Convenience retailers are launching new food products regularly as the industry continues to seek ways to compete with QSRs. Week by week, c-store operators seem to debut fresh takes on sandwiches, fried proteins, desserts and more.
Here are some notable c-store food and beverage launches from the past month.
Tri Star and Jiffy Trip take on meal deals
Value meals have increasingly become a linchpin for convenience retailers looking to boost their foodservice programs. Over the past couple of years, chains such as Circle K, EG America, Wawa and GPM Investments have launched meals at around $5, sometimes less.
That trend continued with Tri Star Energy launching a $5 meal deal at its 170 Twice Daily, Little General and Sudden Service convenience stores in March. It includes any breakfast sandwich, eight tater rounds and a medium coffee or fountain drink and is available until June 23 for guests who order in-store and digitally.
Meanwhile, Jiffy Trip, which has 30 c-stores across Oklahoma and Arkansas, launched $3, $4 and $5 meal options at participating locations. The $3 meal includes a sausage biscuit with any size fountain drink. The $4 deal includes two roller grill Crispitos, a bag of chips and any size fountain drink; and the $5 option includes popcorn chicken, a bag of chips and any size fountain drink.
RaceTrac’s new frozen yogurt flavor
RaceTrac partnered with Jamba Juice to launch the new Strawberry Wave Swirl World frozen yogurt flavor, which features a blend of strawberry and pink lemonade. The concoction is available at participating RaceTrac locations until July 1.
RaceTrac’s Swirl World frozen yogurt stations offer a pay-one-price model, letting customers snag unlimited toppings for no added cost. Toppings vary by store and can include crushed graham crackers, chocolate chips, gummy bears and more.
Dandy goes all-in on chicken
Dandy Mini Marts, a convenience retailer operating more than 60 locations in New York and northern Pennsylvania, added new chicken items to its menu, including spicy and Southern-style chicken sandwiches as well as popcorn chicken, which is served with honey mustard barbecue sauce and Sriracha mayo.
Dandy added mobile ordering last year. Besides the new specials, its menu includes pizza, subs, salads, wraps, hot and cold drinks, snacks and grocery items.
Spinx’s Legendary chicken nuggets
Spinx, which operates more than 90 c-stores across the Carolinas, launched its new Legendary chicken nuggets as well as a new dipping sauce. Both are available at all locations where fried chicken is served, including the company’s new Spinx Market & Eatery in Greenville, South Carolina.
The nuggets come in four-, eight-, 12- and 20-piece options. The sauce was developed alongside Duke’s Mayonnaise and features notes of ketchup, Worcestershire and black pepper, finished with hints of garlic.
Royal Farms is about salads
East Coast convenience retailer Royal Farms added three items to its food menu, all of which are available at participating locations for a limited time. The menu items include the crunchy chicken salad, loaded baby cake hash browns and tuna salad croissants.
Alongside these specials, Royal Farms is now letting customers pay for salads, sides and deli meats by weight, which allows them to purchase their exact desired amount of food.
Wawa dill pickle ranch sauce and crispy pickle toppings
Wawa debuted several new limited-time prices on popular items as part of its new “Cravings Made Easy” campaign, including snack wraps, soups, meatball subs, burritos, quesadillas and fruit smoothies. As part of this campaign, the chain also introduced its new dill pickle ranch sauce and crisply pickle toppings.
Refuel grab and go menu
Southern convenience retailer Refuel Operating Company is rolling out a brand-new grab-and-go food program, EATS, which features breakfast croissants; bologna, egg and cheese sandwiches; spicy chicken sandwiches; cheeseburgers; kolaches; and mac and cheese bites.
Ashley Todd, store development manager at Refuel, said in a LinkedIn post last week that the EATS program debuted at Refuel c-stores in Summerville, Myrtle Beach and Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Stewart’s dairy overload
Stewart’s Shops, which has over 350 c-stores across New York and Vermont, debuted several new dairy items, including ice cream flavors like strawberry shortcake, dirt cake and a relaunch of its Star Glazer flavor, which features malt chocolate ice cream with caramel swirls and chocolate caramel cups.
The chain also launched two milkshakes in a black raspberry and birthday cake flavors, in addition to several other seasonal shakes. For those with a lower lactose tolerance, it also introduced the mountain melt breakfast sandwich, with Canadian bacon and cheese on a croissant.
Rutter’s new items
Pennsylvania c-store retailer Rutter’s added three items to its rotating menu across its roughly 90 locations. Those include a fish sub, available for $8.99; shrimp BLT, available for $7.99; and a Chesapeake crab mac and cheese wrap, available for $9.99.
Rutter’s launched its rotating menu in early 2023. Items are available for a limited time and are shuffled throughout the year.
Alltown Fresh lunch power bowl
Massachusetts retailer Alltown Fresh launched a lunch power bowl, which features Shabazi-seasoned chicken, cucumber-chickpea salad and farro on a bed of Little Leaf greens and baby kale.
The lunch item came on the heels of Alltown Fresh’s breakfast power bowl, which launched in January. That breakfast item featured scrambled cage-free eggs, farro with marinated roasted red peppers and chickpeas, topped with Little Leaf greens and avocado.
