Burgers, brats and sausages may be traditional convenience store foodservice items, but that doesn’t mean they have to play second fiddle to fancier fare. Retailers tell how they have turned what could be ‘been there, ate that’ foods into meals customers return for again and again.
Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Associate Editor
Americans eat more than 13 billion burgers each year, according to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Nearly half (48%) of consumers eat a burger at least twice a week.
In a convenience store study published in July 2016, Datassential research firm found that 64% of respondents were interested in purchasing burgers from c-stores. When Datassential did the same study in 2012, that number was 56%, said Brian Darr, the firm’s managing director.
A study just on burgers conducted by Datassential in early 2016 showed that consumers respond to appetizing menu descriptors such as “Angus beef” or “100% ground beef.” Darr suggested that even using a popular brand of fresh bun or applying a descriptor such as “baked in house” can also bolster burger sales.
BURGER APPEAL
At Y-Not Stop stores in central Louisiana, customers know they won’t be getting any old burger. The Y-Notta Burger, made in the stores every day from never-frozen certified Angus ground chuck with a family secret seasoning blend, has helped to make the stores a mealtime destination.
Last year, Y-Not Stop sold around 85,000 Y-Notta Burgers across nine of its stores, said Zachary St. Romain, chief operation officer for St. Romain Oil Co. The burgers are available in four- and eight-ounce sizes. The eight-ounce outsells the four-ounce by a ratio of 7:5. All of the signature burgers are char-grilled over an open flame.
“The burgers are the same as those we love to cook at home,” St. Romain pointed out. “We made many batches of the seasoning blend and made many adjustments before we settled on the recipe we currently use.”
Y-Not Stop currently operates a total of 10 stores. One, in Marksville, La., does not yet sell burgers, but is set to do so after it is razed and rebuilt in the future. Two additional stores are also set to open in 2018.
In addition to its company-operated stores, two licensed Y-Not Stop locations opened this year. While these stores are individually owned and operated, they feature the Y-Notta Burger and other proprietary company recipes.
Customers build their own burger creations at kiosks in the stores. Standard condiments include lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup. Bread choices are toast or a white or wheat bun.
About 90% of customers add another topping, mostly cheese which costs an extra 50 cents. Customers can also top their burgers with bacon, guacamole, ham or turkey or a fried egg for $1. Additional “premium” toppings—grilled or fried onions, sautéed mushrooms, jalapeños, BBQ sauce, ranch, honey mustard, sweet and sour and a local favorite Wow Wee and Spicy Wow Wee sauces—cost 35 cents each. St. Romain said that approximately 60% of customers choose more than one extra topping.
With the purchase of a burger, customers can add a small side of potato wedges, fries, Cajun fries or shredded hash browns, usually priced at $1.49 or $1.20. St. Romain said that about 80% of burger buyers choose this option.
For an extra cost of between 35 cents to $1, customers can top their small-size side with anything from grilled or raw onions to bacon or shredded cheese to nacho cheese or chili.
We’ve been offering this for only about a year and, so far, between 5-10% of customers are choosing to top their sides,” he explained. “We had all of the ingredients already so there was no cost of entry. That means every order that has extra toppings is an incremental sale.”
Product In PA
Burgers are also big sellers—second only to chicken—at Nittany Oil Co.’s 25 Nittany MinitMart stores, located in western Pennsylvania.
“They’re not little one-quarter pound burgers; they are about one-third pound pub steak burgers,” said Angela Gearhart, the MinitMart’s foodservice category manager. “People really like that they get a good-size, high-quality burger.”
The store offers burgers, cheeseburgers and bacon cheeseburgers made to order or ready for grab and go. Gearhart explained that made to order is the more popular option.
“Customers also like that they can watch their burgers being cooked in the stores’ kitchens,” she said.
For grab-and-go burgers the stores set out a variety of condiment packets.
Burgers also bring lots of incremental sales, Gearhart noted. About half of the customers who purchase a burger also buy at least one side such as fries, breaded provolone sticks, onion rings or battered mushrooms. Staffers are trained to suggest the purchase of a side to burger buyers.
While not all stores can support a cooked-on-site program for burgers and use a heat-and-serve product, they can increase the appeal of the product by putting it on a fresh bun, said Nancy Caldarola, general manager of The Food Training Group, a profit improvement consulting company.
BRAT BUSINESS
C-stores can also score big sales on brats and sausages, two other American favorites. A report published last year for The National Hot Dog & Sausage Council revealed that nearly nine in 10 Americans (89%) said they enjoy sausage. In Datassential’s convenience store report, 48% of consumers surveyed said they were interested in purchasing “sausages in buns” (bratwurst, polish sausage, etc.), up 11% from 2012.
At Milwaukee-based Jetz Convenience Centers, the JetzGrill roller grill brats and Italian sausage are major draws from morning until night.
“In Wisconsin, brats are a prized commodity,” said Robert O’Connor, the four-store company’s president. “Even the major national fast feeder chains in this area include this local staple on their menus.”
All of that competition for this brisk brat business means stores have to work hard to stand out.
“In addition to always having the basics, we are constantly rotating different varieties in and out on the grill to keep things interesting,” said O’Connor. “We promote these new varieties as limited time offers and if they sell we give them a permanent place on the grill.”
The stores also rotate condiments on their bars.
“When our wholesaler brings us something new, we put it out there for our customers to try,” said O’Connor. “All together we feature 12 different condiments at any given time.”
O’Connor recommended keeping a close eye on the toppings bar to make sure that you know what your customers are using.
Caldarola suggested that retailers can easily turn their brats and sausages into more substantial and appealing offerings by marketing them with caramelized onions, peppers and, perhaps, cheese sauce. Stores in suburban areas can also increase their sales by featuring some of the many gourmet varieties like chicken-apple sausages or beer brats that are available from suppliers, she said.
To add more value to brats and sausage purchases, the Jetz stores always offer a special deal. That deal is either a bundle with chips and soda or a multi-buy offering a second or third brat or sausage at a discounted price.
“Having a good brat and sausage program can also help c-store retailers sell more beer,” said Caldarola.