A Sizzling Six

For the fourth consecutive year, Convenience Store News is honoring best-in-class retailers who are leading the way in the convenience foodservice category.

Presented in partnership with Tyson Convenience, the Convenience Store News Foodservice Innovators Awards recognize convenience retail chains who are raising the bar on quality, service and innovation in this fast-growing and critically important product category for c-stores.

The year’s winners, chosen by CSNews’ How To Crew panel of foodservice experts from the retailer, supplier, research and consulting fields, are:

FOODSERVICE INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

KWIK TRIP INC., LA CROSSE, WIS.

Kwik Trip’s strength in all aspects of the foodservice category was proven by how it was ranked by the year’s judges among the top retailers in almost every award category, from Best Prepared Foods Innovator, to Best Cold & Frozen Beverages Innovator, to Best Foodservice Promotion.

The chain with 14,000-plus coworkers serving guests in more than 475 Kwik Trip, Kwik Star, Tobacco Outlet Plus stores and Hearty Platter restaurants in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015. In the past half-century, Kwik Trip has become one of the c-store industry’s leaders in foodservice — noted for owning and operating its own food commissary, dairy, bakery and other food manufacturing facilities, as well as its own trucking fleet. The retailer also has a stellar reputation for its extreme focus on food safety and its aggressive limited-time offers.

This vertically-integrated retailer is lauded for its Cafe Karuba coffee bar, fresh display case of endcaps or islands (depending on store size), European-style bakery cases for its Kwikery Bake Shoppe proprietary baked goods, robust fountain area, grocery and snacking aisles, a produce department (selling millions of pounds of bananas a year), and even a fresh meat case.

Kwik Trip also offers a wide range of grab-and-go foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, most of which are produced and delivered from its own bakery and Kwik Trip Kitchen commissary. Breakfast offerings include bacon croissants, Western English muffins and sausage-and-egg sticks. The bakery supplies Kwik Trip’s signature Glazer doughnuts (think Krispy Kreme), muffins, cookies, Danish, bagels, bars and breads. For lunch and dinner, Kwik Trip sells a variety of takeaway items from its cold case, including packaged salads (in compartmentalized packages that keep the fresh salad separate from all toppings and other ingredients), sandwiches, cheese snacks and wraps. Kwik Trip also makes its own pizzas in its Kwik Trip Kitchen.

Kwik Trip’s hot dispensed beverages include a wide range of coffees, cappuccinos, lattes, steamers and hot cocoa, and the stores feature a huge selection of cold fountain drinks as well.

Kwik Trip has also been a leader in bringing healthier foods to the c-store consumer. It was one of the first c-store retailers to introduce a low-calorie, healthy menu and last year was the first c-store chain to join the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), implementing a new EATSmart program and other policies to promote healthy eating habits. Since then, other c-store retailers have followed Kwik Trip’s example and joined PHA. CSNews’ How To Crew judges lauded Kwik Trip’s effort to develop healthier-for-you foods, citing its use of whole-grain breads for its sandwiches.

On the promotion front, Kwik Trip celebrated its 50th anniversary by giving back to customers in the form of drink discounts and a major giveaway. During the summer, all stores offered soda and coffee for just 50 cents. In addition, customers entered the Kwik Trip 50th Anniversary Sweepstakes by texting the word “FIFTY” to a number or by mailing a postcard to be eligible for approximately 160 prizes, representing a total value of more than $50,000.

Having been awarded the silver medal for Best Prepared Foods Innovator in 2014, Kwik Trip clearly deserves its place as the 2015 Foodservice Innovator of the Year.

BEST PREPARED FOODS INNOVATOR

QUIKTRIP CORP., TULSA, OKLA.

QuikTrip’s creation and launch of its QT Kitchens program positions the Tulsa-based retailer as one of the best-in-class foodservice retailers in the convenience store industry. With more than 700 stores generating more than $11 billion in revenue across 11 states, QuikTrip is becoming a major factor in improving the perception of fresh foodservice in the c-store industry.

