Celebrating the 2022 Top Women in Convenience

This year’s event featured a record number of honorees and drew record industry attendance

A Convenience Store News Staff Report

LAS VEGAS is known for its spectacle, so it was only fitting that the 2022 Convenience Store News Top Women in Convenience (TWIC) Awards Gala was a record-breaking event, celebrating a record number of honorees and drawing a record number of attendees from across the industry.

TWIC is the first and only c-store industry program that spotlights the integral role women play in convenience retailing and celebrates individuals across retailer, distributor and supplier businesses for outstanding contributions to their companies and the industry at large.

The Oct. 2 awards gala, held at the Renaissance Las Vegas following day two of the 2022 NACS Show, honored the ninth-annual TWIC class comprised of 91 honorees, including five Women of the Year, 36 Senior-Level Leaders, 40 Rising Stars and 10 Mentors, all chosen based on impressive nominations received from their peers.

Paula Lashinsky, vice president and brand director for CSNews, noted that this year's honorees distinguished themselves in ways that go beyond achievements that can be neatly listed on paper. “While this year's nominations were replete with details of individual accomplishments — the ‘whats’ — it was the ‘hows’ that were so impressive,” she said. “The descriptions

This year's TWIC class comprised 91 honorees, including 40 Rising Stars.

Thirty-six Senior-Level Leaders were lauded for their contributions to the convenience store industry.

Colette Matthews (center) is one of five Women of the Year.

The ninth-annual event drew a record number of attendees.

of how these women used innovation, inspiration, motivation and empathy to shape and grow the convenience store channel.”

Featured speaker and 7-Eleven Inc. President and CEO Joe DePinto addressed the largestever group of award winners during his remarks. “You are an extraordinary, talented and diverse group of leaders, and these awards underscore your dedication and your commitment to your businesses and this industry,” he said. “You should be extremely proud of all that you've accomplished, and I can tell you that we certainly are.”

DePinto reflected on how things have changed from the start of his career, when the c-store industry didn't have many women in leadership roles who could positively influence their organizations and the industry at large.

“Take a look at this room. Look around,” he said. “We do now. Congratulations.”

Words of Wisdom From the Women of the Year

This year’s Women of the Year honorees included Holly Angell, senior vice president of construction, engineering & facilities, 7-Eleven Inc.; Allison Cornish, vice president of store modernization, Pilot Co.; Danielle Holloway, senior director of industry engagement, Altria Group Distribution Co.; Julie Jackson, president, G&M Oil Co.; and Colette Matthews, global vice president of customer experience, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc./Circle K.

Upon receiving her award, Angell described how “team is the heart of everything that I do for convenience retail,” and that she is both proud to be among the TWIC winners and grateful that she can help lift other women in the industry.

She noted that in the world of construction, engineering and facilities, women are not always expected to be there, but she is excited to see how the industry has changed so that all types of leaders can have a place in it. “I like to be a champion of that and an example of that,” she said. “I know you are also champions of that.”

Cornish expressed how much “I absolutely love this business,” and advised up-and-coming leaders to travel and spend time in different stores while learning about different roles. One can't learn or lead a business unless they go out to experience it and spend time with those who live it every day, she said.

when you're challenged and uncomfortable,” she said.

Holloway reflected on a time a decade ago when she was hesitant to lead an employee resource group (ERG) for women when her company's CEO asked her to; an inner voice was telling her it was a bad idea. With the persistence of her boss, she stepped forward despite her doubts and launched the ERG, created additional leadership experiences, developed content for members and paved the way for her eventual successors. She also worked to control her inner voice, who Holloway jokingly named Renée. “Now, she cheers me on,” she said. “She's not a voice of doubt.”

Holloway advised attendees to "check on your inner Renée, make sure he or she is supporting you, and ask what you can do to support others."

Jackson highlighted the difference that people can make to someone else's career path, expressing appreciation for those who encouraged her and gave her opportunities, but also pushed her, challenged her and gave her honest feedback. This makes it all the more important that leaders surround themselves with the best people.

“It's important to be resilient and present with what you're doing,” she said.

