Supplier Spotlights: Dover Fueling Solutions, Old Trapper, Tanknology & Vroom Delivery
NATIONAL REPORT — While it's important for convenience store retailers to market themselves, new products, services, promotions and other initiatives by c-store suppliers are a major part of capturing consumer interest. Convenience Store News will regularly highlight such efforts in this roundup.
Here are the latest supplier spotlights:
Avocados From Mexico
Avocados From Mexico (AFM) and Takis snacks released a new shopper marketing campaign, "Guackeepers Keep it Good," to help fans bring the goodness of guacamole to their soccer viewing parties.
As part of the deal, AFM and Takis recruited two soccer legends, Landon Donovan and Rafael Márquez, to be the official "Guackeepers" by always bringing guacamole made with AFM and Takis snacks to the party.
"What better way to celebrate soccer's biggest event than with the good flavors of AFM and Takis snacks?" asked Stephanie Bazan, vice president of shopper and trade marketing for Avocados From Mexico. "Our Guackeepers Keep it Good in-store merchandising strategy is designed to excite the soccer-obsessed and spark good times, elevating sales during this priority time period for our brand."
The "Guackeepers Keep it Good" promotional program includes in-store displays, consumer savings, digital engagement and recipe inspirations for fans. Additionally, shoppers are invited to enter the ultimate Guackeepers sweepstakes, for a chance to win a trip to see any professional soccer match in the United States, plus spending money.
Dover Fueling Solutions
Dover Fueling Solutions (DFS), global provider of advanced customer-focused technologies, services and solutions in the fuel and convenience retail industry, partnered with Bottomline, a Dutch supplier of software, planning and transport services in the oil and gas sector, to offer a complete, end-to-end fuel management solution.
The fuel logistics software package and services enable customers to schedule, execute, administer, track and analyze the transportation of fuel from depot to fuel stations and end customers. This helps reduce logistical costs and strengthen the supply chain, according to the companies. DFS's wetstock management services collect data to measure and monitor fuel tanks, offering protection against instances of loss by rapidly identifying the source and providing real-time analysis.
Together, the companies are providing one aggregated fuel management solution that can save retailers 5 percent to 10 percent in costs through automated operations, increased visibility into the fuel supply chain, and optimized transportation routes.
"As fuel prices have risen, the cost associated with fuel loss has never been higher,” said David Crouse, president of Dover Fueling Solutions. "This collaboration helps safeguard businesses by serving as the missing link to a fully optimized fuel management system. We're excited to offer customers increased transparency into transport logistics and on-site monitoring and provide them with the tools they need to measure performance, identify gaps and automate processes."
The Bottomline software suite is now available to DFS customers via the company's web portal interface.
Dover Fueling Solutions is a part of Dover Corp.
D&H United Fueling Solutions
D&H United Fueling Solutions was named to the annual Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies.
According to D&H, its growth has been fueled by a customer-driven, people-oriented culture that has provided organic growth, expansion into new geographic regions as well as the addition of new service lines. In addition, the company has made key strategic acquisitions to support its overall strategy.
"It is a great honor to be included in the Inc. 5000," said Bo Sasnett, CEO of D&H United Fueling Solutions. "Most gratifying is the recognition this gives to our team. Our company is all about our people and this is proof of our team's hard work and success and the culture we are building. As we look to the future, we continue to see a great growth path for our company and our team."
JTM Foods LLC
JTM Foods LLC, the maker of JJ's Handheld Snack Pies, is expanding its manufacturing to a new facility in Wichita, Kan. This expansion marks JTM Foods debut outside of Pennsylvania.
The facility will provide increased production capacity and improve the logistics for the Southern, Southwest and West Coast markets of the handheld snack pies, according to the company.
"After exploring several options across multiple states and locales, the strong public/private partnerships here, linking government, business, academic and community interests together, convinced us that Wichita was the best choice for JTM's future expansion," said Monty Pooley, JTM Foods president and CEO.
JTM Foods and its financial partner Tenex Capital Management will join Wichita leaders in the groundbreaking at ICT21 Industrial District.
In addition to the opening, the company also plans to hire 150 people within the next two years with upwards of 200 by year three, as well as invest $40 million in equipment and facilities in Wichita.
Old Trapper
Old Trapper renewed its sponsorship deal with "The Jim Rome Show" on CBS Sports Radio for the fourth consecutive year.
Airing from September 2022 through June 2023, the partnership includes sponsored features, podcast integration and social media promotion of Old Trapper beef jerky. A highlight of the campaign is the integration in a custom "What's Your Beef?" segment, where once a week Jim Rome discusses rivalries, beefs and clashes in sports.
