Which daypart drives the most sales for a c-store often depends on the market, but innovation, promotions and offering hot-ticket items throughout the day can help retailers lift foodservice sales across breakfast, lunch and dinner. The breakfast daypart in particular offers a big opportunity for c-stores, and operators are finding ways to capitalize on this trend.

Lunch has traditionally been the hero at Kwik Stop’s c-store locations in Nebraska and Colorado. But over the past two years, the company has been achieving great success with building its breakfast business, according to M. David May, director of food service, Kwik Stop, which operates 27 locations, 13 of which offer foodservice.

“In 2020 I started to look at where we could expand and saw that we had high traffic counts in the morning as customers would get gas and come into the stores for coffee, juice and energy drinks,” May stated. “At that time, we had one breakfast burrito and three store-made sandwiches in our cold case for customers to heat up in the microwave.”

May decided that customers might prefer items that were already warm and a wider range of choices, so he bumped up the breakfast burrito offerings to three and sold them from the hot case. Between 2021 and 2022, breakfast sales jumped about 15%, he reported.

Buoyed by customer response, Kwik Stop introduced biscuits and gravy; slices of breakfast pizza; a chorizo empanada; and a sausage, egg and cheese crispito. The most recent addition to the chain’s breakfast menu is a waffle, egg and cheese sandwich.

From 2022 to 2023, the morning daypart experienced another 5% increase in sales, May revealed. For 2023, sales are on track to grow an additional 10.5%.

Before the morning initiatives, breakfast accounted for only 2-5% of the stores’ total deli sales. Now it brings in 12-13% of sales.

Breakfast items can get 65% gross profit margin (GPM) even with inflation, so “convenience stores that don’t have a strong morning daypart are losing out,” May emphasized.

To have a successful daypart-spanning foodservice program, c-store retailers should consider the program in its entirety rather than trying to assign a specific GPM on every item, he suggested. He gave the example of mozzarella sticks, a lunch item that sells at $4.99, but should cost a dollar more.

“The GPM on the mozzarella sticks is lower than it should be, but I know I won’t sell very many of them at the higher price,” he explained. “However, the higher GPMs for the morning items make up for that.”

Furthering Foodservice Expansion

At three c-stores in Minnesota operated by Montevideo Falls Cenex, daypart strength in foodservice depends on each store’s individual market area.

“At our 212 Travel Plaza breakfast is available all day, while at our Highway 7 and Granite Falls stores, midday is our strongest time,” explained Robin Enevoldsen, general manager, Montevideo Falls Cenex.\

But, she added, recently even the two lunch-centric stores are seeing a surge in breakfast sales.

“At one store we now go through four bags of wings and nine whole pizzas before 9 a.m.,” she pointed out.

To meet the breakfast demand, the stores put all their food offerings out in the warmer for customers to grab and go first thing in the morning. Hunt Brothers Pizza is an integral part of all three stores’ foodservice programs.

“Customers buy the pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Enevoldsen noted. “Retailers shouldn’t be afraid to try something different; for example, giving customers chicken wings and strips for breakfast if they want them.”

She stated that the stores are constantly exploring different marketing strategies such as coupons and other incentives.

Distinctive Offerings

At Dandy Mini Mart, which operates 65 c-stores — 60 with foodservice — in Pennsylvania and New York, the entire menu, including breakfast items, is available all day. The hot case is always stocked with pizza, the stores’ No. 1 selling food item, and grab-and-go sandwiches, said James Fry, Dandy’s foodservice director.

“Lunch is still the strongest daypart, but breakfast does well too because we offer fresh food at good value,” Fry noted.

To help continue to build morning sales, Dandy offers promotions such as two-for-$5 sandwiches and breakfast sandwich with coffee value bundles. Fry added that the dinner daypart is fueled by purchases of whole pizzas.

Innovative spins on popular items keep Dandy’s food offerings distinctive and “outside the box,” he said. Pizza toppings, for example, include four cheese, ultimate garlic and pickle.

Limited-time offers, such as a recent barbecue brisket topping, can earn spots on the permanent menu if they become customer favorites.