Baking & Snack - November 2022 - 38

CONVENIENCE STORES
Better-for-you
snacks perform
extremely well in
c-stores that are
historically recognized
for selling beer,
cigarettes and gas.
Muffin Town
for morning snacking and afternoon " pick-me-ups, " Ms.
Lambert said. Those include portable Hostess Muff'n
Stix, Hostess Devil's Food Cake Jumbo Honey Buns
and Hostess Boost Jumbo Donettes, which come in
Chocolate Mocha and Caramel Macchiato and contain
slightly less caffeine than one cup of coffee.
She said research has found nearly one in four consumers
now eat snacks to begin the day, and this " morning
sweet start " snacking occasion represents a $5.8 billion
annual market opportunity that has been growing
at 5.5% over the past three years.
" In total, we've identified 18 different consumer
Eye-catching graphics
can spark sales of immediate-consumption
foods
such as pretzels
and other snacks.
Utz Brands
snacking occasions, and we offer snacks for every occasion,
with some of the top occasions being a sweet start
to the morning, in the lunch box, as an afternoon reward,
immediate consumption and afternoon snacks for
sharing, " Ms. Lambert said.
In November,
single-serve packages
of Hostess
Bouncers began arriving in c-stores. The poppable, nomess,
mini-variations of some of its most iconic cakes
include Glazed Chocolate Ding Dongs and Cinnamon
Donettes. She said Hostess' investment in innovation
has paid off, contributing 27%
of Hostess Brand's growth and
12% to its category growth over
the past year.
" So far, these products are
performing very well in c-stores,
and we believe we have the runway
to continue innovating for
this category, " Ms. Lambert said.
" Research shows that during
times of uncertainty and stress,
consumers turn to brands they
know and trust, while also seeking
out little, inexpensive ways to
treat themselves. "
For UDF, Mr. Kronyak pointed
out fresh-from-its-bakery donuts,
cookies, muffins, brownies and
other baked goods provide a point
of differentiation in the market. In
fact, unit sales of donuts rose 18%
38 Baking & Snack November 2022 / www.bakingbusiness.com
over last year, led by suggestive-selling promotions and
new product innovation. The company spearheaded
a coffee program this fall with an expectation for sales
to return to 2019 levels. Most recently, the chain added
mini-cookies, marshmallow treats and seasonal treats
such as apple fritters, orange cranberry muffins, Ohio
Buckeye donuts and pumpkin cream cheese-filled muffins.
UDF also offers an array of iced cookies and partners
with the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati soccer
teams as well as the Cincinnati Reds.
" Those items all have a cleaner ingredient label that
consumers are looking for, " Mr. Kronyak said. " They're
fresher products with a shorter shelf life and no preservatives
sold impulsively by the checkout counter or on a
rack with other bakery items. "
" WE ARE FEELING GOOD
ABOUT HOW CONSUMERS
HAVE RETURNED, BUT
THEY AREN'T THE SAME
CUSTOMERS THAT THEY
WERE IN 2019. "
Jeff Lenard, National Association
of Convenience Stores
Filling up with fresh food
Mr. Lenard now calls foodservice " the industry's future "
for c-stores. He admitted that the channel's offerings
have come a long way since actor Chevy Chase said, " I'm
so hungry, I could eat a sandwich from a gas station " in
" National Lampoon's Vacation " in 1983.
" It's taken at least 30 years for that joke not to be funny,
and there are a lot of people who seek out food at gas
stations now because there are exceptional chains and
exceptional individual stores for food, " he said.
Mr. Sayegh believes consumers perceive some c-stores
as more like restaurants in addition to a place to shop for
staples, gas or cigarettes.
" They're becoming a food destination in a lot of cases, "
he observed. " We're seeing a bigger interest in some c-stores
actually wanting to bake products on-site, and not just the
typical c-store products. Rather, some more innovative and
newer ideas, including scones that we're now making. We're
seeing a big jump in the individually wrapped and packaged
snack items, but also better, healthier, fresh-baked
items in the foodservice section of the c-stores. "
Muffin Town targets c-stores with its diverse selection
of food-safe, individually wrapped snacks such as
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