"THE FOUR CS TO SUCCESS WITH FRESH;"
PACIFIC OIL CONFERENCE
GRAND SIERRA RESORT, RENO, NEVADA, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

There is a big push to be healthier and to eat healthier in the United States. People are looking for fresh choices. Sometimes they're eating healthier just because everyone is pressuring them to do it.

There are customers — some of your customers — who would like to have more fresh options available in your stores. Fresh is a high growth category in your stores.

Fresh brings in incremental sales — people won't just buy a sandwich. They'll buy the chips, the candy, the soda to go with it.

If you're going to go fresh, the first things that come to mind are spoilage and write-off. There is a cost of doing business in fresh. You have to be committed and you have to commit resources including time, money, and staff. Top level management must be fully engaged. You may need to invest in equipment, maybe additional staff members, and training.

Fresh can range from carrying apples and bananas to a full program. What are you looking to do?

You want to create a destination stop for a customer coming into your store and buying fresh. Your message needs to be that you are a destination stop. You need to have consistency in your food, its quality, its presentation. Customers have certain expectations. I expect you to have good looking bananas and I want good looking apples. If you don't, I know you're not serious or that you're not looking for my repeat business.

Cleanliness is extremely important. A store can be old and very, very clean. A store can be new and very, very dirty. When you walk in the door, you can see it. The retail sales floor, the kitchen and the back room have to be clean. But the bathroom has to be clean, too.

Fresh can be anything from apples and bananas to smoothies, yogurts, wraps, cheeses, sandwiches, ready-to-eat salads.

Determine who your consumer is in your area. What does the consumer want? They want variety. They want offerings for all day-parts. Not everybody works Monday through Friday or from 8:00 to 5:00. What are you offering throughout the day and night?

Go out into your market and see who is carrying fresh. See what their prices are. Consider all classes of trade, not just the convenience store offering. If you go into Wal-Mart now, when you walk in the door there are fresh food sandwiches and salads. They'll even pre-package a lunch for you with a sandwich, chips, and a cookie in the bag.

Where are you putting fresh food? Can you see it when you first walk in the store? Is it positioned to be a destination or an impulse item?

What are you doing to ensure your staff is executing the program? Workers need to be motivated. How are you motivating yours? Are you offering bonuses? Running contests? Is there pride in ownership? Maybe you have employees who would enjoy the responsibility of running a fresh program.