Foodservice 101: The Basics

Self-serve beverages are the best choice for this level of operator, industry experts agree, with a heavy focus on beverage freshness and quality. Be prepared to have spoils in the early stages of development as you build customer traffic and volume.

KEY CONSIDERATIONS

Hot Beverages — First, determine the quality level you want to offer customers. Will your cappuccino and hot chocolate products derive from liquid or powder? Will you use glass pots, urns or airpots? What space limitations do you have? What labor limitations do you have? Many experts recommend brewing coffee into servers that do not sit directly on heat, which can erode flavor. C-store operators also should partner with a strong roaster that can provide ongoing pointers and support.

Most coffee wholesalers charge for the equipment and marketing they place in your stores, which is built into the overall coffee price per pound. The costs are typically amortized over a two- or three-year period and range from $3 to $5 per pound of coffee purchased, depending on annual volume.

Building and maintaining a consistent coffee program with three varieties of coffee is essential — a good quality house blend, a dark roast and decaf. Instant cappuccino machines make it easy for operators to enter the specialty coffee category, with French vanilla being the most popular flavor. Experts also recommend offering hot chocolate and hot tea. Avoid over expanding — too many varieties create excess spoilage that eats into profits. This is true of hot, cold and frozen dispensed beverages.

Water filtration systems can greatly improve hot coffee and tea flavor, since water makes up approximately 98 percent of these beverages. It's also important to protect equipment from lime scale. Coffee should be brewed at 90 to 93 degrees Celsius for proper flavor extraction, which causes mineral buildup on the heating elements. This buildup can reduce brewing temperatures, which adversely affects beverage flavor and can dramatically increase energy costs to run the brewer (by as much as $5 per day).

Keeping equipment well-maintained and cleaned is a vital component of all dispensed beverages, whether hot or cold. Overall cleanliness of beverage bars is also critical. Nothing will turn off customers more than sticky, dirty and sloppy equipment, counters and floors.

Cold and Frozen Beverages — Operators must first determine the breadth and depth of their offering and the proportion of carbonated to non-carbonated beverages. They should add frozen beverages as volume builds. The space in the store will contribute heavily to the decisions of how large your cold and frozen beverage programs can be. Many experts recommend six to 12-valve fountain machines to start — depending on store volume and location — and two frozen beverage varieties.

Beverage quality is also critical at the fountain, which leads to satisfied customers, repeat visits, and higher sales and profits. Diligent attention to equipment cleaning and serving product within manufacturing date codes increases consumer satisfaction. One of the best ways to stay on top of beverage quality is to sample your products every day before serving them to customers. Water filtration systems can also improve cold and frozen beverage taste and quality.

Some experts recommend selling only carbonated beverages at the fountain initially and as you increase cups per day to more than 50, then add in non-carbonated offerings.

Conversely, in the frozen category, some experts recommend only selling non-carbonated beverages initially until volume grows. Frozen carbonated beverage machines are more expensive to maintain because they have more moving parts and break down more frequently. For example, a low-volume operator can spend $1,000 a year on carbonated machine maintenance, which means the profits on the first four or five frozen beverages sold each day would go toward machine maintenance alone.

OPERATIONS ADVICE

Weighing all the alternatives can be overwhelming, but the best way to avoid pitfalls and overspending is to set clear objectives and sales goals. Different volume levels call for different or expanded programs. For example, stores that sell zero to 50 cups per day should keep their programs narrowly focused, while stores selling between 50 and 100 cups are ready to expand a bit, and those selling 100 cups per day or more are ready for more extensive programs.

It is easier — and less costly — to add on to a program than it is to cut back a program that is not succeeding. Be sure to leave room in the stores to grow your programs.

Do the appropriate analysis to determine a realistic return on investment for your stores. Avoid being talked into more than you can afford and/or execute, experts advise.

HOT TIPS

• Know your budget limitations and how much labor you can put against the program.
• Go with a program that will give you the most bang for the buck and place you credibly in the beverage business.
• Avoid being talked into more than you can afford and/or execute.
• Work with good vendor partners. Find ones that will give you the most help and best advice for your planned objectives.
• Leave room in your stores for future growth.

"Look for a coffee program that offers point-of-purchase marketing and promotional support to help drive consumer trial."

— Burke Hodge, The Coffee