Expert Viewpoints

Bake'n Joy Foods, Inc. announces a new line of all natural/whole wheat PANfree 5.25-ounce pre-deposited muffin batters.

New from Scripto Tokai Corp. is a line of Hunting C-thru lighters for the avid or amateur hunter.

California Creations introduces You Tattoo, the first tattoo kit that enables buyers to apply non-toxic airbrush-quality tattoos using an aerosol spray can.

Gold Eagle Co. now offers an automotive line designed specifically for convenience stores.

In the dog-eat-dog world of convenience retailing, operators have long seen the need for keeping things fresh.

In a report released last month, analysts at Merrill Lynch announced that the North American convenience store industry, dominated by mom-and-pop operators, is ripe for consolidation, a trend that would favor the large publicly traded store operators.

One of the key findings of this year's Convenience Store News Technology Study is that, when asked what they hope to accomplish with their technology investments in 2005, 70 percent of retailer respondents reported reducing theft and shrink. By far, that was the No.

The newly formulated Borden Cremora powdered non-dairy creamer from Dean Specialty Foods has been outfitted with updated packaging and several new flavor varieties.

Customers can now "snap into a Slim Jim" with the new Pepperoni Slim Jim meat sticks flavor from ConAgra Foods.