She encouraged other women to take risks, ask questions and learn everything they can. They should evolve and change, but ultimately stay true to themselves. “Always be your authentic self — there's no one else like you,” Jackson said. “Be the best 'you' you can be.”

Matthews shared a lesson taught to her by her grandmother: Anything is possible if she acts continuously to make it so. She acknowledged that while inequities continue to exist, real progress is being made and brave leaders, activist allies, meaningful mentorships and audacious corporate mandates can make a significant difference in having more women present at every level of leadership.

“It is crucial to build the necessary infrastructure to support and drive change,” she said.

Matthews pledged to continue working to help the c-store industry move from dreams of equality to a reality in which it exists, and asked audience members to do the same — to work individually and with their respective companies and the industry at large to make it so.

“I recruit you, you and you,” she said.“Let's do this together.”

Supporters of the 2022 Top Women in Convenience program include: founding and presenting sponsor Altria Group Distribution Co.; platinum sponsors ITG Brands, PepsiCo Inc. and Reynolds Marketing Services Co.; gold sponsors BIC USA, The Boston Beer Co., The Coca-Cola Co., The Hershey Co., Juul Labs, Mars Wrigley, McLane Co. Inc., Molson Coors Beverage Co., Mondelez International, Proctor & Gamble, Swedish Match and Tyson Convenience; and silver sponsors Anheuser-Busch InBev, Constellation Brands, Diageo, FIFCO USA, Glanbia Performance Nutrition, Premier Manufacturing Inc. and Ruiz Food Products. CSN

Casey’s CEO Darren Rebelez (right) accepted the Corporate Empowerment Award on behalf of the company.

Casey's Receives First-Ever Corporate Empowerment Award

The 2022 Convenience Store News Top Women in Convenience (TWIC) Awards Gala also featured the presentation of the first-ever Corporate Empowerment Award. Casey's General Stores Inc. took home this new award, which honors a convenience retail company that commits to gender equality and promotes female leadership and advancement.

Based in Ankeny, Iowa, Casey's operates more than 2,400 convenience stores. Across the company, 60 percent of Casey's team members identify as female, and nearly 25 percent of supervisory roles are female. Additionally, one-third of Casey's extended leadership team (vice presidents and above) and half of its board of directors identify as female. Casey's is one of only 6 percent of Russell 3000 companies with a genderbalanced board of directors.

Upon accepting the award on behalf of the company, Casey’s CEO Darren Rebelez said he was humbled by the honor, and used the moment to thank his team.

“It's a remarkable team of fantastic women leaders. You've heard all the stats, but it's just a special group. It's what makes Casey's, Casey's," he said.

Nominations for the Corporate Empowerment Award were open to any convenience store industry organization that paves the road to empower women in leadership roles and is a champion for the inclusion of women in the goals and vision of the enterprise. Casey’s was selected from a pool of five finalists, which also included Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., RaceTrac Inc., Rutter’s and Yesway.

SETTING THE CRUISE CONTROL TO SUCCESS

Savvy convenience store retailers are looking beyond the challenges of today to enhance their foodservice programs for tomorrow

By Angela Hanson

WHEN THE COVID-19 pandemic hit, foodfocused retailers everywhere had to pump the brakes on their plans for investment, innovation and expansion in favor of just keeping the business going. Even as the convenience channel began to recover, complicated challenges like supply chain woes, the labor shortage and inflation have kept operators from slamming their foot on the gas pedal. But with resilience, creativity and focus, they are now in a position to effectively navigate the traffic jams enroute to their destination: foodservice success.

Whether it involves menu expansion, new programs or alternative ways for customers to order and receive their purchases, c-stores are making significant investments in the foodservice category. It’s money well worth spending: after suffering a major blow during the height of the pandemic, prepared food and hot, cold and frozen dispensed beverage sales have all rebounded in a major way, and foodservice is once again growing in share of in-store sales.

“Foodservice continues to matter a lot to c-stores,” said Shamus Hines, CEO of Tampa, Fla.-based Upshop, which provides convenience retailers with an array of software-as-a-service solutions for fresh item management. “It should be a major focus for any c-store.”

