FOODSERVICE
Photo credit: Krispy Krunchy Foods LLC Facebook page
The Trust Factor As consumers seek out safety, branded food concepts at c-stores answer the call By Renée M. Covino THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has had widespread effects on consumers’ consumption habits. Among them, Americans have gravitated toward well-established brands to feel more assured in the safety of the foods and beverages they’re consuming, and they’ve turned to comfort foods to find enjoyment and a bit of relief from the stress and uncertainty of the pandemic.
Both of these shifts have benefitted convenience store operators who have chosen to go the branded route for their foodservice offerings, rather than the proprietary route. Branded food concepts bring brand recognition, familiar flavors and consumer confidence to convenience stores, allowing them to compete with the other foodservice players in their area, including standalone quick-service restaurants (QSRs), according to Kathy Johnson, senior vice president of franchise service for Godfather’s Pizza, an Omaha, Neb.-based restaurant chain that has been operating in the c-store market for more than 35 years. Godfather's Pizza offers two distinct programs to the convenience channel: Godfather’s Pizza Express, which includes a wide product mix covering all dayparts; and Godfather’s Pizza TO GO, a program created to reach smaller convenience operations with a manageable menu, flexible equipment needs, and minimal training requirements and labor needs. “We continue to open new locations on a consistent basis, even over this past year,” Johnson said, noting that the pizza industry weathered the pandemic better than most QSRs. “Pizza
sales were very strong in most of our franchised c-stores, outperforming other food concepts. Customers viewed our packaged pizza and sides as safe and convenient.” A similar story can be found with Krispy Krunchy Chicken, a convenience store-based QSR concept with more than 2,600 retail locations in 47 states. Allison Shapiro Dandry, spokesperson for the Alexandria, La.-based company, told Convenience Store News that Krispy Krunchy’s business in c-stores has “grown considerably” since the onset of COVID. “Very early on, we supported our stores to stay open as a means to gain foodservice business when other traditional restaurant/foodservice establishments were closed,” she said. “COVID accelerated acceptance of c-stores as a viable foodservice alternative, and that trend will continue to grow.” Slightly more than half of c-store shoppers currently make a practice of purchasing prepared foods in the channel — 52 percent say they have done so within the past month, according to the findings of the 2021 Convenience Store News Realities of the Aisle Study, an annual benchmark study of U.S. c-store shoppers. Among these consumers, the average number of prepared food purchases they make at c-stores in a month is 2.7, down from 5 times in 2020. Millennial shoppers (aged 24-39) are particularly fond of convenience foodservice. More than two-thirds of millennials (67 percent) report buying c-store food in the past month. Millennials also make a higher number of prepared food purchases monthly at c-stores (4.7). Interestingly, when shoppers overall were asked where they would have purchased prepared foods if they had
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