How to Grow Your Deli Program

Proprietary delis can be the heart of successful foodservice programs if retailers take key considerations into account.

Marilyn Odesser-Torpey • Associate Editor

C-stores are succeeding with deli programs with careful attention to customer demands in each market area as they work to attract customers away from the competition.

In May, six out of the 11 full-service delis at Clifford Fuel Co.’s Cliff’s Local Market stores in New York broke their all-time sales records, reported Derek Thurston, the chain’s director of foodservice operations. Cliff’s made-to-order operation, which accounts for 40% of the company’s foodservice sales, is an assembly-line set-up where customers point out what ingredients they want on their sandwiches and assemblers behind the counter put them together.

Sourdough, Italian herb and cheese and other breads are baked fresh on-site for subs and melts. The menu also includes tomato basil, white, honey wheat, spinach and jalapeño cheddar wraps.

The deli is always the center of foodservice activity with staffers preparing foods for the grab- and-go cases when they are not building made-to-order sandwiches, Thurston noted.

“We make a ton of grab-and-go products at the deli,” he elaborated.

Thurston pointed out that retailers thinking about adding a deli to existing locations should be aware of the challenge of changing customers’ food purchasing and eating habits. He explained that probably the hardest habits to break are at breakfast.

“You have to offer an outstanding product at a good price and provide a high level of service to get customers in and out quickly,” he said.

He added that sampling is a good way to get products in customers’ hands and mouths. Sampling works particularly well when the product is a limitedtime offer (LTO), something fresh and new to garner attention.

“We just did an LTO breakfast sandwich with sausage or bacon on a Belgian maple waffle,” he said. “Now we’re working on a premium chipotle-turkey- bacon sandwich on ciabatta.”

Cliff’s tests its new products in a handful of stores before it rolls them out. The company also emails monthly coupons to its customer base.

Another way Cliff’s promotes its delis is through social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

“Food pictures really tell the story,” Thurston said. Cliff’s Local Market has a total of 20 stores in New York state. Delis are set to be added to existing locations as they are remodeled.

EVALUATE DELI OFFERINGS

In most of Englefield Inc.’s 120 Duchess convenience stores in Ohio and West Virginia, deli sales have grown close to 10% compared to pre-COVID sales, according to Nathan Arnold, director of marketing for Englefield Inc. He attributed this increase to Duchess’ commitment to innovation and constant analysis of the deli offerings.

The delis offer freshly made cold subs, sandwiches and salads along with hot grab-and-go items including select subs, chicken tenders and hamburgers. Many of the stores feature cold wells that provide numerous toppings that customers can add to their sandwiches.

Even though deli-made grab-and-go options are the most popular at the stores, many of the locations have open sight lines directly into the kitchens, so

fast facts:

• Sampling can whet customers’ appetites for deli products. • Before deciding on a food menu, study each market for food preferences. • Retailers are saving on costs by using ingredients in multiple ways across the menu.

customers can see the team members making fresh food. Aromas from the ovens are also key to getting customers to equate the stores with high-quality food, Arnold noted.

Arnold advised retailers who are planning to roll out a deli program to study each market carefully to determine which flavor profiles are preferred.

“What works in one market may not work in every store,” he said. “We do extensive testing of products before we launch, with test markets and focus groups.”

Retailers planning to sell hot foods from their delis should invest in a fryer (with hood if required) and walk-in freezer large enough to hold a week’s worth of inventory, advised M. David May, director of food services for Kwik Stop Convenience Stores. The company has a total of 27 stores in Nebraska and Colorado, 13 of which have proprietary delis.

“People are generally not looking for healthier choices when they come to a convenience store deli, the flavor of fried foods is better than baked and they take half the time to prepare,” he explained. “Having a fryer also offers a wide range of product options from appetizers such as mozzarella sticks and mini tacos to dessert items such as fried cheesecake bites.”

May also recommended making up a menu that uses the same basic ingredients in multiple ways. As an example, he mentioned chicken breasts, which can be offered mesquite-grilled on a bun, as a club sandwich and with provolone and mushrooms (the mushrooms come from the stores’ pizza program). CSD

SUCCEEDING WITH FORECOURT MARKETING

Effective forecourt marketing creates a strong first impression and presents customers with a compelling call to action to visit the store.

