Marilyn Odesser-Torpey

For Americans, anytime is crunch time and salty snacks are the preferred craving crusher whether by the bagful, as an accompaniment to a lunchtime sandwich or by the bowlful while watching the big game on television. To increase sales in this category, convenience stores should position themselves as “salty snack central,” where shoppers can be…

Around this time last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, c-store retailers found themselves scrambling to implement changes to keep dispensed beverage sales flowing, despite local lockdown orders. Now, many locations are again making adjustments as rules and regulations ease. Pilot Flying J stores temporarily modified their self-serve stations into crew-served ones to satisfy state…

Beef jerky (or ch’arki as it was first called) can trace its history as far back as the 1500s when the Quechua, part of the Incan Empire in South America, began preserving meat by drying it at low temperatures to prevent it from spoiling. Today, Americans still count on dried meat with its portability and…

America’s sweet tooth is alive and well. Garnering close to $2 billion in annual sales in the c-store channel, the sweet snack category is a diverse one. It encompasses granola and snack bars (for example, Luna, KIND, Larabar and Clif), snack cakes and prepackaged pastries, cookies, mini doughnuts and mini muffins. Some sweet snack products,…

Whether as a meal replacement or a protein-packed pick-me-up, jerky continues to entice customers as category innovation abounds. Convenience stores that focus attention on this category can become shopping destinations for meat snack lovers. While most people are familiar with the beef jerky stick, meat snacks also come in strips, bites and steaks made from…

Next to baseball, snacking is the Great American Pastime. Cravings for something crunchy and salty can strike any time of day or night. Research has also shown that consumers, especially younger ones, frequently skip at least one of the traditional, daily three-square meals, choosing instead to tame their hunger pangs with snacks. For both reasons,…

When the COVID-19 virus first reared its ugly head in the U.S., reducing the number of places customers had to touch became job No. 1 for convenience store retailers. And, for many of them, that meant changing the way they dispensed self-serve coffee. To make matters more challenging, requirements often varied by location. One state…

From hard seltzer and craft beer to kombucha and ready-to-drink (RTD) cold-brew coffee, the c-store packaged beverage category has seen some stellar sales lifts in 2020. The RTD cappuccino and iced coffee segment was up 3.5% at convenience stores for the 52 weeks ending Oct. 4, 2020, according to Market Advantage TSV; IRI Liquid Data.…

America’s Hispanic population, the largest minority cultural group in the U.S., is expected to grow from over 60 million to 70 million by 2022, with a buying power that is projected to increase by an additional $400 million by 2023 from its 2018 total of $1.5 trillion, according to Jorge Martinez-Bonilla, vice president of the…

At a time when it seems that every day brings new guidelines and restrictions on restaurants due to the COVID-19 pandemic, savvy convenience store operators are positioning their foodservice as a safe and reliable source of fresh, delicious and convenient meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. “While some guests will gravitate toward grab and go,…