Ensuring the Right Products at the Right Time

Better Synergy in the Kitchen

New technology adoption in foodservice equipment is reshaping the food-to-go landscape

By Renée M. Covino

THE LATEST CONVENIENCE foodservice advancements are working together like never before.

“Technology lessons learned from restaurants are not only helping to streamline back-ofhouse operations for the channel, but they are also driving customer interactions,” Joe Bona, CEO of Bona Design Lab, a global retail design and consulting firm based in New York, told Convenience Store News. “From digital kitchen ordering systems and rapid cooking technology to online ordering, self-checkouts and contactless payments, these elements are all teaming up to create a seamless experience.”

Offering more detail, Bona explains how these “restaurant-borrowed” innovations are speeding up efficiency and sophistication in convenience foodservice:

• Digital Kitchen Menus: Frequently used in fast-serve restaurants, digital kitchen menus directly connect the point-of-sale (POS) to the kitchen staff, ensuring order accuracy (including individual preferences) and managing order times and fulfilment. This technology is not seen by customers, Bona noted, but helps them experience a more efficient operation.

• Rapid Cooking Technology: This is neither new nor unique, but has “clearly led the way for improving food quality and the ability to deliver it in a fast and safe manner,” according to Bona. This technology reduces the need for expensive fire-suppression systems, streamlines operations, and reduces labor costs.

• QR Codes: Mostly used as a way of reviewing menus in restaurants without having to physically handle a paper/plastic menu, QR codes could become part of a c-store operator’s in-store ordering toolkit, Bona said. These codes eliminate the need to touch digital menu screens and can relieve pressure points associated with customers holding up the ordering queue when taking too

long to decide. Instead, customers may leisurely use their phone to order.

• Online Ordering & Delivery App

Usage: Accelerated during the pandemic, resulting in customers not only embracing the technology but becoming overwhelmingly in favor of it, online ordering allows retailers to stay more closely connected to consumers. “This technology not only raises the bar on convenience, but also allows retailers to stay more closely connected by anticipating ordering preferences, speeding up transactions, providing individually tailored offers, and connecting loyalty benefits,” Bona outlined. And for those retailers unable to justify the investment, third-party services like DoorDash and Uber Eats provide delivery solutions.

• Contactless Payments Systems: From cell phones to other smart devices, contactless payment systems reduce consumers’ need for cash and provide a safe and more hygienic method of transacting. This technology is not limited to payment — it has touched foodservice, too. “You can now buy a cup of coffee at the swipe of your phone using automatic bean-to-cup self-serve machines,” Bona cited. “Perhaps this technology will eventually find its way into more self-serve foodservice equipment.”

• Self-Checkout: This technology has seen a huge increase in adoption in the convenience channel and will continue to be a major driver of expediting the payment process not only for grab-and-go items, but also for prepared foodservice, according to Bona.

C-store retailers often unveil these tech innovations, as well as foodservice equipment upgrades, through new and remodeled stores and prototypes.

In the case of the former Kwik Chek convenience store chain, operator of 47 stores in Texas, foodservice innovation came with a total rebranding initiative. Now known as TXB (Texas Born), the chain launched its new moniker with three new builds. These stores have upgraded menuboards (print and digital), cappuccino machines, and an enhanced foodservice program that will “revolutionize foodservice portability and packaging in the

“Technology lessons learned from restaurants are not only helping to streamline back-of-house operations for the [convenience] channel, but they are also driving customer interactions.”

— Joe Bona, Bona Design Lab

convenience channel,” according to the Spicewood, Texas-based retailer. All 47 existing Kwik Chek stores are slated to be rebranded to TXB over the next three years.

Late last year, Richmond, Va.-based GPM Investments LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arko Corp., embarked on a remodel initiative and unveiled a new store prototype that features, among other things, the addition of Frazil frozen drinks (coming to 800-plus stores) and a new bean-to-cup coffee platform that ensures a fresh cup at any time. A new checkout experience is also part of the prototype.

In March of this year, La Crosse, Wis.based Kwik Trip Inc. completed a digital signage rollout to modernize its stores. Intended to give its foodservice program a boost, the project consisted of installing more than 1,000 Android-powered digital signage displays inside its roughly 700 c-stores. The decision to update its signage was primarily driven by the need to better communicate its in-store offerings to customers, as foodservice has become an increased focal point for the chain.

What’s Next?

Future trends in foodservice equipment and technology are right around the convenience corner, according to industry insiders. Here’s what they see on deck:

Drive-Thru Only

Drive-thrus have seen a significant increase in usage as a direct result of the pandemic, according to Bona, with many quick-service restaurants looking to streamline their menus, use artificial intelligence technology, and increase the use of digital menuboards to help speed up the process and make it more convenient for customers. “As a result, we have seen some chains like Wawa begin testing a drive-thru-only concept, with many others watching and seeing how this develops,” he told CSNews.

