C-store Suppliers Made Lots of Headlines at 2016 NACS Show
ATLANTA — As always, the 2016 NACS Show was a hotbed for news releases coming from the convenience store industry's top suppliers and distributors. Here, Convenience Store News provides a roundup of the new products, new partnerships and more announced during the event.
Broaster Co.
The Wisconsin-based company launched Genuine Broaster ChickenSpicy, designed to offer tender, juicy and delicious flavor with an added spicy kick. The new product is infused with Chickite Spicy Marinade, which combines the flavors of Hatch Chill Pepper, Habanero Pepper and Chipotle Chili in each piece. The chicken product is finished with Slo-Bro Spicy Coating, to bring out the flavor of the peppers with a special blend of other seasonings.
Excentus Corp.
The company developed a solution for merchants using the Verifone Commander Site Controller to offer its customers an electronic punch-card loyalty program. Excentus hosts a portal for merchants to join and create a digital punch card program. The program would then be available via a mobile app consumers can download to their smartphone, enabling access to punch cards. It will be available in early 2017.
Franke Foodservice Solutions
The company premiered its EcO3Ice antimicrobial ice protection system. It is a compact, low-power device that continuously treats incoming water used by ice machines to reduce microbial buildup, including bacteria, yeast and mold. Franke also debuted its specialty fabricated workstation systems at the trade show, including its Universal Adjustable Cup/Cone Tubes and Housing, Dessert Butler, Wire Organizers and FIFO Innovations FIFO Bottle.
General Mills Convenience
The company introduced Bugles Hot Buffalo, as well as the Chex Mix Jalapeno Cheddar and Hot & Spicy flavors. According to General Mills, these products are categorized under "Spicy Adventure," the third-largest and fastest-growing category in convenience store salty snacks sales.
Gilbarco Veeder-Root
The North Carolina-based company teamed up with Xpedient LLC and P97 to introduce a new solution intended to advance payment, loyalty and food ordering from a mobile device. P97's PetroZone solution for mobile payment and digital offers has been tested and certified with the Gilbarco Passport Point of Sale, which is based on the Conexxus Standard Interface.
Hunt Brothers Pizza
The Tennessee-based company introduced MEGA S'mores, which featuring a giant, soft graham cracker crust, Hershey's real milk chocolate and melted marshmallows. The sweet treat serves a complement to its pizza, Wings and WingBites and Cheesebread, according to Hunt Brothers.
Mars Inc.
The company announced it has a big product launch set to hit c-store shelves in May, and debuted M&M's Caramel. The candy features a creamy caramel center covered in milk chocolate, enclosed in a colorful candy shell, providing a combination of flavors the bite-sized pieces, the company stated.
McLane Co. Inc.
The supply chain services company released its Direct Store Delivery (DSD) app for Android mobile devices. Working in conjunction with its Premium Order Management Suite applications and Grocery Mobile platform, DSD enables customers to manage their entire supply chain in real time from a mobile device.
Red Bull
The company introduced two new sugar-free energy beverages, Red Bull Purple Edition Sugarfree and Red Bull Lime Edition Sugarfree. Purple Edition provides the taste of acai, while Lime Edition has a limeade taste. Red Bull also announced that, following tremendous success during the summer, its Summer Edition Kiwi Twist will return as a permanent SKU in January as the Red Bull Green Edition.
Rich's Foodservice
The company introduced a comprehensive foodservice program covering all four corners of the store: beverage toppings, pizza and sandwich components, grab-and-go desserts and sweet baked cookies, and doughnuts and cinnamon rolls. Rich's Foodservice also said that during the first quarter of 2017, it will launch the Corner Market Turn-Key Bakery Program, allowing c-store operators to choose among three solutions to best meet their needs, ranging from a bakery case to a complete program that includes two or more large bakery cases, a patterned wallpaper background, signage and pendant lighting. In addition, Rich's debuted its Mixing Bowl Gourmet Cookies, Mixing Bowl Gourmet Filled Cookies and Mixing Bowl Everyday Cookies at the NACS Show.
The Hershey Co.
The company debuted one of its most anticipated new products in several years: Hershey's Cookie Layer Crunch. According to Hershey's, it reimagined the chocolate bar, pairing it with layers of crunchy cookie bites and decadent fillings to offer a textured snacking experience.
Wayne Fueling Systems
The company introduced two future concept fuel dispensers at the NACS Show. The Ovationfuture concept dispenser features a 25-inch display, capacitive touch technology, user identification technology and connected car applications among other elements. The Helix6000 dispenser showcases applications in a European pump that includes different forms of identification, such as biometrics with proximity palm sensing with an enhanced user interface.
The 2016 NACS Show took place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta from Oct. 18-21.