Food prepared fresh that is Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat continues too drive customer frequency.



An exclusive article by Don Longo in Convenience Store News magazine reveled” Dining frequency at convenience stores was up 63 percent, from an average of 1.6 times a month to 2.6 times per month, according to the study conducted by AlixPartners, which also included a business review of more than 120 foodservice concepts from QSRs (quick-service restaurants) to fine dining to convenience stores.”

Regular readers of this blog understand that many new viable avenues of fresh and prepared food distribution are increasing the competitive nature of the retail food industry. No one sector has benefited more over the past three years than the Convenience Store sector. Companies the ilk of Sheetz, Wawa, Rutters and QuickChek have outstanding retail food programs. 7 Eleven is expanding its fresh food offerings while increasing their food positioning with new quality fresh food products.

Walgreens entrance in 2011 has been well documented here as well. Without doubt Walgreens will continue its test of fresh food due in large part to the documented success seen in the Convenience Store sector and early results with Duane Reade. The grocerant niche continues to boom all the while legacy grocery stores and legacy QSR’s may be the unsuspecting capitulators of market share.

Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Foodservice Solutions® Bing or Google Grocerants or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven Johnson