Recently, numerous convenience stores have shifted to offer healthier fare, ranging from fresh salads to made-to-order sandwiches to even plant-based burgers, all in response to overall consumer awareness of eating well. But the c-store menu items that could perhaps most benefit from a tweaking—and provide retailers with big opportunities ahead—are those offered during the morning daypart. Healthy breakfast options are just beginning to emerge in c-stores, and retailers and suppliers are putting a bigger focus on offerings that not only stand to drive morning in-store traffic but also build customer loyalty.

“Many breakfast customers are looking for a hot, grab-and-go option that isn’t the normal calorie-packed muffin, donut or Danish,” remarked Bridget Halpain, merchandising manager at McLane Company. Rather, they’re opting for higher-protein items, she said, noting that McLane is seeing increased demand for egg white patties from some of its c-store partners.

Julia Taylor, c-store segment leader at Cargill Foodservice, added that consumers themselves are putting a bigger spotlight on healthy breakfast alternatives. “Consumers state that their food choices for breakfast help set the tone for their day,” Taylor explained. “A healthy and satisfying breakfast gets them off on the right foot.”

By increasing offerings of fresh, healthy and portable breakfast options, convenience stores can position themselves as industry leaders as U.S. food culture continues to shift.

With the morning daypart becoming increasingly competitive as more and more QSR operators market breakfast deals, “c-stores need to defend their share of consumer demand,” Taylor said. Cargill launched its hand-held Supreme Flavor Egg Bake Bites, made with whole eggs, cheese, ham, bacon, spinach and red bell peppers, at the 2019 NACS Show. “They’re the ultimate for healthier grab-and-go,” Taylor remarked, pointing to the product’s high protein, Keto-friendly and easy heat-and-serve attributes.

Captive Audience

C-stores are already morning destinations for many consumers. According to the recent NACS “9 Habits of Gas-Buying Customers” survey, 22% of consumers said they purchase gas between 6 and 10 a.m., and almost half of all gas-buying customers go inside the store. Indeed, sales of hot dispensed beverages are strongest during the 5 to 10 a.m. daypart, Pablo Castillo, NACS research coordinator, noted, with sales between 6 and 7 a.m. accounting for about 15% of daily category sales, as compared with just 2% during the noon hour. Prepared food sales between 7 and 8 a.m., meanwhile, account for 11% of total prepared food sales, versus just 7% for the 12 to 1 p.m. time period, Castillo said.

Convenience retailers agreed that breakfast sales and traffic are vital to their stores’ bottom lines. “The breakfast daypart is very important as it represents 35% of our total business and is growing at a faster rate than other dayparts,” reported Benjamin Hoffmeyer, vice president, marketing and foodservice, at Kwik Chek Food Stores, with 47 locations in Texas and Oklahoma.

At Kwik Trip, with some 600 locations in the Midwest, breakfast accounts for 40% of the chain’s hot food sales and gross profit, according to Paul Servais, retail foodservice director. “Breakfast is crucial to our food program,” Servais said, noting that Kwik Trip now offers breakfast sandwiches in its grab-and-go cases 24 hours a day. And on the East Coast, Ryan Krebs, director of foodservice at Rutter’s, said, “Breakfast is key to any c-store business. It attracts your everyday habitual customer who comes in for coffee and smokes. It’s part of their ritual. Breakfast is a high traffic driver, and that basket ring is important.”

Yet, at least one retailer conceded that consumers’ breakfast routines are a hard nut to crack. “Breakfast is the hardest habit to change,” remarked Jason Cooper, vice president, food and beverage at Global Partners, operator of the Alltown Fresh and other c-store concepts in the Northeast. “People are in a rush and have a routine. Breakfast can be a finicky daypart,” Cooper said.

Beyond Baked Goods

With morning sales so important to c-stores and with consumers putting an enhanced focus on improved eating, it makes sense that healthy breakfast options provide retailers with big opportunities. In its 2015 report compiled for NACS, think tank and research center The Hudson Institute concluded, “Among meal occasions, healthier breakfast items are the most desired and also the biggest gap. There’s opportunity to go beyond baked sweet goods and indulgent breakfast items and offer better-for-you, ready-to-heat-and-eat and on-the-go items to bolster foodservice sales.”

Breakfast is a high traffic driver, and that basket ring is important.

Jeff Lenard, vice president, strategic industry initiatives at NACS, agreed. “By increasing offerings of fresh, healthy and portable breakfast options, convenience stores can position themselves as industry leaders as U.S. food culture continues to shift,” he noted.

According to Mark DiDomenico, director of client solutions at Datassential, which tracks food trends and provides insights to foodservice providers, today’s consumers are looking for functional benefits in their food choices, including protein, probiotics and antioxidants. He pointed to increasingly popular smoothie bowls—featuring items such as yogurt, grains and fruit—as an example of an offering that presents a good opportunity for c-stores to tap into healthy breakfast trends. “C-stores are ideally situated as a delivery system for healthy breakfast items that are fast, convenient and offer some type of benefit,” DiDomenico said.

