Sunny Days for Breakfast Options at C-Stores

CHICAGO — Summer’s here, vacations have begun and breakfast offerings are surging. As things appear to return to normal, the opportunity is ripe for convenience stores to right the ship in the breakfast daypart, which suffered immensely during the pandemic when people worked from home.

There’s been no shortage of trying to catch the attention of customers for breakfast, a daypart that grew in popularity during the pandemic, even outside its typical hours, and which experienced a rollout of innovative new products and LTOs in the last many months.

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Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot Flying J recently unveiled four new breakfast sandwiches available on a biscuit, croissant or French toast.

The chef-approved sandwiches are available at more than 300 participating travel centers nationwide and made in-house daily for an on-the-go breakfast.

They are prepared with fresh eggs, rich natural cheeses and a selection of Tennessee-made Goolsby Sausage patty or Tyson bacon, the retailer said.

The four new sandwiches are:

• Sausage, egg and cheese biscuit: The traditional breakfast sandwich is now bigger. The new sausage is 25% bigger and the biscuit is fluffier than before.
• Sausage, egg and cheese croissant: This sandwich includes a premium croissant and an even larger sausage patty.
• Bacon, egg and cheese biscuit: A classic breakfast sandwich with crispy Tyson bacon and made with a fluffier biscuit.
• Bacon, egg and cheese French toast: Unlike a typical breakfast sandwich, this sweet and savory creation has two French toast rounds with a cinnamon swirl in every bite.

Pilot is No. 13 on CSP’s 2021 Top 40 update to the Top 202 ranking of c-stores by store count. 

Based in Knoxville, Tenn., Pilot Co. is the largest network of travel centers in North America, and it has grown to more than 1,000 retail and fueling locations. Its Pilot Flying J Travel Center network includes more than 750 locations in 44 states and six Canadian provinces.

In May, Jackson, Mich.-based Dawn Foods rolled out a brioche doughnut mix, a first in the industry, the company said, available for convenience stores, major bakery retailers and supermarket bakeries.

The mix, which combines a yeast-raised doughnut with the richness of brioche bread, is highly versatile and is great for both sweet and savory baked goods, the company said. C-stores nationwide can buy the doughnut mix and use it to create a brioche honey bun, a savory everything bagel-flavored Bismarck doughnut, or lemony brioche bits. The doughnut offers a satisfying, buttery flavor and dense texture.

To create the new doughnut, Dawn Foods partnered with pastry chef Mathew Rice, a champion on the Food Network show “Chopped.”

While brioche has been around for ages, bakers are finding new ways to incorporate it into their menus to meet consumer needs, the company said. In recent Dawn Foods consumer testing, 74% of consumers reported that the brioche doughnut was superior to a typical yeast-raised doughnut. Additionally, 87% of consumers reported they would likely purchase the doughnut.

The new taquito at 7-Eleven, Irving, Texas, is being promoted as a breakfast item but will be available around the clock. Filled with smoky bacon; scrambled eggs; cheddar, pepper Jack and Monterrey Jack cheeses; and diced potatoes, it's wrapped in a crispy flour tortilla and sells for $1.49.

For a limited time, 7Rewards members will earn a 200-point bonus with each purchase, and customers can also order the new taquitos through the 7NOW delivery app for delivery at home or even to a local event, park or beach.

"Morning is a busy time for most 7-Eleven stores, but it's not the only time of day that people want breakfast," Product Director Robin Murphy said. "Traditional mealtimes have been blurring for years, with snacks substituting bigger meals or meals occurring at nontraditional times. 7-Eleven's breakfast taquito is a versatile and great-tasting snack or meal option for any time of day, from early morning to late at night."

7-Eleven is No. 1 on CSP’s 2021 Top 40 update of the 2020 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.

Early in 2021, under the banner Wawa Your Way, breakfast was featured prominently in Wawa’s rollout of five new menus offering fresh, fast and affordable solutions for maintaining a specific food regimen throughout the day.

The program enables customers to order menu items at Wawa, Pa.-based Wawa's 900 stores for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and choose from more than 1,000 fresh ingredients, customizing their order via touchscreen ordering.

The five breakfast-heavy menus are:

• Balanced fare: Nourishing meals under 500 calories, including egg white omelet sandwich on marble rye bread, turkey bacon ranch salad, chicken steak on a wheat Shorti roll, chili and fruit cups.
• Gluten conscious: Meals made without gluten, including scrambled egg breakfast bowl, southwest chicken salad, quinoa and roasted chicken bowl and sides and snacks including mashed potatoes, rice or black beans, and apple peanut butter snack cup.
• Lower sodium: Meals including cinnamon brown sugar oatmeal, chicken salad garden salad, junior beef steak hoagie, tuna wrap, yogurt parfaits and apple snack packs.
• Meatless options and vegan items: Meals including roasted vegetable breakfast bowl, seasoned black bean and rice bowl with avocado, lettuce, fresh salsa, crispy jalapenos chipotle sauce, grilled cheese sourdough melt and hot soups including tomato bisque and broccoli cheddar soup.
• Power: Meals packed with protein and lower in carbs, including egg omelet breakfast bowl with turkey sausage, cheddar and caramelized onions, oven roasted turkey bowl, Italian antipasto salad and grab-and-go snacks including cheese sticks and hard-boiled eggs.

