here is the Q&A from his conversation with CSP on product selection, healthier options, enhancing customization and more:
What’s new and exciting in your category?
We added Frazil Cafe Tango frozen Coffee to about 40% of our stores about halfway through 2024. Initially it’s doing well, and I’m looking forward to what it can do in its first full spring/summer season in our stores in 2025.
What do you love about your category?
The dispensed category is so much a part of the total c-store offer. Customers always look to c-stores for cold fountain drinks, fresh hot coffee and indulging in a sweet frozen drink like an Icee or Frazil. It’s vital to always ensure we offer quality dispensed beverages. So, being at sites to check quality and being involved in the customer experience keeps me involved in the category.
It takes more time and creativity to grow the category than the packaged beverage category. Product selection is limited compared to bottle/can, and machine capacity to expand flavors is limited to the number of heads/machines you have. Investing in new equipment is capital intensive and funds are usually very limited. So, as a category manager you need to find ways to grow the business through promotions, ensuring quality, competitive pricing, flavor rotation and other means that may be more difficult than with other categories.
What trends are you watching?
A portion of customers are looking for healthier options on the fountain. So, I have added additional teas and sports drinks to our fountain lineup. While these may not be truly “healthy” options, they are perceived better for you than carbonated soft drinks and more consumers have moved to them.
What products performed well in the past year?
We had a strong year in the fountain category mostly due to a complete revamp of our lineup. I added Dr Pepper Zero and Pepsi Zero to the fountain lineup, and it seems to be outperforming diet.
What are your goals/most looking forward to in 2025?
Primary goals with all the dispensed categories are to continue to improve quality, add opportunities to enhance customization, particularly in coffee, and increase promotional activity. I am hopeful and looking forward to an improved economy and seeing an increase in traffic, customer counts and transaction size.
What are the biggest challenges?
Like all operators, the economy and store labor remain the biggest challenges. While we have upgraded all our stores with new bean-to-cup machines and new cappuccino machines, growing hot beverages continues to be a challenge, especially since the decline in cappuccino consumption. Also, there’s increased competition from drive-thru coffee houses. Competing against loss-leader fountain programs continues to prove difficult as well.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.