Howard Riell • Contributing Editor

Driving fuel customers from the gas pump into the convenience store remains one of the greatest marketing challenges for c-store retailers.

That challenge is growing even more complex today given evolving technology such as video and mobile payments at the pump, changes to customer habits brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and now skyrocketing gas prices.

Before retailers focus on forecourt marketing from a technology perspective, it’s important to ensure best practices are already in place.

CREATING AN IMPRESSION

“The forecourt itself is a large part of a c-store’s marketing efforts,” explained Steven Montgomery, president of b2b Solutions LLC in Lake Forest, Ill. “It is here the customer begins forming a perception of what they will find inside.”

If the forecourt is in disarray with litter on the ground or dirty dispensers, that sends a message to customers about the type of experience they’ll find inside the store.

“Other forms of marketing will have a difficult time persuading customers to go inside if the forecourt’s message is ‘this is not a place you want to shop,’” Montgomery said.

With the higher price of gas causing increasingly frugal consumers to fill up less frequently, convenience store retailers have an opportunity to position themselves as a one-stop shop.

“Gas prices can be both a negative and a positive factor. It is a negative because it can impact trips and customers’ discretionary income, but a positive because with the right product mix, marketing and pricing strategy it can drive basket size as customers seek to consolidate trips,” Montgomery added.

CALL TO ACTION

The first step in forecourt marketing is finding a call to action that drives gas customers to go inside the store, noted Anna Felz, marketing brand manager for Spicewood, Texas-based Texas Born (TXB), which operates 47 locations throughout Texas and Oklahoma.

“How to do that successfully is the mystical question that everyone is try-

fast facts:

• The cleanliness of the forecourt informs customer perceptions about whether or not the c-store is a nice place to shop.

• High gas prices give c-stores an opportunity to be a one-stop shop for customers cutting down on trips.

ing to figure out right now,” Felz said.

Videos at the pump can help put this call to enter the store in front of customers, but results depend on the offer. Highlighting foodservice items can be one tactic. “If you have some delicious-looking food, and it’s easy and convenient, it will work,” Felz added. The ideal is for the consumer to eventually be able to push a button and order a sandwich or other food item and have it ready and waiting when they enter the store, she said. “That will get people to come inside, so I think it’s all about your offer,” Felz said. “If you have a boring video, or it’s unprofessional or it’s just ads that is not going to do anything. Again, it’s all about what you are offering on the inside and needing to present that on the outside.” The technology to allow customers to order food via the pump is not quite there yet. “We see people trying to get into that right now. It’s more challenging; it’s a goal, and there are people making strides in it,” Felz said. “We are working on it as well, where you can at least order it from our app at the pump. But then people have to be using their phones at the pumps.” The challenge in implementing order-at-the-pump technology comes down to the specifics of integrating pumps with the kitchen and the point-of-sale system. “There is just a lot of IT integration among different players who have to play together to make that work,” she said.

RETURN TO NORMAL

The COVID-19 pandemic threw a monkey wrench into c-store marketing schemes as customers initially sheltered in place in many locations. “Initially, when the pandemic first started, it was just that drive time was way down, trips were way down, and a lot of people didn’t want to come inside,” Felz recalled. “There were a lot of stores that shut down their inside areas due to safety protocols, and they didn’t have the labor, and so people were only getting fuel.” Thus, the pandemic took a sizeable chunk out of TXB’s food sales.

“Breakfast and lunch sales were down because people were not taking the same trips to work, the office or school,” Felz said. “But later on, and even during the pandemic, people would come inside and were buying more because they were stocking up. They wanted to get plenty of water, plenty of toilet paper, milk, pizza, ice cream and stuff to take home. Beer and wine sales went up, too. So even though they weren’t taking as many trips, they were buying more when they did come inside.” Today, customer shopping behavior is returning to pre-pandemic levels, making it an ideal time to double down on forecourt marketing. “Now I think we are starting to come back to what I will call a normal world, a normal sales cycle,” Felz said. The arrival of summer is also influencing forecourt marketing efforts. “A lot of times for c-stores the sales can be weather-related. For us, sales have been good because the weather has been hot, and that brings people in to buy water and ice,” she said.

Overall, Felz concluded, TXB’s management feels confident that sales are going to be higher — and forecourt marketing more effective — this year than last. “There are more people out this year than at this time last year,” she said. CSD