Whether proprietary or partnered with a co-brand, deli programs are playing a major role in making convenience stores top-of-mind fresh-food destinations.

Englefield Oil’s Duchess convenience stores, with 120 locations throughout Ohio and West Virginia, have been seeing double-digit growth in their deli sales, according to Nathan Arnold, the chain’s director of marketing.

“Focusing in on our core items to ensure quality and consistency has been the key,” he explained. “Then introducing one or two new items at a time for limited-time offers drives trial.”

Duchess’ proprietary program, simply called The Deli, offers a wide range of freshly made foods covering all meals and snacks. Arnold pointed out that the company chose the proprietary route because it offers the chain “maximum flexibility.”

“It gives us an opportunity to try new products, keep up with customer requests and promote alongside our own proprietary coffee, fountain, chips, snacks and other products,” he explained. “Throughout our marketing area we, of course, see some consistencies in customer trends, but our proprietary program allows us to hyper focus on product availability that our customers crave.”

Most of the Duchess stores have delis and, depending on store size, they feature the full food program or smaller offerings, Arnold commented. As the company continues to raze and rebuild stores, they are introducing more communities to the expanded deli program.

Boise, Idaho-based Stinker Stores has also seen success with its proprietary deli program.

For the past three years, Stinker’s foodservice has experienced 30% increases in its sales, reported Billy Colemire, leader of the chain’s category manager team. Stinker operates 110 locations across Idaho, Colorado and Wyoming.

Colemire attributed much of that growth to its proprietary Pete’s Deli.

“With proprietary programs the reward (and risk) seemed far greater,” he noted. “Although there are many successful branded food programs across the industry, choosing to go proprietary gave us more control from the start, and we feel that it enables us to create meaningful food and beverage destinations in each market we operate in.”

He stated that the proprietary concept enables Stinker to market, promote, innovate and change based on its own needs, wants and schedule. It also allows the company “to move quickly and jump on trends while they are still in the adoption or proliferation cycle of the menu adoption cycle.”

All but 10 of the Stinker Stores sites feature one of three Pete’s Eats concepts. They vary from a full program with an open kitchen and large menu to a Pete’s Eats Express with 60% of the full menu, most with open kitchens, to a Commissary Pete’s Eats Express for stores with space constraints. For the latter, the company works through a local commissary to get fresh products delivered a few times a week.

The Co-Brand Advantage

While being nimble is a big pro when it comes to proprietary deli, co-branding also has its advantages, Colemire said.

“With our own program the buck, with all our successes and failures, stops with us,” he explained. “Branded programs are also usually very recognizable and resonate with a large swath of customers.”

Operating a proprietary deli rather than a co-branded one also requires more effort to source the quality ingredients, paper products and containers, sauces and more to make and serve deli items, Arnold noted. A co-brand takes on these responsibilities and handles supply chain issues that might arise.

“Branded delis also provide recipes for the products on the menu, which can be beneficial if you do not have a foodservice team that can develop new products, use focus groups and other testing methods, and create mandatory things like nutrition facts and ingredient statements,” he said.

Whichever type of program you choose, make sure your staff is completely on board, Colemire recommended.

“The best designed programs often fail because employee and company buy-in isn’t there,” he said. “Finding some key influencers within the organization and community is integral to growing momentum and excitement.”