Rich's Expands Gourmet Bakery Offerings for C-Stores

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Rich’s Foodservice is promoting an expanded range of offerings specifically for convenience stores with the introduction of new premium baked goods. The new gourmet lines of products are made with clean ingredients that are free of artificial ingredients or high fructose corn syrup, the company said.

The new offerings "enable c-stores to compete with quick-serve restaurants," Rich's said in a statement. The company cited 2016 NPD Supply Track data, which showed that the gourmet cookie subsegment is up 14% since 2015. Additionally, Rich's noted 2015 Technomic data revealing that the cookie category is expected to grow at a rate of 3%to 4% in the next several years.

“Consumers are looking for premium products with clean labels. This trend is driving gourmet cookie sales, and we expect the momentum to continue over the next several years,” said Cheri Marchionda, director of sales, convenience, for Rich Products Corp.

Click through to take a look at Rich's new bakery offerings ...

Jacqueline's Premium Filled Shortbreads feature an all-butter shortbread dough, and are made with real preserves and chocolate. The ingredients are clean and simple, and prepared without artificial components or high fructose corn syrup. The 1.5-ounce cookies are available with three different fillings: apricot, dark chocolate and raspberry. The dough pucks can go directly from freezer to oven, then if desired, operators can add a distinctive look by finishing the golden shortbread with powdered sugar, cocoa powder or a delectable drizzle. Each 90-piece case includes merchandising flavor stickers. The filled shortbread has a frozen shelf life of 365 days and a 14-day baked shelf life. Its SRP range is 99 cents to $1.29 per cookie.

Jacqueline’s Authentic Macaroons are a ready-to-bake product filled with coconut flakes, cranberries, vanilla and premium cocoa. Available in three flavors—chocolate, coconut and cranberry—they’re also made with clean, artificial-free ingredients or high fructose corn syrup. The 1.4-ounce dough pucks come 144 per case, and they can go directly from freezer to oven. The company suggests finishing the product with a chocolate drizzle or dipping them in chocolate. The macaroons have a frozen shelf life of 365 days and a 14-day baked shelf life. Its SRP range is 99 cents to $1.29 per macaroon.

These two gourmet cookie varieties join two other product innovations from Jacqueline’s introduced by Rich’s at the 2017 NACS Show in October: Jacqueline’s Rustic Scones and Jacqueline's Crispy Cookies. The latter is a wafer-thin cookie that touts clean-label ingredients, answering the demand among consumers who want to know what’s going into the foods they eat, even when that food is an indulgent treat.