Integrating POS With Delivery

With more consumers ordering through delivery platforms, more c-stores are signing up for food delivery channels, such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, etc. Along with these mainstream food delivery channels, other players are running convenience-specific marketplaces, such as Instacart and Cornershop, which represents a larger opportunity for c-stores, according to industry experts.

“Building a digital offering is going to be the next big challenge for c-stores. It requires time to set up accounts on the food delivery channels — creating the menu, training the staff — but most importantly, it takes a lot of work to manage this dayto-day for a c-store that typically runs foodservice promotions on a weekly or daily basis,” explained Zhong Xu, co-founder and CEO of Deliverect, a company that connects point-of-sale providers globally with food ordering platforms.

“If a c-store wants to streamline the process, it should integrate POS with delivery,” he advised. “With a POS integration, we are able to automatically push online orders to the POS. The only equipment needed is going to be the existing POS.”

Xu added that many c-stores will probably want to have a tablet (Android or iPad) in each store to manage the delivery channels. Once a c-store receives an order from a delivery channel, the staff must pick and pack the items — made easier by a tablet, which can show the full list of ordered items and coordinating images.

Bipolar Ionization (BPI) Technology

Poor indoor air quality can not only impact food quality, but also cause illness among shoppers and employees. BPI technology, which is installed in store HVAC systems, reportedly removes smells and odors; helps eliminate mold, dust, bacteria and the spread of airborne viruses; and reduces airborne particles and germs that bypass normal ventilation and filtration systems.

In a post-pandemic world, “BPI technology is a natural fit for HVAC systems in convenience stores,” said Tony Abate, vice president and chief technology officer at Atmos Air Solutions, based in Fairfield, Conn. “The mountain-like purified air will not only keep food and beverages fresher, but if store owners/ managers promote it through signage, advertising and social media, it will lessen apprehension for those who shop and work in the store.”

Robotic Chefs

Bona envisions ordering systems being connected to a fully digitized kitchen where the order is received and the menu item is prepared through the use of robotics and then placed in “a personal cubby for pickup, activated from a phone to keep your order safe.” He acknowledges that this is in the early stages of development, but believes it is not that far-fetched in a retail world where “the cost of adoption may be high, but the cost of falling behind is becoming even higher.” CSN

“Building a digital offering is going to be the next big challenge for c-stores. ... Most importantly, it takes a lot of work to manage this day-to-day for a c-store that typically runs foodservice promotions on a weekly or daily basis.”

— Zhong Xu, Deliverect

Ensuring the Right Products at the Right Time

Closely managing inventory is crucial to a c-store’s bottom line and combining technology with internal and external data sources can help

By Tammy Mastroberte

HAVING THE RIGHT PRODUCTS, at the right levels, at the right time, and in the right place within a convenience store can make the difference between a profitable category and one that is falling behind in sales. Depending on the size of a c-store chain, this often falls into the hands of the category managers who are in charge of what is stocked, how much and when. And those who are combining technology with both in-house and outside data sources are more likely to see a positive bottom line.

“Whether it’s a small retailer or a major chain, there has to be a data system with the pointof-sale (POS) and back office that is extremely proficient, providing data recovery, and it should update regularly with real-time data and results,” said Bill Nolan, partner with Business Accelerator Team, a group of convenience retailing consultants based in Phoenix. Nolan previously worked in operations and marketing for 7-Eleven Inc., and was vice president of marketing for Family Express Corp. in Indiana.

It’s up to the category managers to pull this data on a regular basis, so they can see the quantity sold and the gross profit dollar contribution of the categories they manage. In doing so, they can understand exactly what is selling and what is not, Nolan explained. Category managers should continually be looking at the A, B and C sellers and flush the C sellers out of the system to eliminate cost and open up space for new items, he advised.

“This process is the quiet moneymaker,” he said. “Category managers can make money for a company based on how they price, set promotions and negotiate, but a wise category manager uses data to make sure they have the top-selling items, enough space for them so they don’t run out of stock, and have a broad assortment in the category look good with A and B sellers.”

While relying on internal data at the store level and company level is key, smart operators are also mixing this with external data from organizations such as The Nielsen Co. and IRI (Information Resources Inc.). These companies are consumer packaged goods data syndicators. Merging their top-selling data with the retailer’s internal data ensures a c-store operator is not overlooking new trends or products that could result in additional profit.

“Don’t work inside a vacuum and think your data is telling you everything,” Nolan cautioned. “You could be missing something.”

Many wholesalers will provide data to operators,