Breakfast Bounces Back

“It’s a bit of a gray area,” said Brightfield Group’s Schau. “But I would say, generally, (delta-8 and CBD) are competitors.”

The convenience channel in particular has experienced significant disruption of CBD sales thanks to delta-8.

“Oh, it’s transitioned from CBD to delta-8, 100%,” Gancedo confirmed. “We went from selling, let’s say, $40,000 (a week) on CBD, and that’s just all transitioned to delta-8. It’s the same consumer, just transitioning.”

The good news is that sales keep growing as more and more customers learn about delta-8, mostly through word of mouth.

“You can see the sales picking up week after week after week. So you know the people who are buying it are talking and telling people, and they’re telling people, and so on and so on,” Gancedo said. “What we’ve learned and what we’ve seen is, the higher the milligram, the higher the potency, the more it sells — regardless of the price, too. … We’re changing up the whole entire lineup within a two-month period because we see the potential

of what these highermilligram delta-8 gummies and these vape products can do.” Of course, some states have banned or restricted delta-8 sales, and potential FDA regulation is looming. “I absolutely think regulatory adjustments or addressing of delta-8 could impact that market,” said Schau. “That probably is the biggest risk to delta-8 sales. Although, they’ve been allowed to go on for quite some time now. It’s Source: Brightfield Group, “US CBD Market Industry Update, October 2021” not really clear how long that’ll continue or if it’s going to go unhindered.” For now, Gancedo is catering to customer demand for delta-8, until rules and regulations require retailers to change course. “We’re trying to sell as much as we can right now, and then we’ll transition to whatever the next big thing is,” Gancedo said. “That’s what we have to do here in the conveniece store industry.” CSD fast facts: • CBD sales in the c-store channel are set to hit $171 million in 2021 — up 49% from 2020, per Brightfield Group. • Retailers are seeing success with delta-8, but the product is at risk of federal and state regulation.

For some convenience chains, breakfast is such a strong daypart that even the pandemic could not slow its momentum. And, according to retailers, sales are expected to continue to grow in 2022.

Marilyn Odesser-Torpey • Associate Editor

As customers get back into the swing of things after pandemic disruption, they’re hungry for innovative breakfast foods, and c-stores are responding with updated menu offerings.

Breakfast is the core of the entire foodservice program at B-Quik’s three convenience stores in Louisiana, and sales have continued to increase month over month, year after year, even as the pandemic virtually halted the usual morning commute throughout the country, reported David Schumaker, general manager for B-Quik.

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“We are as busy as we’ve ever been,” Schumaker said, “not just for breakfast, but for overall store sales.”

Among the perennial favorites are B-Quik’s sausage or bacon, egg and cheese biscuits and croissants. All items are made on site and ready for grab and go.

B-Quik’s morning menu also includes numerous innovative beyond-bread items such as a chicken-and-waffl e sandwich and French-toastand-sausage sandwich. Loaded hash browns with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and ham are prepared in muffi n form so they can be picked up and eaten without a fork. A pig-ina-blanket offering consists of spicy sausage wrapped in bread-like pastry.

BREAKFAST REBOUND

Following the initial six to eight weeks of the pandemic shutdown, the breakfast business at the fi ve Hub Convenience Stores in North Dakota “bounced back very quickly and has been thriving ever since,” according to Jared Scheeler, CEO of The Hub, and 2021-2022 National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) chairman. During this major daypart, the stores carry upwards of a dozen different varieties of made-on-site, grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches.

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Sausage and sausage-and-egg croissants have long accounted for the lion’s share of morning sales, Scheeler explained. He added that sausage, egg and cheese on fl atbread “catapulted to our No. 2 product” soon after its introduction, and a biscuit-and-gravy platter is “incredibly popular.”

Another hearty favorite is the threemeat ham, bacon and chorizo burrito with egg and a veggie blend, Scheeler noted. Accompaniments such as potato hash brown bites and potatoand-cheese bites add a higher ring to breakfast sales.

Limited-time offers (LTOs) such as a waffl e breakfast sandwich with fried chicken breast or sausage and egg that debuted in early fall 2020 keep the selections interesting and remain on the menu as long as sales remain strong. LTOs are featured on the menu twice a year. The Hub Café, available in some stores, serves made-to-order burritos, fl atbreads and sandwiches on brioche buns. The sausage is a special blend supplied by a local butcher shop.

Fresh bakery category, including doughnuts, muffi ns and a wide variety of pastries, has always been a stand-out at The Hub, especially during the breakfast daypart. The company converted its fl agship store from grab-and-go bakery to full-service, and this setup will be a strong consideration for any new groundup or renovated sites, Scheeler pointed out. “During the pandemic, we expanded our bakery offerings and display cases to offer a more robust offering,” he said.

For 2022, Scheeler is concerned that continued supply chain challenges might hamper additional innovation in foodservice, including breakfast. However, he expects the stores’ breakfast business to continue to fl ourish.

“We’ve seen plenty of demand in the breakfast daypart, especially as we’ve added new items made fresh in our stores.“made fresh in our stores.

— Jamie King, senior director of food and beverage, Pilot Flying J