7-Eleven convenience stores are best known for Big Gulps, Slurpees, and nachos.  7-Eleven is now revamping its strategy to appeal to more health-oriented customers.  Over the past year, 7-Eleven has begun offering a line of fresh foods like yogurt parfaits, crudité, and lean turkey sandwiches. By 2015, the retailer hopes to have 20% of sales come from fresh foods in its North American stores.  7-Eleven’s strategy is to become a food and beverage company that appeals to consumers’ healthier needs.

Convenience stores are historically more nimble than traditional retailers.  In the 1980’s convenience stores added Pac-Man arcade games in order to keep customers in stores longer.  Convenience stores installed A.T.M.’s and collected transaction fees to increase revenue.

Convenience stores are facing some current challenges like increased competition from quick service chains like Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks.  In addition, the sale of cigarettes has decreased.  Cigarettes used to be a major profit driver for convenience stores.  Convenience stores are banking on fresh foods to recover some of their losses, as fresh foods are a fast-growing category.

In order to create the best line up of fresh food offerings, 7-Eleven has hired culinary and food science experts to study the industry and create a portfolio of fresh food products.  7-Eleven hopes to offer items like the Bistro Snack Protein Pack which includes pita rounds, cheddar cheese, grapes, celery carrots and hummus.  The retailers is also retooling existing products like jelly doughnuts and tacos to mini sized portions.  Products are also tailored to geographical locations.  For example, a 7-Eleven in Miami might offer customers a hot Cuban sandwich and Northeastern 7-Eleven’s offer customers the Turkey Gobbler during the holidays.  7-Eleven also recognizes that some customers want healthier options, while some customers are excited about less healthy options.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why is 7-Eleven offering healthier food options?

2. How is 7-Eleven going about developing these new products?

3. Have you tried the new healthier options?

 

SOURCE: Stephanie Strom, New York Times, December 24, 2012