Lunch is such a popular daypart that, in some stores, it ties with or even overtakes breakfast in sales.

Many chains are thus experimenting with their menus, testing limited-time offers (LTOs) and adding new items.

For example, at Kwik Trip and Kwik Star locations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and South Dakota, lunch sales are as brisk as breakfast sales. The company currently operates more than 850 stores.

Among the most popular items are burgers, chicken sandwiches, pizza slices, chicken tenders and boneless wings, said Paul Servais, retail foodservice director for the chain.

Aside from those mainstays, the stores have a “very aggressive limited-time-offer and new-item schedule,” he noted.

“In a typical year we will do 60 to 80 LTOs (among) hot food, pizza, roller grill, bakery and hot beverage,” Servais added.

At State College, Pa.-based Nittany Oil’s MinitMart c-stores, lunch is the “strongest volume driver,” reported Nicole Masullo, director of operations for Nittany Oil.

Nittany Oil operates 28 locations, all but one with foodservice, in 11 counties in Pennsylvania.

The midday menu includes pizza, hoagies, fried chicken, hot and cold sandwiches, and wraps. A new item, the Nittany Flip, which is pizza dough folded over fillings of meats and cheeses, has extended the offerings even further.

Lunch is also “huge and constantly growing” at Cliff’s Local Market’s stores, according to Derek Thurston, director of foodservice operations for the chain. Thirteen out of the chain’s 20 locations in New York have foodservice programs.

“Lunch rushes were record breaking in the summer,” he said.

The most popular menu options are sandwiches, wraps, melts and salads, as well as pizza slices and burgers from the hot cases. LTOs, which are rotated once every quarter, tend to create excitement and sell very well, he said. He mentioned a recent promotion that offered chopped brisket three ways (“a definite home run for us”) and a beer cheese topping on cheesesteaks that doubled sales of that item.

With Nouria Energy’s New England c-stores, lunch accounts for 30% and breakfast 40% of foodservice sales, said Roland Von Gunten, director of culinary and fresh foods for Nouria. Pizza from the hot case and made-to-order and grab-and-go ham sandwiches are among the best sellers.

The company has introduced Krispy Krunchy Chicken in three locations with five more planned over the next two-and-a-half months.

Von Gunten pointed out that in addition to sandwiches and salads from the company’s Nouria’s Kitchen, the stores offer seasonal LTOs such as a Thanksgiving Sandwich with turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce for fall and winter. In summer, some of the stores offer a one-pound lobster roll.

“For the coming year, we’ll be working with our distributors to create LTOs six times a year, each one lasting two months,” he continued.

Nouria operates 170 locations in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Healthy Options

Many customers are searching for healthy options in addition to traditional c-store fare.

For customers looking for more healthful lunch items, Cliff’s has offered some creative salads made with “superfoods” and assorted fancy greens and toppings.

“I wouldn’t call these salads home runs, but they hold their own and bring in different customers, including females and people who work out,” Thurston remarked.

At MinitMart, although the stores carry wraps and salads year-round, they traditionally see an uptick in sales of these more healthful items at the beginning of the year, Masullo stated.

At Nouria, while the majority of customers “are very happy to buy sandwiches and fried chicken,” the chain has noticed that customers are looking for more healthful alternatives, and it has added salads and veggie burgers to its menu, Von Gunten pointed out.

However, healthy items do not always perform well, even when it seems like customers will prefer them.

When it comes to more healthful selections, customers have requested “all the current buzzwords and fads around eating healthy,” Kwik Trip and Kwik Star’s Servais said. “But every time we have tried to offer ‘healthy halo’ items they fail to sell.”

Foodservice Marketing

Simply having lunch menu items on offer is not enough for lunchtime foodservice success. C-stores need to reach their customers through different marketing tools to promote their items, as well.

MinitMart stores promote their lunch offerings through mediums such as the loyalty program, mobile app, online ordering, billboards, pumptoppers and outdoor signage.

Kwik Trip and Kwik Star locations also promote their lunch offerings on billboards, but the chain also utilizes the sides of its trucks, social media and bi-weekly newspaper ads to get the word out about its lunch menu.

At Cliff’s, Thurston attributed much of the stores’ lunch sales to eye-catching stop-motion digital menu boards with professional-quality food photography.

When determining the best way to feature its lunch menu items, Nouria also decided to use its loyalty app.

Additionally, it used methods such as posting on social media platforms and promoting its lunch menu on the company’s website and with in-store signage.

“The company is also planning to restart its sampling program,” Von Gunten concluded.