Anne Baye Ericksen

When potential profit margins for frozen dispensed beverages (FDBs) exceed 20% on top of what fountain drinks produce, it’s no wonder more than 80% of convenience stores worldwide have installed equipment to pour out slushies, shakes and blended iced coffees. A favorable return on investment, however, depends on taking all equipment choices and decisions into…

From slushies to smoothies and shakes to blended iced coffees, there’s a favorite frozen dispensed beverage (FDB) for everyone. But not everyone wants to deal with the hassle and mess of making them at home. That’s where convenience stores have an advantage. Customers pop in to indulge without ever breaking out a blender. However, c-stores…

Be it summer or winter, people like to indulge in frozen blended drinks all year long. Indeed, research reveals that, prior to the pandemic, nearly one-third of consumers surveyed said they were buying more slushies, shakes and blended iced coffees than in previous years. That’s very encouraging data for convenience stores, especially considering additional research…

There’s a new type of tobacco customer shopping at convenience stores — one who is more willing to cross over between product families. For example, category managers report smokeless tobacco users now like to mix in oral nicotine products, especially pouches. “The growth in oral tobacco-derived nicotine appears to be coming from multiple categories, which…

Happy hour has always rolled around at the end of the work day, ranging from 4 p.m. to early evening. It’s when bars and pubs catch people as they transition from professional to personal time. The question is, are these the happiest hours for convenience stores to sell adult beverages, too? Each state, and in…

First came hard lemonades. Then beverage manufacturers added alcohol to seltzers, and now the fermented malt beverages (FMBs), or hard seltzers, segment of the alcohol category is bubbling over, both in sales and flavor selection. The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) State of the Industry Report of 2020 revealed the FMB subcategory grew 70%…

When it comes to beer purchase patterns, one size does not fit all. Convenience store customers may grab a six pack or case to go, but they’re just as likely to reach for a single serving — typically available in 16, 24 or 40 ounces. In fact, there are many reasons why category managers should…

Tobacco category managers have gotten used to recalculating vape and e-cigarette planograms with each new regulation issued, be it city ordinance or federal mandate. Now, the other tobacco product (OTP) segment could undergo yet another makeover when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) releases its decisions on pre-market tobacco applications (PMTAs). More than 6 million…

For generations, cigarettes benefited from the textbook definition of brand loyalty. Smokers rarely switched from one brand to another once they landed on a product they preferred. The smokeless tobacco segment also enjoyed a similar level of customer consistency. What’s more, smokers and smokeless tobacco users traditionally represented two distinct customer demographics. Although brand loyalty…

Every year, the tobacco category gets hit with some kind of twist that convenience store owners and operators must accommodate. Five years ago, it was the deeming rule from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that lumped electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and other tobacco products (OTPs) in with cigarettes. At the end of 2019,…