As much as 36 percent of c-store profits can be attributed to foodservice, and the closing of 15 to 20 percent of restaurants during the pandemic means more dollars are up for grabs, he noted.

Although channel lines are blurring and most consumers make at least occasional trips to buy c-store food and beverages, competition for share of stomach remains strong. It is vital that operators understand consumers’ evolving reasons for choosing where they eat. Along with convenience, shoppers value quality of food, value for the price, and alternative shopping methods such as mobile ordering and drive-thru service.

C-store retailers must also take differing generational priorities into account. For example, recent research indicates that older Generation Z consumers gravitate toward the focused menu and value of quick-service and fast-casual restaurants, and often decide on the type of food they want before they consider which brand to visit. They also care more about dietary alternatives featuring low-calorie, organic, plant-based and sustainable options.

Ensuring a Foundation of Excellence

In the post-pandemic world, c-store operators have the opportunity to stake out a stronger position in foodservice than ever before, but doing so means revisiting every aspect of the category and not relying on assumptions or nostalgia for legacy products that may no longer be as strong.

“Our business changed completely during COVID — now what?” Joe Chiovera, a convenience retail industry veteran and executive consultant to Premium Brands Holdings, parent company of Buddy’s Kitchen, posed during a presentation at the recent 2022 NACS Show.

C-store retailers must take a phased approach to foodservice program development that will set them up for long-term success, according to Chiovera. Phase one — foundation before differentiation — involves planning, product specifications, quality assurance standards, training and culture. These basics set c-stores up to position themselves well with products, brands and innovation. Neglecting them in favor of more eye-catching initiatives is dangerous.

“Lots of companies fail here because they don’t have a foundation. They didn’t spend time on the base,” Chiovera cautioned. “Start from the bottom up.”

Phase two — building a culture of simplicity — involves menu rationalization, product refinement and optimization, design modification, and labor optimization. This sets retailers up to focus on performance and enhancement during phase three: nurturing greatness.

Chiovera also recommends that operators segment the categories within foodservice to determine whether they intend to dominate, compete or participate. Each category has different criteria and different potential outcomes and benefits. For instance, when a brand seeks to dominate in a category, they will want to maximize market share and focus on offer, equipment and delivery to achieve operational excellence and maximize both gross profit dollars and unit growth.

Participation categories, on the other hand, should stay the course with competitors, managing costs and maintaining a flat to slight uptick in sales. As a matter of prioritization, innovation should be reserved for those categories where c-stores aim to dominate or compete.

Finding Success in Prepared Food

THE MOST IMPORTANT segment of the convenience foodservice category is also one of the most challenging, as retailers continue to grapple with labor shortages and rising costs. Snags in the supply chain are a major problem as well, as they block innovation and slow menu development; there’s no point in rolling out a great new item if it can’t be offered reliably.

The most practical step c-store retailers can take as they develop their prepared food strategy for the coming year is to think creatively and act efficiently. Existing ingredients that are still regularly available can serve as the foundation for a new twist on an old classic, such as La Plata, Md.based Dash In’s quesadillas-piled-high “Stackadilla.” Additionally, interesting sauces can add bold new flavors to burgers, wraps and other staple menu items.

Inspiration for this kind of limited resource innovation can be found close to home. C-store operators can consult their store-level employees, who are the day-to-day experts in food prep and in-stock ingredients, to generate ideas. They can even bolster enthusiasm by holding a contest with rewards for the winning recipe ideas. The company’s executive foodservice team can explore the feasibility of the best suggestions.

Brand-building is another key component of strengthening a prepared food offering. Experts recommend building a program around signature items that are strongly associated with the brand. It’s not good enough to have a product that is just fine — a standout signature item needs to be something consumers can’t get in the same flavor or quality somewhere else.

The flip side of prepared food creativity is something much more objective, but just as important: hard numbers. “There is a distinct difference between selling items and profitably selling items,” Kay Segal, president and managing executive of Business Accelerator Team, explained during a 2022 NACS Show education session focused on foodservice analytics.

