Convenience of the Earth-Friendly Kind

Atlas Oil's newest franchise concept is aimed at the eco-conscious customer

A brand-new, eco-friendly concept is hitting the convenience store industry in the form of Atlas Oil Co.'s Earth Market stores. The national fuel supply and distribution company, based in Taylor, Mich., began opening this new prototype two months ago in Illinois and plans to have 30 in operation by the end of the year.

"We created Earth Market to fill the ampm void in Chicago, and right now we have five stores that are company operated, with the next step [being] to roll it out to the retailer community," Mike Evans, executive vice president of retail and real estate at Atlas, told Convenience Store News. "As ampm was phasing out, we wanted to create a concept to help retailers succeed and be profitable that was not found in the market today."

Atlas has nearly 400 retail stations throughout Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, and will be looking to franchise the Earth Market concept in the same states. The company worked to get the first stores up and running in order to prove the concept in the marketplace and show potential franchisees it can be profitable.

Atlas worked with Fort Worth, Texas-based Paragon Solutions Inc. to create the concept logo, while an in-house team developed the store design, including colors and layout aimed at creating an open feel upon entering, Evans noted.

"The concept is a direct result of targeting the type of customer we are trying to attract," he said. "Our team sat down to design the store and chose the greens and darker tones to embody the earth-friendly message."

The open layout is also meant to make people feel comfortable as they walk around the stores and shop. For this same reason, the Earth Market locations are very well lit inside and out. "We have LED lighting under the canopy and inside the store at our newest location, and we are a big believer in it," Evans explained.

INSIDE CONCEPTS

While Earth Market carries many of the typical products customers are accustomed to finding at a convenience store, Atlas also has incorporated some unique, eco-friendly options such as boxed water. The team is looking into additional products that are recyclable, and launched a program to help customers recycle at the store level.

"Our recycling program offers customers the opportunity to bring their coffee cup or plastic water bottle back into the store for recycling, and we give them a discount on their next coffee or water," Evans said. "Not only do they recycle, but they also come back into the store so it's a win-win for the consumer, the environment and us."

Earth Market coffee cups and bottled water have stickers on them to let customers know about the option, and all of the cups are recyclable. Even the proprietary coffee program, known as Eco-Earth Coffee, is rainforest and fair trade certified.

"They are known for how they treat their workers with fair pay and education, and it's eco-friendly coffee so we are doing something good for the communities where the coffee is grown too," Evans explained.

Earth Market also offers a variety of fruit and vegetable items and a prepackaged sandwich program. Atlas is currently looking into offering more food items beyond a roller grill, and may introduce additional products in the future.

The five current prototype stores range between 3,800 and 4,400 square feet. Depending upon the size, Earth Market offers unique design elements that can be incorporated into a franchised location. One of these options is the cafe area, which takes up approximately 500 square feet and includes small tables with five or six green leather chairs at each table. This section offers customers a chance to relax and even get work done with the free Wi-Fi that's available.

"The purpose was to create a destination," Evans said. "You look at a coffeehouse and people sit and work, or meet up for coffee with a friend. We wanted to capture that process. We want people to come in, sit and check e-mail."

At one of the newest stores, Evans said he often sees contractors come in to meet with their teams for five minutes in the morning, and at a recent grand opening in Chicago, a woman commented that she meets her friend every morning at the location to have coffee and catch up for 10 minutes.

The cafe area features an artificial fireplace to "create an ambiance" and includes a flat-screen television featuring advertising. Television screens are also found over the cooler doors, fountain area and gondolas inside the store.

"We control the advertising on the televisions from the headquarters and can change it at all of the stores," said Evans, noting that this will help future franchisees in the long run as they won't have to take on the task. It will also ensure the advertising is consistent across the Earth Market brand. "Retailers won't have to worry about it and vendors will have more confidence in the concept."

Atlas will continue to be involved with the franchisees in terms of product sourcing and new ideas as well, with specific employees at the company devoted to the concept. "We want to help retailers be more competitive and still allow them to be entrepreneurs," Evans said.