Savvy c-store operators are already on board. Alltown Fresh—which, at press time, was expected to have four full-service locations opened by late last year, and which specializes in healthy, fresh offerings—lists breakfast items like the Southwest Scramble bowl (scrambled cage-free eggs with cream, roasted peppers, onions, cilantro, lime, black bean smash and salsa roja) and at least half a dozen smoothies, with nutritional benefits identified on menu boards. According to Cooper, the Green Smash sandwich (avocado, raw pumpkin seeds, chia seeds and sea salt on multi-grain toast) is one of the concept’s most popular breakfast offerings.

Similarly, breakfast sandwiches and breakfast bowls are among the most popular morning purchases at Rutter’s, Krebs revealed, noting that the chain has marketed cage-free eggs for the past two years and that customer response has been “outstanding.” At Kwik Chek, meanwhile, guests can order breakfast tacos in a cup and skip the tortilla, Hoffmeyer said.

C-stores are ideally situated as a delivery system for healthy breakfast items that are fast, convenient and offer some type of benefit.

Grab-and-Go Options

But it’s not just freshly made items that can position c-stores as great purveyors of healthy breakfast options. “C-stores should explore ways to facilitate on-the-go eating through bite-sized offerings and packaging that support dashboard dining,” remarked Cargill’s Taylor. Lenard agreed, noting, “Consumers can grab healthy breakfast items just some 10 feet inside a convenience store. There are more healthy options at an arms length than in any other channel.”

Fresh food cases—both chilled and warmed—are perfect vehicles that allow c-stores to compete for healthy breakfast sales. Yogurt parfaits, fresh-cut fruit and hard-boiled eggs are among the chilled better-for-you items found in c-stores. Operators like Kwik Trip merchandise ready-made breakfast sandwiches in warm cases. According to Servais, the chain sold nearly 30 million breakfast sandwiches in 2019, including its lowest-calorie sandwich—egg whites, ham and cheese on an English muffin.

Despite the opportunity healthy breakfast offerings provide, retailers and suppliers note there can be challenges. Halpain pointed to higher food and equipment costs. Maintaining tight inventory levels can minimize those costs, she added. Global Partners’ Cooper added that one of the biggest challenges of a breakfast foodservice program is service speed, as morning customers are particularly rushed. “We try to adhere to a breakfast wait time of three minutes, while lunch is five to six minutes,” he explained. And Lenard remarked that one of the biggest challenges for c-stores when it comes to healthy breakfast programs is “educating a very busy customer that you have great options.”

Easily Executable

Retailers are employing various marketing and merchandising tactics to promote their healthy breakfast offerings. “We advertise our breakfast combo—sandwich and a 16-ounce coffee, milk or juice for $3.49—on our trucks, website and social media,” said Kwik Trip’s Servais. Rutter’s, meanwhile, promotes two for $5 breakfast sandwiches at the pump, Krebs noted, and puts a push behind its healthy options every New Year. Kwik Chek’s Hoffmeyer reported, “We always use key freshness messages such as ‘handmade’ and ‘fresh cut,’ and put calorie-count information on our products to help educate customers.”

Lenard added that even simple messaging around packaged items—such as identifying granola bars as breakfast bars—can go a long way. DiDomenico agreed that communicating a store’s healthy breakfast options is vital to a successful program. “Get the message out, whether it’s through signage at the pump or window stickers,” he said. “Breakfast items that are fast, convenient and offer health benefits are easily executable for c-stores.”

Looking ahead, retailers see even more opportunity in satisfying demand for healthy breakfast foods via the emerging plant-based protein segment. Indeed, Rutter’s was preparing to add the JUST plant-based egg patty at press time. According to Krebs, the patty will be available in all of the chain’s egg-based dishes and will be priced on par with regular eggs. Other retailers reported that they also are adding or considering plant-based proteins. The Goods Mart in New York City plans to add the Dam Good English Muffin to its menu, along with plant-based cream cheese, owner Rachel Krupa said.

Alltown Fresh and Kwik Chek also are considering options. “We’ll be exploring chorizo crumbles and sausage patties in 2020 to meet customers’ needs for plant-based protein,” Hoffmeyer noted. The move is just the latest example of how c-stores are adapting to changing consumer dietary habits. “Overall, customers are looking for healthier options that meet dietary restrictions of higher protein, gluten free and vegan,” Hoffmeyer said, “and restaurants and c-stores will have to step up to meet those needs.”

See For Yourself

Tag along with the NACS film crew as Ideas 2 Go visits The Goods Mart in New York and Alltown Fresh in Massachusetts at www.convenience.org/Ideas2Go.