McLane Co. unveiled McLane Fresh during its national trade show, McLane Engage, in Dallas in August. McLane Fresh is an expanded foodservice-at-retail program designed for convenience stores and intended to elevate the dining experience in c-stores.
“Fresh-food programs present a tremendous opportunity for convenience-store operators of all sizes—from independently owned locations to nationwide chains. McLane Fresh provides a full suite of foodservice-at-retail solutions,” said Chris Smith, president of McLane Retail.
The McLane Fresh family of brands includes CupZa!, a “reimagined” beverage program; a proprietary pizza program; and an expanded selection of McLane’s grab-and-go brand, Central Eats.
- In October, McLane Co. revealed the branding for its new proprietary pizza program made for convenience stores: Prendisimo. The reveal occurred at the 2023 NACS Show in Atlanta. Prendisimo, which translates to “take away” in Italian, is the latest in the McLane Fresh family of brands. “Prendisimo is more than just incredible pizza, it’s a highly marketable brand that attracts and appeals to consumers, supported by the end-to-end solutions that McLane Fresh offers,” said Vito Maurici, McLane’s customer experience officer. “McLane is scaling our offerings across the board, creating programs and products that are more accessible and customizable than ever. We are proud to introduce Prendisimo and look forward to partnering with our customers to make a variety of quality fresh foods a reality for convenience stores of all sizes nationwide.”
- Also during the NACS Show, McLane Co. launched two tech platforms that allow customers to add emerging products and high-velocity products that may be missing from a retail set. The distributor partnered with retail-tech firm Mable on a new Emerging Brands platform that “serves up new brands with unique and innovative products.” Meanwhile, the new Best Sellers platform helps retailers discover best-selling brands in their market that are missing from their store shelves. Both are now available for customer use.
C-StoreMaster Gets Gas
In September, convenience-store distributor C-StoreMaster entered the gasoline distribution business with the acquisition of Hays and Son Oil, based in Culman, Alabama. Working from Hays and Son’s 13 properties in the Southeast, C-StoreMaster Energy will operate as an energy distribution division partnered with ExxonMobill as a licensed Exxon fuel distributor.
KeHE's Growth Through Acquisition
In July, KeHE Distributors acquired DPI Specialty Foods, a distributor in key geographic locations across the Western United States, the company said. The transaction broadened KeHE’s customer base and bolstered its existing warehouse infrastructure. The combined capabilities include over 31,000 customers, more than 80,000 SKUs, 6,100 suppliers and 7 million square feet of warehouse space across all temperature zones in 19 distribution centers.
In August, KeHE became the new primary distributor for Affiliated Foods Inc. Through this partnership, AFI now has access to KeHE’s national distribution network and high-level technology. AFI is a wholesale distribution cooperative in the Southcentral region of the United States serving more than 800 grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants.
NCD Acquires Colonial Distributing
National Convenience Distributors (NCD) acquired Colonial Wholesale Distributing Inc. in July. Colonial is one of the Southeast region’s largest full-line wholesale distributors to the convenience and grocery-store industries. Colonial Distributing joined NCD as a newly created division, expanding NCD’s geographical reach along the East Coast from Maine to Florida.
Core-Mark's Incubator Effort
In July, Performance Food Group Co.’s (PFG) convenience division, Core-Mark, relaunched Core-Mark Curated, an initiative aimed at identifying, nurturing and developing the best brands for inclusion in Core-Mark’s distribution channel.
Building upon the success of the initial launch, Core-Mark Curated serves as a start-up accelerator and incubation program. The curated program is a key component of the company's Center of Excellence, a facility that enables convenience retailers to immerse themselves in the retailing experience and drive innovative ideas, products and solutions to grow their businesses, the company said.
AWG Studies Coupon Use
Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. (AWG) partnered with the University of Illinois Gies School of Business in June on a research project to discover the effectiveness of digital coupons on customer behavior. The students’ findings are helping to guide AWG Brands’ digital coupon strategy, the company said.