Press Releases

The self-serve Fresh Blender machine lets customers order through a touchscreen menu. LA CROSSE, Wis. — Whether it’s building a test kitchen to increase its ability to innovate or teaming up with the Partnership for a Healthier America to expand the number of healthy options available to its customers, convenience store chain Kwik Trip Inc. has been working to improve its food and beverage offerings for years now. One of its latest initiatives, the Fresh Blends smoothie program, was prompted not by focus group testing or executive brainstorming, but rather by a weeknight trip to a Target store in the middle of winter“I’m watching people go to Starbucks and get smoothies and frappes when it’s that cold outside in Wisconsin,” recalled Paul Servais, retail foodservice director at Kwik Trip. “I’m thinking this is for real — we’ve got to do something with this.” However, being inspired by what he saw…

Traditionally, convenience stores have filled the definition of “convenience” by location mostly. The channel is known for its prime locations, around-the-clock service and small store size. While location is still important among convenience store shoppers, the word “convenience” has evolved to now evoke multiple store- and experience-related attributes, according to the findings of the 2019 Convenience Store News Realities of the Aisle consumer study. For a majority of shoppers, it boils down to a convenient experience. When asked what defines convenience, 44 percent of shoppers polled cited quick/quick visit and 13 percent said a store is convenient if it is close, close to home or close to work. Convenience also means “easy.” Specifically, 22 percent of those surveyed defined convenience as easy, 13 percent defined it as easy to get in and out, and 7 percent defined it as easy access. What a store has to offer is important, too,…

Guzman y Gomez is one of the companies that have signed up to Wing’s drone delivery service. Alphabet spin-off Wing is finally beginning drone delivery services in north Canberra, after addressing public concerns about noise made during earlier trials. Drone delivery starts at the end of the week and will be available initially to only 100 eligible homes in the suburbs of Crace, Palmerston and Franklin as part of Wing’s Early Flyer program. “We expect to gradually expand to more customers in Harrison and Gungahlin in the coming weeks and months,” the Google associated company says in a statement. Wing says customers can order fresh food, hot coffee or over-the-counter chemist items. They can order their goods using Wing’s mobile app, and have them delivered directly to their homes by drone in minutes. Wing has set up an “early flyers” scheme where customers get access to invite-only events and experiences.…

In today’s evolving convenience store landscape, operators know that adaptation and cohesion play important roles in longevity and growth. Nouria Energy Corp.’s new retail brand — nouria — is proof of this ideology, as it represents a strategic repositioning for the company. “We knew that our brand stands for more than fuel, but that our focus had been fragmented across many different brands, with each location named either after the town it operated in or with a generic name,” said Joe Hamza, chief operating officer for retail and marketing. “We wanted to create a brand cohesion that would help customers know what to expect when entering one of our nouria locations.” Worchester, Mass.-based Nouria Energy owns 137 convenience stores in five New England states, 116 of which are company-operated and 21 of which are operated by commission and leased dealers. The company also owns and operates 47 car washes under…

No workers should have to put up with being attacked when doing their job. Police and governments need to take a far tougher stance against those who attack vulnerable workers who are working all hours to serve their communities. Store worker, 28, was badly injured while defending his parents’ businessHe bravely beat his attacker with a baseball bat before his arm was badly brokenOffender forced him to open till with broken arm before fleeing with moneyPolice have not yet made any arrests and have called for public assistance A convenience store worker who bravely defended his parents’ business has been rushed to hospital with a badly broken arm after a violent robbery on Saturday night.Shocking video footage shows the violence of the attack on the family-run store in the northeastern Brisbane suburb of Margate on Saturday night.The attacker casually entered the Oxley Avenue store just after 8.30pm armed with a tyre…

Former Business Council of Australia president Tony Shepherd dismissed Labor’s plan, saying the cost and energy requirements involved in making electric vehicles domestically were prohibitively high. Picture: Sam Ruttyn Bill Shorten’s plan to revive carmaking in Australia through electric vehicles has been attacked by captains of industry who say the nation’s high manufacturing and energy costs have made the industry unviable. Other elements of Labor’s plan to reduce carbon emissions came under fire as trade-exposed industries said the opposition was poised to hand rival metal producers in China and the Middle East a competitive advantage. As part of Labor’s revised policy, Mr Shorten this week unveiled a suite of measures to boost electric ­vehicle uptake from its current low base of 0.2 per cent of new car sales to 50 per cent by 2030, saying the country could sustain an electric car manufacturing industry. “It’s about time that this country…