Didn’t make it to Las Vegas for the NACS show? Here’s a sampling of highlights from the show floor: Robbie Mfg. (www.robbiemfg.com) provides “grab and go” packaging for hot and cold foodservice items. 7-Eleven is using Robbie-made pouches in a market test of buffalo wings in Northeast division stores…

CSD hears that Radiant Systems (www.radiantsystems.com) is on a roll, installing its food ordering kiosks at Home Depot prototype c-stores (coming soon to the Nashville market!) as well as in Mapco Express’s new concept stores…

CSD could not resist trying the new Cinnabon CinnaPretzels from J&J Snack Foods (www.jjsnackfoodservice.com

). Pretty sure your customers are gonna love ’em, too…

Few companies had more going on at the NACS show than Coinstar (www.coinstar.com). This company has gone way beyond the coin machines you see at the grocery store. It now offers a “gift card mall” concept that can help retailers get their share of this fast-growing market. Coinstar machines also allow retailers to sell gift cards (including their own), dispense payroll cards, cash cards, gift cards, and other products. Coinstar also announced during the NACS show that it has invested $20 million for a 47% share of Redbox, the McDonald’s venture that has placed some 800 self-serve DVD rental machines at restaurants and supermarkets. In just five months, Redbox has rented over 3 million DVDs…

Several retailers told us they were impressed with the Icex Ice Island System (www.upwt.com), a self-contained delivery platform for in-store ice production, bagging and merchandising of packaged ice products—all without significant involvement from store personnel. This unit can be a big labor-saver for convenience stores, and could contribute significant gross profit dollars as prices rise for DSD packaged ice…

Telxon has been the industry standard for portable order entry terminals for the better part of two decades. But now these workhorse terminals, used extensively by both retailers and wholesalers, are beginning to wear out or break down, and parts and service are increasingly hard to come by. If you’re looking for a low-cost replacement for your aging Telxon units, look no further than Cipher Lab (www.cipherlab.com), which offers a full line of low-cost hand-held “plug and play” terminals that can interface with your current software without expensive reprogramming.

NACS also upgraded its Cool New Product preview room for the 2005 show, making it easy for retailers to find the hottest new products on the show floor. In case you missed it, here is a list of the 10 items that were most frequently scanned by retailers at the show, along with email or web site links to additional information about each product:

10 Cinnabon CinnaPretzel, J&J Snack Foods [email protected]
9 Tide to Go Stain Pen, Procter & Gamble difalco.[email protected]
8 Dreyer’s DIBS Ice Cream Treats, Nestle nancy.[email protected]
7 License Plate Recognition, i3DVR International [email protected]
6 Hot beverage line, S&D Coffee [email protected]
5 DVmatic automated movie rental kiosk, ELO Media [email protected]
4 Wet Willys Edible Cocktails, Impact Distribution [email protected]
3 Flavor Fusion, IMI Cornelius www.cornelius.com
2 QL-650 TD PC Label Printer, Brother International www.brother.com
1 Bistro to Go Bowl Salads, Ready Pac [email protected]eadypac.net

Want to catch up on everything you missed at the 2005 NACS Show in Las Vegas? CSD Editors will share their insights and highlights from the seminars and show floor with a special FREE NACS Post-Show webcast on Wednesday, December 14 at 2 p.m. EST. If you were not able to attend the NACS show this year–or even if you did–this special webcast event can help you catch up on some of the information, ideas and new products you might have missed. See the “Upcoming Events” section of this newsletter for more information and registration.