State Tax Grab During 2009, cigarette tax increases were defeated in 19 states and passed into law in 12 states. States where cigarette tax increases were not enacted include: STATE Failed TAX Increase in 2009 Alabama 32.5 cents per pack Connecticut 50 cents per pack Georgia $1 per pack Kansas 95 cents per pack over…
Rolling Right Along
Turning a Profit The times have changed. Just as c-store foodservice evolved to meet the needs of fresh, fast and friendly service, so have the items that star on the roller grill. “Gone are the days of the shriveled hot dog, whose origins and expiration date are unknown,” said Tim Powell, the c-store foodservice program…
Smokeless Stays Strong
With many states passing smoking bans, more customers are turning to smokeless tobacco, and the sales figures from 2009 bear that out. According to Information Resources Inc., for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 27, 2009 total dollar sales for other tobacco products was $6.07 billion, up 14.6% from last year. Unit sales totaled 2.40 billion,…
Perfecting Pizza
THE POWER OF PIZZA $38 Billion Estimated total annual sales in pizza restaurants. 70,000 Number of pizza restaurants across the country. $19.6 Billion Total revenue accounted for by the top four pizza chains (Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Papa John’s, Little Caesars) Source: National Association of Pizzeria Operators To do well in 2010 with pizza, convenience store…
RYO Rolls Into 2010
RYO Pounds Sold Per Year Roll your own (RYO) cigarettes is a growing trend. Sales have climbed during the past five years, yet took a dive in 2009 as customers started using pipe tobacco to roll cigarettes as a result of increased taxes. On the other hand, customers used 10.6 million pounds of pipe tobacco…
Flexibility Fuels Chicken
TOP FIVE U.S. Chicken producers Average Weekly Production (in million pounds) Market Share % Pilgrim’s Pride 146 20.30% Tyson Foods 144 20.00% Perdue Farms 55 7.60% Sanderson Farms 42 5.80% Wayne Farms 34 4.70% Investing in foodservice is a big step for any c-store chain, but if it’s done right, the…
Core Brands Drive Candy
The confectionery retail market grew across all trade channels in 2009, but supermarkets, dollar stores and warehouse clubs outpaced the overall retail market in 2009, according to the National Confectioners Association (NCA). NCA also noted c-stores brought in $4.6 billion in dollar sales in 2009, up 3%. Seasonal confectionary sales were up 1.2% in 2009…
Driving Prepared Food Sales
Inside the Numbers: Rutter’s FARM Stores 200+ Number of prepared food combinations available at any given time. 6 New prepared food items added to Rutter’s menu in February 2010. 5 Prepared food items dropped from Rutter’s menu in February 2010. 20% Store sales from prepared foods in the 37 Rutter’s locations equipped with order kiosks.…
Customer Surge in Snacking
The dried meat snacks category overall (including jerky) celebrated a healthy 2009 ringing up more $872.48 million in total dollar sales, up about 1% compared to 2008. Unit sales, however, slipped 3% to 424.43 million for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 27, 2009, according to Information Resources (IRI) . Breaking down the category by segment,…
Capitalizing on Coffee
Opportunity for Growth 54% of the overall adult population drank coffee beverages daily in 2009. Coffee preparation at home is up five percentage points, with 83% of past-day coffee drinkers reporting that they made coffee at home the day before. 80% of coffee drinkers are doing nothing different despite the economic downturn. 17% are visiting…