FOODSERVICE

COFFEE CUSTOMERS
Updated equipment, a sizeable counter area and multiple brew flavors
can help position your chain as a coffee destination.
By Erin Rigii<, Associate Editor

cer for the Spinx Co., noted that the

change in customer coffee palates has
been evolving for years, beginning
with the inception of Starbucks and its
heavy, dark roast coffees that java fans
soon began demanding from convenience stores as well.
When Starbucks launched Blond,
Weber noted, the company also began
resonating with the common coffee
drinker who prefers a lighter flavor.
"As a c-store chain, we've learned to
adapt to the Starbucks influence by
providing the dark roast option, as
well as an array of varieties, as opposed
to 'Hey, here's our cup of Joe'which
is how c-stores traditionally used to
operate," he said.
Spinx, which operates more than 70
convenience stores in South Carolina
and North Carolina, has been partnering with Royal Cup Coffeethrough
which it offers proprietary brands of
Spinx Coffeefor 20 years.
Spinx offers a regular House Blend, a
dark roast known as "Midnight Roast,"
a decaf coffee, and in specific stores it
provides a hazelnut option. Holiday
and other in-and-out favors also keep
the coffee bar exciting and continuously
refreshed so customers can find something new. At presstime, Spinx had just
finished offering its Harvest Blend, a
pumpkin flavor for autumn, and was
introducing its Holiday Blend with a
cinnamon Streuselflavor.Such limitedtime offers are introduced, on average,
every eight weeks.
CHANGING WITH THE TIMES
"Throughout the year, we typically
Jim Weber, chief marketing offiHE COMPETITION FOR

COFFEE customers continues to brew among

the various channels,
with convenience stores feeling
increased pressure from Starbucks,
Dunkin' Donuts and numerous QSRseven Walgreens' new
superstore prototype in Chicago
and New York is serving up fresh
java.
While competition is fierce, the
good news is customer demand is
surging as well, but their palates
are becoming increasingly discerning. Total coffee consumption is on
the rise, having jumped five percentage points according to the National
Coffee Association's (NCA) National
Coffee Drinking Trends 2013 market
research report. The increase means
some 83% of the U.S. adult population drinks coffee. What's more, daily
coffee consumption by coffee drinkers
totals 64%, and 75% of consumers report
drinking coffee at least once a week.
Retailers are taking note and upping
the quality and variety of their brews,
continually sampling to peak customer
interest, and upgrading their coffee
bars to make room for an expanded
condiment station whenever they
remodel stores. As foodservice experts
repeatedly note, mastering coffee is
step one on the road to a profitable
food offering.

4 2 Convenience Store Decisions | December 2013

CSDecisionso

FOODSERVICE
run geographical blends from parts of
the world, which is becoming pretty
popular. We have offered a Brazilian,
Come n & try any size cup of
our crazy good coffee for FREE
a Costa Rican and a Kenyan blend, to
no coupon necessary!
name a few," Weber said. "Our cofOffer valid
Sunday 12/16-Saturday 12/22
fee partner. Royal Cup, sources those
and lets us know when a blend is
available, so we work closely with
them to keep our coffee offering excit- Savvy chains know sampling coffee is a
great way to pique customer interest and
ing for customers."

convert them to continous coffee customers.