QuikTrip was the Best Cold & Frozen Beverages Innovator in 2012, the Best Hot Beverages Innovator in 2013, and was the silver-medal winner in both the Cold & Frozen Beverages and Best New Program categories last year.

At the beginning of 2015, the chain rolled out its highly-praised, fresh, made-to-order food and beverage concept — QT Kitchens — to more than 90 percent of its stores nationwide.

“The complete change from their previous foodservice program to the more fresh-made with touchscreen ordering Kitchens program is difficult to achieve, especially for a chain their size,” commented How To Crew member Jerry Weiner, a long-time industry foodservice guru who recently retired from Rutter’s Farm Stores.

QuikTrip CEO Chet Cadieux, in a recent interview with CSNews, acknowledged how proud he is of having installed the QT Kitchens concept in almost every store. “Of course, that necessitated us hiring a lot of people to run those kitchens, which created a 30-percent increase in employee count companywide,” he said. QuikTrip has more than 18,600 employees. “And, of course, we had to train all those newbies as well as our existing employees on how to run those kitchens. To get all of that done in just one year was a real biggie for us.”

QT Kitchens was created in 2006 when the retailer realized it needed to do something to offset the decline of two of the industry’s biggest categories: gasoline and cigarettes. “We always thought we were pretty good at selling gasoline and convenience store items,” said Cadieux. “Over time, our goal is to be as good at selling fresh food as we are at other items.”

As noted by How To Crew member Maurice Minno of the MPM Group, QT innovated its operational systems so that it could use made-to-order customer service as the basis for the new food and drink products. This new offer includes made-to-order breakfast pizza, pizza for lunch and dinner, toasted sandwiches, flatbread sandwiches, kolaches and fresh-baked pretzels, among other items.

“QT, which has been known in the past for foodservice innovation, has clearly stepped up its game with its QT Kitchens concept that focuses on fresh, made-to-order, innovative products,” said Minno.

Coinciding with the chainwide rollout, QuikTrip has clearly taken its fresh food business to a new and higher level.

BEST HOT BEVERAGES INNOVATOR

SHEETZ INC., ALTOONA, PA.

Sheetz, which operates more than 500 convenience stores throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina, is no newcomer to the CSNews Foodservice Innovators Awards, having won Best Prepared Foods Innovator in 2012 and taking the runner-up prize in that category in 2013.

Sheetz promises its customers: “Coffee so good, the Sheetz Bros. put their name on it. Coffeehouse coffee without the coffeehouse! From our unique brewed coffee blends to the specialty drinks available through the touchscreen. We know coffee!”

This past summer, Sheetz brought its coffee program up another notch with the launch of an upgraded “Kick in the Beanz” program at its stores chainwide. According to Ryan Sheetz, director of brand strategy, “this new premium coffee elevates the sensory experience for our customers.”

The new program includes four blends, 17 creamer and flavor options, and a full line of latte and mocha beverages — resulting in more than 1,000 different ways Sheetz customers can customize their coffee.

The four signature blends progress from light to dark roast — Breakfast, Classic, Sumatra and French Roast. The beans, which are freshly ground in every store, are sourced from Central and South America for the Breakfast, Classic and French Roast blends, while the Sumatra bean is sourced from Indonesia. All four blends are served in a new, environmentally-friendly cup.

“The updated cups are fully recyclable, BPA-free and made out of No. 5 polypropylene — one of the safest materials used to package foods,” Ryan Sheetz said. “This implementation will divert approximately 2.3 million cups from landfills every year.”

Every Sheetz location has new state-of-the-art grinding and brewing equipment and trained baristas as well.

“Clearly, Sheetz leads as the hot beverages innovator today in the U.S. convenience retail channel,” remarked Minno.