Wawa, based in Wawa, Pa., is No. 10 on CSP’s 2021 Top 40 update to the Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by store count.

Consumers crave unique doughnut creations, evidenced by more than 9.1 million Instagram posts with the hashtag #donuts, according to Rich Products. Playing off this demand, the Buffalo, N.Y.-based company earlier this year expanded its offering of Rich’s Filled Dessert Donuts to include Banana Cream Pie, Fudge Brownie, Neapolitan and Apple Pie.

Prep is just thaw, bake, top and serve. The doughnuts are available in two options, with toppings and without, so convenience stores can serve them with provided toppings or crowned with customized themes. To customize the ready-to-finish doughnuts, c-store operators can order optional topping kits or craft their own creations.

Jumbo Filled Donut Bites are another grab-and-go snack, and c-store operators can elevate the offering with on-hand ingredients to create an eye-catching finish. They are available in two flavors: French Toast and Birthday Cake. Like Filled Dessert Donuts, the process is turnkey: thaw, heat, glaze and serve.

“C-stores are seeking premium, upscale dessert doughnuts to increase traffic and compete with local doughnut shops,” said Alyssa Barrett, customer marketing manager for convenience at Rich Products.

Rich Products manufactures a variety of foodservice products ranging from pizza, seafood and salads to cakes, cookies and icings. The family-owned company operates in more than 100 countries and has annual sales exceeding $4 billion.

McKee Foods, Collegedale, Tenn., maker of Little Debbie snack cakes, launched a limited-edition extension to its Little Debbie Mini Donut line several months ago. Cinnamon Spiced Hot Chocolate Mini Donuts featured hot chocolate-flavored cake doughnuts rolled in a mixture of powdered sugar and cinnamon spices.

To keep with the character of the Little Debbie brand, these minis came in bright blue resealable bags featuring seasonal creatures frolicking in a winter wonderland. The doughnuts came in 7.74-ounce packages with a suggested retail price of $2.19.

“The chocolate and cinnamon is a wonderful flavor combination, reminiscent of steaming mugs of hot chocolate with cinnamon sticks,” said Erica Harrison, Little Debbie product manager. “They bring a little bit of comfort to cold winter days.”

McKee Foods, a privately held company, is a family bakery with annual sales of about $1.4 billion.

A recent rollout of new sandwiches from Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based QuickChek includes a breakfast offering. The new line, which QuickChek calls “the Best Damn Sandwiches in Town,” all are served on QuickChek’s Portuguese rolls.

The breakfast sandwich is called the Sausage Egg and Cheese Portuguese Roll. Others are Nashville Hot Chicken Portuguese Roll, Ultimate Italian Portuguese Roll, Turkey Club Portuguese Roll, Pastrami Reuben Portuguese Roll, and Sloppy Deli Reuben with Pastrami Portuguese Roll.

QuickChek provides local one-stop shopping featuring made-to-order subs and sandwiches, coffee, snacks and salads, hot breakfast and more.

QuickChek is No. 44 on CSP’s 2020 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by size.

As the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the importance of food safety, foodservice operators fell under increased scrutiny to provide fresh products in safe, user-friendly packaging.

Baker Boy jumped in the game and began offering operators a solution to this potentially lasting trend with a new line of individually wrapped and fully finished retail-ready doughnuts. Merchandised under Baker Boy’s Donut Hole brand, these thaw-and-serve doughnuts feature clear wrapping so customers can see the flavors:

• Chocolate Iced Chocolate & Creme Filled Magic Ring Donuts
• White Iced Raspberry Filled Magic Ring Donuts
• Apple Filled Magic Ring Donuts
• Glazed Donuts
• Glazed Old Fashioned Donuts
• Maple Iced Long Johns
• Cake Donuts
• Blueberry Cake Donuts

With the Donut Hole branded packaging also comes retail-ready essentials such as nutrition facts, ingredient information and a scannable UPC on each doughnut.

To launch this line, Baker Boy in September 2020 began a pilot product line of the individually wrapped doughnuts in unbranded packaging to test sales performance. The line quickly became one of the most successful product launches in the company’s 66-year history, selling more than 1 million doughnuts in the first six months.

Along with traditional iced and glazed doughnut favorites, the new doughnut line features three whole grain doughnuts: the Apple Filled Magic Ring Donut, Cake Donut, and Blueberry Cake Donut. All are made with more than 51% whole grain.