5 Things is a new weekly feature from CSP Daily News highlighting some of the recent convenience-store news that might otherwise slip through the cracks.
Circle K Opens Biggest EV Charging Station
Alimentation Couche-Tard, Laval, Quebec, has unveiled its newest flagship Circle K service station in Järna, near Stockholm, Sweden. Spanning about 323,000 square feet and featuring 26 ultra-fast charging points for light and heavy vehicles, the station is Circle K’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging location worldwide. The station includes a covered charging area with solar panels, benches at the charging points and atmospheric lighting. It also features a drive-through solution for faster and more convenient charging. The store also offers a wide range of food and beverage options, along with a convenient car-side delivery service that allows customers to order and have their food delivered without leaving their car. All grades of standard fuel are available for both EV and combustion engine vehicle drivers. —Greg Lindenberg
Prebiotic Gut Punch
Sodas claiming to be “good for the gut” are taking off. And with traditional soda sales gone flat, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are jumping into the prebiotic soft-drink market now dominated by upstart brands Olipop and Poppi, the Wall Street Journal reported. Coca-Cola said it will launch Simply Pop, a soda promoting digestive health, this month. The company expects it to be in stores at the end of February. PepsiCo said it is formulating a version it hopes to have on the market in the spring. Combined U.S. retail sales of Olipop and Poppi were about $817 million in the 52 weeks ended Jan. 25, according to NielsenIQ data. Last week, Olipop closed on a $50 million funding round led by JP Morgan Private Capital, raising its valuation to about $1.85 billion. U.S. retail sales of traditional soft drinks including Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper were down roughly 1% in the 52 weeks ended Jan. 11, according to NielsenIQ data. Coca-Cola says the market for these specialty sodas could exceed $2 billion by 2029. —Greg Lindenberg
‘Do You Want AI With That?’
Wendy’s plans to expand its voice-activated drive-thru artificial intelligence (AI) test into more restaurants this year, company executives said, according to Restaurant Business. The Dublin, Ohio-based fast-food giant has what it calls “Wendy’s FreshAI” in more than 100 locations. By the end of 2025, the fast-food chain expects to have the technology in 500 to 600 locations. Early results show improvements in both sales and labor efficiency. Voice-activated AI typically drives more sales because it never fails to suggest an item for customers to add to their order. The company said the technology increased average check. It also said it has improved labor efficiency enough that it boosted profit margins at company-operated restaurants by 80 basis points. The technology is difficult, particularly for brands with locations in a lot of different markets with local dialects and ordering patterns, but that technology is improving. —Jonathan Maze
Ohio Association Gets New President
Jeff Erb, general manager of Saneholtz-Mckarns Inc., has assumed the role of the new president of the Ohio Energy and Convenience Association (OECA), he announced on the group’s website. Family-owned since 1968, Bryn, Ohio-based Saneholtz-Mckarns operates 16 Marathon-branded Main Stop convenience stores located in Ohio. OECA’s members own and operate the majority of Ohio’s more than 5,600 c-stores. —Greg Lindenberg
The State(s) of Grocery Spending
With inflation still affecting grocery prices, this recent study from WalletHub took a look at the states where people spend the most and least on groceries. Shoppers in Mississippi actually spend the most on groceries, which have an average cost of 2.6% of the median household income, the highest percentage in the country. For comparison, in New Jersey (where shoppers spend the least on groceries), residents only spend around 1.5% of their income on groceries. While grocery prices in Mississippi are actually relatively low, the main issue is that the state has the lowest median annual household income in the country, at $52,985. —Bill Wilson
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