TORRANCE CALIF. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
Enter Famima!!, a Japanese brand of upscale convenience stores, whose Torrance-based U.S. arm launched Los Angeles outposts two years ago, aiming to grab market share not only from neighborhood grocers but also from quick-service restaurants and coffeehouses. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
With 12 stores open in the Los Angeles area and plans to reach 20 by the end of 2007, Famima is one of a growing number of C-store chains featuring proprietary fresh-food items to draw in an increasing number of convenience-hungry consumers. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
Sheetz Inc., based in Altoona, Pa., already boasts foodservice sales of about $250 million per year and a reputation for being at the C-store forefront in marketing a trendy array of ready-to-eat hot and cold menu options at 335 outlets throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Sheetz stores have kitchens, but the company recently broke ground on a $36 million production facility to improve efficiencies and supply an even wider range of prepackaged foods. Kwik Trip Inc., based in Lacrosse, Wis., in May opened a larger commissary that delivers fresh sandwiches, salads, pizzas and other items to 330 stores daily in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
Dallas-based 7-Eleven, a global chain with 32,312 units worldwide, also is beefing up fresh-food offerings. About 4,700 stores in larger U.S. markets, for example, now offer fresh-made sandwiches, salads, fruit and baked goods delivered daily from commissary kitchens. The chain previously has tested sushi in some stores, when it also introduced such sandwiches as turkey with dill-Havarti cheese on walnut-scallion bread. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
In April, 7-Eleven began testing a hot-foods program in 111 stores in Utah, where newly installed high-speed ovens allow consumers to enjoy freshly cooked pizzas, chicken wings, cinnamon rolls, churros and other items. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
In Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas this fall, British supermarket giant Tesco is poised to make its U.S. debut with a minimarket format called Fresh & Easy that is expected to feature a wide range of freshly made, microwave-ready meals. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
While retailers like convenience stores provide only about 13 percent of the nation’s prepared meals and snacks, compared with 87 percent by conventional restaurants, traffic at retail stores is growing at a faster rate than at restaurants, according to The NPD Group market research firm, based in Port Washington, N.Y. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
Over the past five years, traffic for prepared meals sold by retailers grew 10 percent, compared with 5 percent at restaurants. Convenience stores have seen the largest growth, accounting for 54 percent of all retail traffic for the 12 months ended in March 2007, up 11 percent since 2002. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
C-stores long have partnered with quick-service brands to offer a foodservice component, but an increasing number of store chains are developing their own proprietary menus. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
In Los Angeles, Famima’s offerings range from the more typical egg salad or chicken salad sandwiches to dim sum combo plates, sushi, chicken korma or panini sandwiches, all generally under about $8. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
At the checkout counter, which has two registers to shorten wait times, warm Chinese-style steamed buns, generously stuffed with barbecued pork or red-bean paste, are available for $1.50 each. Also offered are corn dogs, crisp-fried ravioli and a selection of hot soups. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
Sweets include gourmet cookies, pastries, tiramisu and a signature chocolate-covered banana wrapped in a cream-filled pound-cake roll. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
Famina’s beverage selections offer a world tour of gourmet sodas, water and teas, such as Japan’s melon-flavored Ramuné soda. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
About 40 percent of the stores’ sales come from foodservice, particularly at lunch, said Shiro Inoue, president and chief executive of Famima Corp. The U.S. subsidiary is owned by the Japan-based FamilyMart Group, which operates more than 13,000 stores in Asia. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
Famima units, which typically are about 2,500 square feet, often have small tables outside for on-premise dining. Most stores are open from 7 a.m. to midnight. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
Fresh items are delivered daily from four Southern California commissaries. Inoue said the company has projected that its U.S. store revenue in 2007 would top $50 million, if the goal of opening 20 stores is reached. The company plans to bring the Famima concept to New York in 2009, after commissary facilities are established there, he said. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
On the other side of the country, Sheetz offers in-store-prepared deli sandwiches, burgers and fries, salads, and wraps, among other items. The new commissary, scheduled to open in mid-2008, aims to allow the stores to expand offerings by improving efficiencies, company president Stan Sheetz said. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
“It’s hard to tell at this point where it will lead us,” he said. “We’re planning to do a lot of experimentation with premade products.” —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
The $36 million facility, to be called Sheetz Bros. Kitchen, would take up 140,000 square feet, contain $10.5 million in production equipment and create an estimated 435 jobs over the next half-decade. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
Supplying all its stores in several states from a central commissary is a “feat,” Sheetz said, but with foodservice accounting for about 25 percent of overall store sales, not including the sale of gas, there is plenty of opportunity for growth. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
“We do about 2,000 customers per store per day,” he said. “We look at it as an opportunity if we can get even a small percentage of them to buy food.” —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
At Kwik Trip, about 20 percent of sales are estimated to come from fresh food and beverages. In addition to the line of fresh sandwiches, salads, soups and pizzas coming from a central commissary, four Kwik Trip locations in travel centers include a full-service restaurant called Hearty Platter Cafe, offering a three-daypart menu, from omelets to chicken dinners, said Steve Loehr, vice president of operations. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
U.S. convenience store operators increasingly are inspired by the growth of fresh, packaged foods available at C-stores in the United Kingdom, Loehr said. Some stores have developed systems that bring in fresh foods several times daily. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
“I think consumers are hungry for quality, variety and freshness,” Loehr said. —It’s 10 p.m. after a meeting. You’re in a hurry to get home. But you need to pick up a gallon of milk, and wouldn’t a warm Chinese char siew pork steamed bun and a cappuccino taste pretty good right now?