"This partnership is a fun one for Old Trapper and we are excited to renew our partnership with Jim Rome for the fourth year in a row," said Robert Leary, chief marketing officer of Old Trapper. "Jim Rome is at the forefront of what's going on in daily sports and we enjoy his entertaining commentary and highlights of the fan's favorite beef jerky throughout each season. We look forward to working with Jim and his team again this year as he finds out 'What's Your Beef.'"
Stella Artois
Stella Artois, together with basketball star and fashion icon Kyle Kuzma and luxury fashion brand POTR by Yoshida & Co., unveiled their newest fashion program, "Secure The Bag."
The fully integrated campaign features digital content across Stella's platforms, in-store signage featuring Kuzma in retailers nationwide, and custom limited-edition "Secure The Bag" 25-ounce cans featuring a unique QR code digitized pattern.
"Building on last year's success of culture-driven fashion collaborations, this partnership felt like a natural fit for Stella," said Marcela Garcia, vice president of marketing for Stella Artois. "As the leading modern-premium beer brand, we believe in elevating the everyday, and Kyle is someone who makes premium feel fresh. We're thrilled to work with him as we continue to establish ourselves within the fashion industry."
The company also invited fans to enter its sweepstakes for a chance to win an exclusive limited-edition version of the POTR"s "Flex 2 Way Helmet" Tote Bag, and one lucky grand prize winner will have the opportunity to go on a $10,000 fashion shopping spree with Kuzma.
The sweepstakes ran through Oct. 1, followed by the announcement of the grand prize winner.
Tanknology Inc.
Tanknology acquired Norton Corrosion Ltd (NCL), a Woodinville, Wash.-based provider of corrosion inspection services, engineering services and high-quality corrosion control products.
Founded in 1959, Norton Corrosion designs, manufactures and installs cathodic protection systems and corrosion control products for nearly any application, including service to the power generation, petrochemical, marine, defense, wastewater, manufacturing, municipal, transportation, aviation, structural and agricultural industries.
Norton also designs proprietary products for specialty applications.
"The transaction provides significant benefits to our client base by adding highly skilled employees, bolstering our nationwide corrosion protection division and offering our clients best in class corrosion protection services," said Allen Porter, Tanknology president and CEO. "Norton Corrosion shares in our commitment to a customer-centric culture and delivery of a highest quality of service."
Vroom Delivery
Vroom Delivery, provider of proprietary e-commerce software for the convenience retail industry, and PDI Technologies, a global provider of leading enterprise management software for the convenience retail and petroleum wholesale industries, released additional integrations across a range of products and services to bring more in-store technologies online.
As part of the expanded collaboration, Vroom and PDI launched two new integrations this summer, including a digital consumer packaged goods (CPG) rebate program through the PDI Offer Network, and an Automated Menu Management (AMM) service from Vroom powered by an inventory integration with PDI.
PDI's Offer Network integration allows customers to quickly find digital rebate coupons when searching for products online through Vroom, and then has those rebates paid directly to their Venmo or PayPal accounts with no reconciliation needed by the retailer.
"These latest developments are designed to create a seamless experience throughout the c-store, and they're simply the start of what's to come," said Brian Jefferson, senior vice president and general manager of payments and loyalty at PDI. "PDI is committed to additional integrations with Vroom in loyalty and private label debit, as together we improve operational efficiencies for convenience retailers."
Vroom and PDI originally partnered in 2020 to bring online ordering and delivery to convenience stores around the country.
"We are excited for these additional integrations with PDI," said John Nelson, CEO of Vroom Delivery. "Our goal is to create a seamless omnichannel shopping experience where customers can utilize all the same rewards and technologies online as they would in-store, and these integrations help get us there. We've created a special e-commerce experience, and we can't wait to see how shoppers respond to the new capabilities."
WAM
WAM, a nationwide network of convenience store distributors, and Saint Joe Distributing, a full-service convenience wholesaler located in the Midwest, is starting a new partnership in the spring of 2023.
As planned, WAM will be adding its 25th distributor and enhancing the geographic reach it offers its manufacturer partners. Saint Joe will be complementing sales and marketing tools with the holistic and data-driven programs that WAM provides its distributors and the retailers it services.
"We are very excited to welcome Saint Joe Distributing into the WAM group," said President Win Schiller, Junior. "They are a forward-thinking, fourth-generation, family-run business that will fit in very well with our performance-driven model. They also fit very well geographically, servicing a previously uncovered territory, particularly in Missouri and Iowa. This will give our manufacturer partners better connectivity with the important independent c-store segment in these areas."
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