In 2025, there’s more strategy and planning behind limited-time offers (LTO) than ever before. And that’s with good reason. Today’s consumers are increasingly seeking different and crave-worthy options that also offer strong perceived value.
Meanwhile, operators are looking to provide food items that are appealing to customers but are also profitable and easy to execute consistently. Retailers also must keep the program simple and avoid bringing in new ingredients whenever possible as they balance cost and labor considerations.
Innovative approaches to LTOs are ranked in the graph below, which was put together from a survey completed by more than 100 chain operators. The results are eye opening.
Here are six ways to leverage LTOs for convenience store foodservice success.
1. Do more testing to ensure the LTO will maximize revenue and traffic. The approach to LTOs in the past was to throw darts and hope the consumer would go for it. LTOs were developed internally with the c-store team doing the evaluating and not the consumer. The approach today must be to innovate based on what the consumer is looking for and make it work from a cost and consistency standpoint. Products must be tested for a longer period of time to allow for adjustments or cutting before any plans are made to roll them out at all locations.
2. Leverage ingredients that are stocked. Keep it simple for team members. Within every foodservice operation there is a wide array of ingredients and recipes that can be used in other menu items. All it takes is some outside-the-box innovation to implement cross-utilization of ingredients across the menu.
In the past, there was a tendency to bring in a variety of new ingredients to develop an LTO. For the most part, this is not necessary and definitely not prudent in today’s market. Bold ingredients can be used anywhere. If a consumer is a fan of a particular product, that product can be developed to be served in a different way and quickly become a successful LTO. We have seen pizza turned into sandwiches and calzones. A great burger can be transformed into a specialty burger by adding ingredients that are currently used only at breakfast. Start by understanding what you currently stock and let the innovation flow.
3. Ensure all innovation provides value but is profitable. Value is crucial to all LTOs, but that does not necessarily mean the cheapest. Beyond that, loss leaders are a thing of the past. LTOs must be profitable, and that puts a spin on innovation. Consumers judge value in many different ways, and it’s up to the operator to try to appeal to as many of their customers as possible. Food and beverage quality and service/hospitality remain at the top of what a consumer wants from foodservice. Regardless of whether we are talking about a bundle, meal deal or innovative menu item, consumers want consistency in the product and service. Great innovation must lead to exceeding a guest’s experience expectations.
4. Innovate more on the most popular menu items. What customers are currently purchasing provides insight into where convenience store operators should build their innovation and create new and exciting LTOs. The popular menu items become the backdrop. When looking at category and menu additions, operators mentioned sandwiches, spicy options, salads, customized bowls, regional classics and wraps as their top six areas of opportunity. How do you take your most popular items and provide these six areas of opportunity to create innovative LTOs that are already familiar and popular? Bowls and wraps are very interchangeable. If you serve one, you can offer the other. Spicy appears to be easy, but it requires a lot more than adding hot sauce. Sandwiches is an incredibly popular category that is not found on all menus. Popular ingredients are there to create paninis and other tasty items that are able to travel well.
5. Ensure LTO items travel well. For the most part, the convenience foodservice consumer is on the go. Many are used to quick-service restaurant fast food that provides consistently average, at best, products that travel well. The experience is not memorable, but the end result is there. Many of today’s consumers want more than mediocre products simply for the sake of convenience. LTOs have to be well thought out before being offered to consumers. They must travel well. Retailers need to consider how the products are wrapped and the quality of packaging the items are placed in. C-store retailers should be focused on keeping hot food hot, cold food cold and having every bite meet or exceed consumer expectations.
6. Engage more with consumers and employees for LTO ideas. The key to leveraging LTOs is to make sure the products being offered are what consumers are seeking. Nobody knows more about what consumers want than the consumers themselves, followed closely by your front-line team who constantly communicate with customers and can share their preferences with the management team.
Clearly, an operator must do all the right things associated with innovation, including keeping the offering simple, easy to execute and profitable, but it is a tremendous benefit to know what your customers want before beginning the innovation process. The odds of a successful LTO increase exponentially if you beef up your engagement. The chart below clearly shows how beverage innovation is changing based on consumer preferences, and it drives new revenue and improved loyalty.
Bruce Reinstein is a partner with Kinetic12 Consulting, a Chicago-based foodservice and general management consulting firm. Learn more at Kinetic12.com or contact him at [email protected].