Delving into foodservice analytics can help retailers understand on a deep level what is selling when; how much profit an individual item generates; what time food production should be happening, and how much labor should be devoted to it; and other key insights.

When analyzing prepared food data, it’s recommended that retailers focus on the top five or so statistics that stores actually use, and make it so that everyone can understand them.

Paul Servais, retail operations foodservice director at La Crosse, Wis.-based Kwik Trip Inc., also advocates for detailed recipe management, noting that recipes serve as the baseline for margin analysis, production tools and retail pricing. C-stores can use software or go with an old-fashioned spreadsheet, as long as the data is useful and the information gets into the hands of employees who can make impactful decisions based on it.

“It doesn’t have to be complicated, but you have to look at it all the time,” Servais said.

Finding Success in Dispensed Beverages

AFTER TAKING A hit in 2020, dispensed beverage sales have rebounded across the board. Although the impressive turnaround from two years ago can be viewed as more of a return to normal than a spontaneous surge in demand, that doesn’t change the fact that convenience stores are in a prime position to be the go-to destination for new beverages, offering tasty and creative dispensed drinks at a lower price than cafes or quick-service restaurants.

While hot dispensed beverages continue to generate the most sales within the segment, some c-stores are still contending with reduced commuter traffic as more people work from home at least part-time. Retailers can counteract this by enhancing their coffee offering to deliver quality at a value price. Bean-to-cup machines that guarantee freshness are increasingly popular, and nitro coffee is on the rise in some markets. Single-origin coffee such as 7-Eleven Inc.’s 7-Reserve line is also effective at drawing in java fans who care about sustainability and want to try new flavors, especially when rotated as limited-time offers.

Meanwhile, cold and frozen dispensed beverages are especially well-positioned to drive trips and build baskets when c-stores set their offerings as high-value propositions. For example, Circle K parent Laval, Quebecbased Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. reports ongoing positive results from its Circle K Sip & Save beverage subscription program, which lets customers get a daily fountain drink, slushie, coffee or tea for $5.99 a month. QuikTrip Corp. also boosted beverage trial and mobile app orders through its fall “Drink HQ” promotion, which gave customers the chance to win digital vouchers for a wide range of beverages.

C-store retailers shouldn’t be afraid to get creative. Salt Lake City-based Maverik — Adventure’s First Stop has positioned itself as the destination for anything-goes beverages through its soda mixology program, which also serves as a value alternative to Utah’s popular but higher-priced soda shops. Maverik customers can create endless combinations with soda, flavor shots, creamers, lime wedges and more for a single base price, and often add to their baskets as they go. Not only do the chain’s customers keep coming back to try new mixes, but the program also has received noticeable social media attention on TikTok.

Convenience store operators likewise report a positive customer response to playing up the “theater” of the fountain area through eye-catching graphics, signage, and other ways of catching customers’ attention once they’re already in the store.

Even the fountain units themselves can generate interest. The average customer attention span is 2.8 seconds to 8 seconds long, according to Jose Salinas, director of the C&G channel at Marmon Foodservice Technologies. This gives retailers “more reasons to have screens communicating what you have going on in regard to flavors and programs,” he said.

By upgrading to fountain units with digital screens atop the dispenser station, retailers can use video imagery to draw customers in. These screens can change based on daypart to appeal to different customer need states during the day.

Finding Success in Fresh Bakery

THE BAKERY CASE is a small piece of in-store real estate that represents a big opportunity for convenience foodservice retailers to distinguish themselves from the competition.

While most c-stores offer doughnuts, muffins and other items, the variety and quality of fresh bakery items can vary significantly from one retailer to another, and the case itself can serve as a striking and appealing image to customers who pass by. Even c-stores that can’t offer brand-specific baked goods can take advantage of turnkey programs, such as thaw-and-finish doughnuts that can be uniquely decorated.

Many fresh bakery items work well bundled with coffee to boost morning sales. Plus, the blurring of daypart lines and the ongoing evolution of daily consumer routines means that this segment is no longer a morning-only opportunity.

