7-Eleven Testing New Fresh Foods by P90X Founder

DALLAS — 7-Eleven Inc. is testing a new line of fresh foods under the Tony Horton Kitchen banner, reported USA Today. The line of "nutritionally balanced" sandwiches, wraps, salads and cold-pressed juices debuted Tuesday at 104 7-Eleven convenience stores in the Los Angeles market.

Health and fitness executive Horton is the founder of DVD home workout series P90X, which has sold more than 4 million copies to date.

The new line is an attempt to meet the needs of Millennials and other "fitness-oriented" customers that want more better-for-you products. "We can provide a convenient way for healthy and fitness-oriented consumers to fuel their daily lives," stated 7-Eleven's Senior Director for Innovation Raja Doddala.

Millennials are not the only target, but they make up the most critical market for the c-store chain.

Test offerings include:

• Two sandwiches, one of which features grilled chicken with blueberry mustard on a whole-grain sub;
• Two salads, including spicy quinoa salad with chimichurri dressing;
• Two wraps, including spicy black bean hummus and vegetables; and
• Four cold-pressed juices, including one that is a blend of apple, celery, beet, ginger, parsley, spinach and lemon.

The prices of the Tony Horton Kitchen sandwiches and wraps range from $4.75 to $6.50, while the juices sell for $4.99. The food items have an average calorie count of 360, and most include a high amount of dietary fiber and protein.

7-Eleven has multiple reasons for expanding its fresh food offerings. Sales of fresh products increased 30 percent compared to last year, Doddala said, and healthy food options are the second-most requested items from customers after new Slurpee flavors. 7-Eleven even sells seven times more bananas than Snickers candy bars. 

If the new line is successful at the test stores, it could be extended further in southern California and potentially go national, according to Doddala.