Meet the 2024 Category Captain for Prepared Food: Core-Mark International

Core-Mark, a subsidiary of Performance Food Group, is known for its expert merchandising solutions and comprehensive product assortment. The distributor last year addressed the growing consumer demand for fresh and prepared food options with the introduction of Tru-Q BBQ, a fully turnkey solution that is suitable for convenience retailers considering a first-time foodservice program or those looking to enhance an existing program.

The Tru-Q BBQ program is convenient, flexible, easy to implement and, most importantly, has a great taste. The heart of the menu is an array of smoked meat options — brisket, pulled pork, smoked sausage and pulled chicken — piled high on slider, hamburger or brioche buns. The meats are hardwood smoked for 14 hours to achieve maximum tenderness and packed full of flavor. They're delivered fully cooked, so retailers simply need to heat and serve. Comfort side dishes, Texas Toast and seven savory sauces complete the menu.

The total program includes professionally designed marketing materials, including eyepopping Tru-Q branded packaging, vibrant point-of-sale (POS) materials, state-of-the-art branded LED menuboards, equipment, small wares, operations guides and extensive training manuals.

A long-time Core-Mark customer, Fuel Mart was looking to implement a new and simple foodservice concept alongside its other national partnerships that would give its customers an additional menu option while providing high-quality, labor-friendly products. Since launching the Tru-Q program in February 2023, Fuel Mart has sold 79,660 sandwiches, netting sales of $437,511 across 12 locations. To market the program to its customers, the retailer advertises Tru-Q sandwiches daily via its loyalty app, in addition to pumptoppers and signage.

All information contained in this profile was supplied by the company.