“Bakery has evolved beyond special occasions,” said Alyssa Barrett, customer marketing manager, convenience, at Rich Products Corp., headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y. “Consumers are looking for an everyday treat, at any time of day — a morning pick-me-up, an afternoon snack or a late-night treat.”

Category experts recommend c-store retailers experiment with offering a variety of craveable, snackable, fresh bakery items that cater to different occasions. Granular SKU data can help them learn which items perform best at which times.

Freshness is a key purchase driver, as no one wants to leave the store with a stale doughnut. And if they do, it will likely be a one-time-only purchase. At the same time, c-stores want to avoid their bakery cases having a halfempty, picked-over appearance. This has prompted baked goods suppliers to invest in the development of extended shelf-life recipes for certain products.

There’s also untapped potential in helping consumers balance their desire for indulgence with their desire for health and wellness. C-stores can fulfill this need.

“[Consumer] preferences in indulgence have been updated,” said Anu Fisher, marketing manager at Lantmannen Unibake, a global bakery company. “The bakery category has plenty of opportunity for growth by creating updated flavor combinations using organic and premium ingredients and fresh fruit inclusions to satisfy the ‘modern indulgence’ trend.”

Economic pressures will likely present a challenge to fresh bakery in the coming year.

“With inflation, labor costs and supply issues continuing through 2022 and into 2023, the premium pricing that is associated with fresh baked items will be a hurdle to overcome,” Fisher pointed out. “The challenge will be to find the balance between providing a premium product at a price consumers are comfortable with.”

The good news is that consumers are willing to pay a higher price for fresh bakery products than some other foodservice items due to the perception that these products are healthier, organic, sustainable and fresher, while satisfying their desire for indulgence.

Finding Success in Intersecting Foodservice & Technology

NOW MORE THAN EVER, foodservice and technology are inextricably intertwined. A convenience store operator that offers the tastiest menu at the best value possible will still find themselves left behind if they fail to take advantage of technology, whether that means upgrading equipment, adding mobile ordering and delivery, or investing in analytics.

To fully take advantage of the many benefits of technology, c-store retailers need to understand where they are currently lacking and what they want to improve. This doesn’t always mean customer-facing technology. Art Sebastian, vice president of digital at Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s General Stores Inc., pointed to the advantages of technology that can simplify processes for store-level employees. For example, the Midwest-based chain’s order management system consolidates all orders, whether they are received through Casey’s website, mobile app, delivery partners or the phone, and helps streamline the preparation process.

“In addition to the guest-facing experience, really lean into what’s happening in your store and in your kitchen. When you dig in there, you find many [manual] processes that might be taking too much time,” Sebastian said. “With technology, you can automate, you have data.”

Labor simplification also should be a major factor when operators are choosing new foodservice equipment. Beverage equipment is a good starting place; self-service units such as bean-to-cup coffee brewers, fountain machines and smoothie/milkshake machines appeal to customers given their capacity for quick, fresh production and customization. Additionally, self-checkout units are not foodservice exclusive, but they enable customers to get out of the store while their orders are still hot, and free up employees to focus on other duties. to offer mobile ordering should focus on what Ryan DiLello, a content specialist with Paytronix, refers to as the four “Ps”:

• Products — Can customers order from a full or limited menu? • Price — When working with third- party partners, consider all aspects of associated costs and order handling. • Place — C-stores should have a specific area in the store to pick up orders with ample signage to guide foot traffic. • Promotions — The goal is always to get customers to the app.

Finally, c-store operators should take advantage of the vast information gathered when a brand’s app incorporates both mobile ordering and a loyalty program. Analysis of a customer’s food and beverage purchasing history through integrated point-of-sale data, down to individual SKUs, allows a retailer to build a complete view of the customer, make predictions about future behavior, and provide individualized offers that resonate with them, such as sending a coupon for a new variety of breakfast burrito to a frequent breakfast burrito buyer.

“Once you connect loyalty to the various touchpoints where your customer interacts with you, the possibilities are virtually endless when it comes to creating personalized, timely foodservice offers that will resonate,” said Lori Stout, vice president of marketing at customer loyalty and engagement solutions provider Punchh, headquartered in Austin, Texas. CSN