FOODSERVICE

GCOFFEE CUSTOMERS

Updated equipment, a sizeable counter area and multiple brew flavorscan help position your chain as a coffee destination.

By Erin Rigii

FOODSERVICE

run geographical blends from parts ofthe world, which is becoming prettypopular. We have offered a Brazilian,a Costa Rican and a Kenyan blend, toname a few," Weber said. "Our cof-fee partner. Royal Cup, sources thoseand lets us know when a blend isavailable, so we work closely withthem to keep our coffee offering excit-ing for customers."

UPGRADING THE COFFEE BARRaceTrac recently drew attention to

its coffee program with its third annual"Free Coffee Week," which ran fromNov. 10-16. Customers who stoppedby any of RaceTrac's more than 365stores during Free Coffee Week hadthe chance to enjoy a free brew-nocoupon required. RaceTrac recentlyrevamped its coffee offering and hasexpanded its coffee bar presence inits newest stores. RaceTrac is offeringsomething for every coffee drinkerwith an array of six blends, including100% Colombian Roast, Dark Roast,Hazelnut and Extra Caffeinated. Itscoffee bar also boasts that it allowscustomers to create their brew theirway with a host of free flavored syr-ups, creams and sweeteners.

Kangaroo Express, celebratedNational Coffee Day on Sept. 29,by offering a 12-ounce Bean StreetCoffee for just a penny. As part of itscurrent "New at the Roo" program.Kangaroo Express is renovating storesin key areasincluding the coffee bar.Recently 10 stores in North Carolinagained an updated Bean Street Coffeemakeover to include new coffee dis-pensers and more spacious servingstations complete with accessories,such as creamers, syrups, caffeineshofs and whipped topping.

TravelCenters of America (TA), opera-tor of the TA and Petro Stopping Centersbrands, recently introduced WorldBlends Coffee to its locations. Now pre-mium whole bean blends are groundon-site just before brewing. Customerscan choose between four varieties:House Blend; Dark Sky Caf Blend; RedSky, a South American medium-bodied

Come n & try any size cup ofour crazy good coffee for FREE

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Savvy chains know sampling coffee is agreat way to pique customer interest andconvert them to continous coffee customers.

coffee; and High Mounfain Arabica, afull-bodied dark roasf.

"The coffee in our resfaurants andtravel stores was good before, but thenew fresh ground, whole bean blendstake our quality offering to anotherlevel," said John Ponczoch, senior vicepresident of food marketing and oper-ations for TA.

CHANGING TASTESSuch gourmet-style options are

becoming increasingly important inresonating with customers. Youngerconsumers in particular preferespresso-based beverages with 16% ofthose 18-39 drinking them in the pastday compared with just 6% of those60+, according to a 2013 NCA report.

NCA also found nearly one-third(31%) of consumers prefer gourmetcoffee, while traditional coffee con-sumption dipped to 49% from 56% in2012. Not only are younger consumersreaching for espresso drinks, they'realso more inclined to reach for icedcoffee.

An August report by Mintel showedincreased customer demand for frozenand iced coffeesand not just in thehot summer months. More than justa passing fad, the trend reflects thechanging tastes of the younger genera-tion. Consumers 18-24 years old are farbigger consumers of iced coffee com-pared to older coffee drinkers. Overall,one in five (20%) U.S. consumers drinkiced coffee, compared to 38% of thoseaged 18-24 and only 11% of those aged55-64 and 5% of those aged over 65.Mintel also reported that 77% of icedcoffee drinkers perceive that drinking

it makes them feel more productive atwork. Luckily for foodservice opera-tors, frozen blended coffees have a highprofif margin, estimated at around65-7Q%, according to Mintel.

FRESHNESS COUNTSWhile new brews and a condi-

ment bar of flavors are crucial formaking your coffee bar a destination,nothing compares to the importanceof a fresh cup of coffee. Equipment canmake all the difference in the qualityof your offering and whefher custom-ers return.

Spinx sources all its equipmentthrough its coffee partnership withRoyal Cup, saving it the hassle of man-aging its own equipment. "The benefitof that is that we are constantly usingupgraded equipment," Weber said. "Inother chains that buy and manage theirown equipment, you go into their storesand you might see outdated equipmentthat looks old, and that impacts the pre-sentation of the coffee area."

Spinx switched from glass pots tothermal dispensing units about twoyears ago. "I loved the glass pot pro-gram because you could tell right awaythat the coffee was fresh just by thesmell. But the response we've receivedfrom the thermal dispensers has beenextremely positive," Weber said. "Ithas also helped the stores because thethermal dispensers have timers onthem to ensure the coffee always staysfresh. It really brought us up to dateand the customers love it."

At its largest stores, Spinx fea-tures eight different brewstypicallytwo dispensers of each coffee vari-etywhile its smaller stores typicallyfeature six dispensers in the morningand cut down to the house blend anddark roast in the off-peak afternoonhours.

Its coffee bars make it clear to cus-tomers Spinx is a destination for coffeewith a 4-6-foot linear counter thatprovides plenty of space for multi-ple customers to service their coffeecups simultaneously. "Our cusfomersappreciate it," he said. CSD

44 Convenience Store Decisions | December 2013 CSDecisions#

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