BEST COLD & FROZEN BEVERAGES INNOVATOR

RACETRAC PETROLEUM INC., ATLANTA

Although RaceTrac Petroleum introduced its first made-to-order concept, called The Speedy Avocado Southwest Grill, during the year, the more than 600-store Atlanta-based c-store chain has a long history of providing innovation in cold beverages in a seemingly unlimited variety of flavors. The retailer’s cold and frozen beverage program includes its innovative Swirl World frozen yogurt concept, in addition to iced teas and a huge selection of fountain and frozen drinks.

RaceTrac is a repeat winner in this category, having won the 2013 Best Cold & Frozen Beverages Innovator award. For 2015, RaceTrac’s cold and frozen beverage program was lauded for:

• Celebrating National Frozen Yogurt Day on Feb. 6 with a free frozen yogurt giveaway. RaceTrac’s Swirl World frozen yogurt bars feature 10 flavors, ranging from chocolate and vanilla to cheesecake and raspberry. More than 40 toppings, including fruits, candies and hot fudge, are available.
• A refresh of its frozen carbonated beverage offering with the unveiling of a new image for its Numb Skull brand based on feedback from its most loyal customers, called RaceTrac Insiders. “After five years with the same visual branding for Numb Skull, we thought the offering could use a refresh. We surveyed our RaceTrac Insiders to ensure any changes would resonate with our most loyal guests, and they did not disappoint,” said Melanie Isbill, director of brand communication. More than 4,200 Insiders participated in a survey to select the new logo. The new Numb Skull brand debuted in April in more than 380 RaceTrac stores.
• Another successful summer Sodapalooza beverage promotion in which customers could purchase a Sodapalooza cup for $7.99 and get free fountain and frozen refills (unlimited “CUPacity”) through the end of July.

BEST NEW FOODSERVICE PROGRAM
(introduced in past year)

RUTTER’S FARM STORES, YORK, PA.

Rutter’s, the York-based chain of roughly 60 convenience stores, has been a perennial winner in CSNews’ Foodservice Innovators Awards program. The retailer was the very first Foodservice Innovator of the Year in 2012. In 2013, Rutter’s won Best Prepared Foods Innovator, while the chain was runner-up in the Best Prepared Foods category in 2014.

According to Weiner, Rutter’s long-time foodservice director who retired in August, the c-store industry’s greatest challenge in foodservice is the dinner daypart. “I’ve always felt there was an awful lot of money on the table during the dinner daypart that c-stores should be getting. When consumers think about dinner, I want Rutter’s on their mind.”

CSNews How To Crew experts extolled Rutter’s latest creation, called Basket Meals. Each Rutter’s Basket Meal includes one of five entrees: fried shrimp, chicken wings, beef short ribs, mahi-mahi bites or chicken strips. In addition to the entrée, each basket comes with a large order of French fries, coleslaw, dinner roll and a dipping sauce. According to many, this new foodservice item finally gets c-stores successfully into the dinner game.

One judge also applauded Rutter’s for another new 2015 item, its Rutter’s Short Ribs. “A great item that you do not associate with c-stores. They found a way to use the short rib in multiple carriers and as a snack.”

When it comes to new product innovation, Rutter’s was tops in 2015.

BEST FOODSERVICE LIMITED-TIME OFFER/PROMOTION

CST BRANDS INC. (NICE N EASY), CANASTOTA, N.Y.

CST Brands’ Nice N Easy division is the year’s winner in the Best Foodservice Limited-Time Offer/Promotion category. Interestingly, CST’s former parent company Valero won this category in 2012 for its highly successful Whoopie Pie promo that became a permanent program.

The central New York division of CST Brands, Nice N Easy, celebrated this past fall season with a pumpkincredible program, a limited-time-only promotion that included pumpkin parfait, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin cappuccino and a pumpkin muffin. (They even had a pumpkin beer, although that’s not part of the foodservice offer.)

Since Nice N Easy’s food program was one of the things that attracted San Antonio, Texas-based CST to acquire the retailer, it’s not surprising that many of Nice N Easy’s innovations from its Easy Street Eatery foodservice concept are finding their way to CST’s store footprint, which stretches from the Southwest United States through the Mid-Atlantic region and into Canada.