CSNews’ Foodservice Innovators Trumpet Their Wins
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Any achievement is made more special when you can celebrate it with others, and if you're a retailer, getting to share your triumphs with your customers is the ultimate satisfaction.
Two of the winners in the inaugural Convenience Store News Foodservice Innovators Awards -- Rutter's Farm Stores and Valero Corner Store -- have trumpeted their accomplishments in different ways since receiving the recognition during the 2012 NACS Show.
York, Pa.-based Rutter's, which won the grand award of Foodservice Retailer of the Year, is promoting its success via new uniform shirts. On the back of the black shirts is the CSNews Foodservice Innovators Awards medal, along with bright yellow text boasting that Rutter's is the Gold Medal Winner for National Foodservice Retailer of the Year.
This award is given to the c-store retailer that most effectively develops hot and cold food programs to expand its business; scouts and hires foodservice and culinary talent to ensure a competitive edge; and innovates constantly, never resting on its laurels. 
Like Rutter's, San Antonio-based Valero Corner Store also wanted to share news of its achievement with its customers. In fact, the chain wanted to thank them for making the win possible.
Valero earned the gold medal for Best Limited-Time Offer/Promotion for its highly successful Whoopie Pie program that is now a permanent offering. Corner Store locations with bakeries produce these moist cookie sandwiches, which are baked with chocolate or vanilla cream cake batter to create a moist top and bottom and then filled with layers of buttercream icing.
To share the good news, Valero created special window clings that were placed on the entry door of its stores with bakeries and on those stores' Whoopie Pie cases. The signage reads, "Thank you Whoopie Pie lovers," alongside pictures of the product and the chain's gold medal.
The CSNews Foodservice Innovators Awards are sponsored by Tyson Foods and provide the convenience store industry with a forum to recognize retail leaders who are raising the bar on quality, service and innovation in the fast-growing foodservice category.