UPGRADING THE COFFEE BAR

RaceTrac recently drew attention to

its coffee program with its third annual
"Free Coffee Week," which ran from
Nov. 10-16. Customers who stopped
by any of RaceTrac's more than 365
stores during Free Coffee Week had
the chance to enjoy a free brew-no
coupon required. RaceTrac recently
revamped its coffee offering and has
expanded its coffee bar presence in
its newest stores. RaceTrac is offering
something for every coffee drinker
with an array of six blends, including
100% Colombian Roast, Dark Roast,
Hazelnut and Extra Caffeinated. Its
coffee bar also boasts that it allows
customers to create their brew their
way with a host of free flavored syrups, creams and sweeteners.
Kangaroo Express, celebrated
National Coffee Day on Sept. 29,
by offering a 12-ounce Bean Street
Coffee for just a penny. As part of its
current "New at the Roo" program.
Kangaroo Express is renovating stores
in key areasincluding the coffee bar.
Recently 10 stores in North Carolina
gained an updated Bean Street Coffee
makeover to include new coffee dispensers and more spacious serving
stations complete with accessories,
such as creamers, syrups, caffeine
shofs and whipped topping.
TravelCenters of America (TA), operator of the TA and Petro Stopping Centers
brands, recently introduced World
Blends Coffee to its locations. Now premium whole bean blends are ground
on-site just before brewing. Customers
can choose between four varieties:
House Blend; Dark Sky Caf Blend; Red
Sky, a South American medium-bodied
4 4 Convenience Store Decisions | December 2013

coffee; and High Mounfain Arabica, a

full-bodied dark roasf.
"The coffee in our resfaurants and
travel stores was good before, but the
new fresh ground, whole bean blends
take our quality offering to another
level," said John Ponczoch, senior vice
president of food marketing and operations for TA.
CHANGING TASTES

Such gourmet-style options are

becoming increasingly important in
resonating with customers. Younger
consumers in particular prefer
espresso-based beverages with 16% of
those 18-39 drinking them in the past
day compared with just 6% of those
60+, according to a 2013 NCA report.
NCA also found nearly one-third
(31%) of consumers prefer gourmet
coffee, while traditional coffee consumption dipped to 49% from 56% in
2012. Not only are younger consumers
reaching for espresso drinks, they're
also more inclined to reach for iced
coffee.
An August report by Mintel showed
increased customer demand for frozen
and iced coffeesand not just in the
hot summer months. More than just
a passing fad, the trend reflects the
changing tastes of the younger generation. Consumers 18-24 years old are far
bigger consumers of iced coffee compared to older coffee drinkers. Overall,
one in five (20%) U.S. consumers drink
iced coffee, compared to 38% of those
aged 18-24 and only 11% of those aged
55-64 and 5% of those aged over 65.
Mintel also reported that 77% of iced
coffee drinkers perceive that drinking

it makes them feel more productive at

work. Luckily for foodservice operators, frozen blended coffees have a high
profif margin, estimated at around
65-7Q%, according to Mintel.
FRESHNESS COUNTS

While new brews and a condiment bar of flavors are crucial for
making your coffee bar a destination,
nothing compares to the importance
of a fresh cup of coffee. Equipment can
make all the difference in the quality
of your offering and whefher customers return.
Spinx sources all its equipment
through its coffee partnership with
Royal Cup, saving it the hassle of managing its own equipment. "The benefit
of that is that we are constantly using
upgraded equipment," Weber said. "In
other chains that buy and manage their
own equipment, you go into their stores
and you might see outdated equipment
that looks old, and that impacts the presentation of the coffee area."
Spinx switched from glass pots to
thermal dispensing units about two
years ago. "I loved the glass pot program because you could tell right away
that the coffee was fresh just by the
smell. But the response we've received
from the thermal dispensers has been
extremely positive," Weber said. "It
has also helped the stores because the
thermal dispensers have timers on
them to ensure the coffee always stays
fresh. It really brought us up to date
and the customers love it."
At its largest stores, Spinx features eight different brewstypically
two dispensers of each coffee varietywhile its smaller stores typically
feature six dispensers in the morning
and cut down to the house blend and
dark roast in the off-peak afternoon
hours.
Its coffee bars make it clear to customers Spinx is a destination for coffee
with a 4-6-foot linear counter that
provides plenty of space for multiple customers to service their coffee
cups simultaneously. "Our cusfomers
appreciate it," he said. CSD
CSDecisions#

Copyright of Convenience Store Decisions is the property of Harbor Communications and its
content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the
copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email
articles for individual use.