Foodservice | Coffee
Tiger Fuel’s The Market partners with Ronnoco Coffee for its coffee program. Varieties include breakfast blend, Colombian, extreme caffeine, French vanilla, organic Guatemalan and more.
Cliff’s is also known for its seasonal and unique flavors. During the last quarter of the year, a new flavor is released in October for Halloween, November for Thanksgiving and December for the winter holidays. Cliff’s recently finished serving the Great Pumpkin and Apple Cinnamon flavors and has Mocha Mint available in December. “And then in January, we’re going to go to Half Moon, which is a regional favorite around here; it’s a cookie,” said Thurston. Finding new, bold and fresh flavors to sell to customers has been a successful strategy for Cliff’s, which caters the flavor to the market. For example, Cliff’s developed a blueberry pancake flavor and specifically marketed it to the younger generations. A dark chocolate raspberry-truffle flavor has also performed well around Valentine’s Day. “We’re just keeping the flavors new and interesting and constantly moving,” said Thurston. Tiger Fuel’s The Market began partnering with Ronnoco Coffee for its coffee program about two years ago. The Market stores offer multiple coffee flavors, including breakfast blend, decaf, dark roast, Colombian, extreme caffeine, French vanilla, African sunrise, Costa Rica and an organic Guatemalan. The Market also features a variety of flavors for its cappuccino, such as hot chocolate, mocha, pumpkin spice (seasonal), French vanilla and caramel. Both c-store chains offer different creamer and syrup flavors, as well, so shoppers can customize their beverages. RISE OF THE COLD BREW
In addition to offering exciting new flavors in the hot dispensed segment, retailers have found coldbrew coffee to be in demand. The Market offers cold brew at four of its locations. “This is new to The Markets due to the trend of what our customers are looking for,” said Dollins. “Next year, I believe that cold coffees will be the trend, and the stronger dark coffees, also. We are a college 70
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December 2021
town, and the students are trending in that direction.” Two local cold brews it offers are Snowing in Space — both in 12-ounce cold cans and in the coffee area with Kegerators — and Trager Brothers Coffee in 16-ounce cans. Cliff’s is also watching the growing popularity of cold brew and adapting to the trend. First it tested nitro cold brew, but when that failed to catch on with its customer base, the chain shifted to offering a regular black cold brew and a salted-caramel latte variety that resonate better with its cold-brew customers. TRADITIONAL BREWING STILL SELLS
While an increasing number of c-stores are trending toward bean-to-cup dispensers due to the improved freshness, quality perception and reduced labor required, some c-store chains, like Cliff’s and The Market, prefer the employee interaction, space-saving attributes and speed that they say traditional brewing allows. For instance, Cliff’s uses soft-heat urns. “Bean-to-cup’s good because it eliminates labor, but with us, we’re committed to labor, to going over there and taking care of it,” said Thurston. “You can get a lot more people in and out when you have six or seven urns fully stocked. (Employees) can fill them up, and you don’t have to wait a minute-and-a-half to get your coffee to come out. You can just pull the nozzle, and you’re good to go. You fill up with your creamers, and you are out the door.” The Market features one store with bean-to-cup dispensers, but space constraints make it a challenging offering for the location. “It requires more space on our counters, and we just do not have that kind of space,” said Dollins. While bean-to-cup dispensers offer many benefits for c-stores, traditional brewing remains a classic and efficient option. CSD
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