THE IRISH RULE THE FOODVENIENCE GAME

Irish convenience and fuel operators are globally recognised for their excellent foodservice standards. Local players continuously invest and innovate in a market that shows retailers around the world the best of customer service and fresh food.

The idea of having a freshly made salad for lunch in the same premise where you fuel up your vehicle was unthinkable not that long ago, and still is in some markets. It was brands from the United States like Sheetz, Wawa and QuikTrip that revolutionised the gas station industry. Foodservice has become increasingly important and one of the biggest shares of revenue for any c-store business. The decline in fuel sales in developed markets, stricter environmental regulations and the incoming EV revolution has only made foodvenience more essential to the survival of road retail operators.

Although profit levels of U.S. stores remain high compared to other markets, the attention of the world has turned to a small island in the Atlantic. Irish convenience store operators haven taken home four of the last five European Convenience Retailer of the Year awards – the most recent just weeks ago by Daybreak Portumna at the NACS European Convenience Summit in Dublin. Retailers such Applegreen, the Maxol Group, Circle K, Daybreak and Certas have become synonymous with excellent customer service, convenience and fresh food.

“Now it’s the U.S. retailers than come to Ireland to see new ideas. Ireland has been one of the leaders for years now. What sets the Irish apart is the concept of ‘fresh’. They make things fresher than anyone else. For decades now, the Irish consumer has gotten used to buying their breakfast and lunch at a gas station. That is what has to be overcome in other markets, the association with fuels. Everybody expects to find good food in a roadside retail station in Ireland,” explains Dan Mumford, CEO of Insight Research & Global Convenience Store Focus, who coined the term foodvenience a decade ago.

Daybreak Portumna, the winner of this year’s European Convenience Retailer of the Year award, has a strong food offer freshly prepared onsite daily. The store’s Munch & Co brand is a twist on the traditional Irish deli, featuring classic dishes enhanced with high-quality ingredients and unique flavours, including gourmet sandwiches and wraps, penne pasta pots and salad bowls. The store also features exclusive coffee (9 Grams) and ice cream (LicketySplit) brands that are characterised by extensive options and a visually attractive concept.

Retail chain Daybreak recently announced an €8.2 million investment to open 37 new stores in Ireland. Operated by the food wholesale company Musgrave Group, the company plans to expand from 300 stores to 360 stores by 2025.

Joe Boyle, Managing Director of FreshStop, a South African convenience store brand, and his team toured Ireland on the lead up to the NACS event. He was impressed by the foodservice, seating areas, some of the toilets and outdoor branding.

“I can only speak from what I’ve seen but the stores are worldclass. You can see Circle K’s influence from products around the world, Applegreen is going more local but bringing in big brands, and Maxol is introducing one or two international brands while building its own brand,” he explained.

One Irish retailer that is no stranger to awards is Maxol. In both 2022 and 2021, this family-owned business, which operates approximately 150 sites, won the best store award. The Maxol Ballycoolin site undertook a €1 million refurbishment that saw the addition of foodservice concepts, including a Burger King with a drive-through, a larger Maxol deli, a bean-to-cup offering from Rosa coffee, expanded seating and 20 more car-parking spaces.

“We have a strategic roadmap created by over 30 people at Maxol. We see opportunities in the coffee business. We’re introducing ice coffee very successfully. In foodservice, we are looking at how to change the type of products – more vegan options, more types of bread and improving recipes. We continue to look at how we can improve the basket shop per site. Our loyalty app (launched in 2022) has proved to be very successful in connecting and influencing customer behaviours,” said Brian Donaldson, CEO of The Maxol Group.

In addition to market leaders Applergreen (620 sites) and Circle K (410), which both have impressive flagship sites with a wide assortment of fresh food options and quality coffee, two sites garnered a lot of interest from industry professionals at the NACS CSE event.

Junction 14 Mayfield stands out as one of the most acclaimed service stations in the country. Featuring a Texaco-branded forecourt, a modern Spar store, and nine different fresh food brands, it has won the title of Overall Forecourt of the Year for three consecutive years. The Donnybrook Fair store has become a symbol of gourmet grocery shopping with a food market on the ground floor, a barista coffee station, and a restaurant on the first floor.

Sustainable & local

Sustainability is top of mind for Irish convenience retailers. Consumers have become more demanding for companies to do more to reduce their carbon emissions, energy usage and to give back more to the communities. 75% of consumers globally have made an effort to buy more sustainably produced food and drink in the 12 months up to September 2021, while 77% say they have made some effort to buy products with less packaging over the same period, according to the Irish Food Board.
Retailers are also looking to differentiate themselves through listing small Irish suppliers to emphasise their role in supporting communities. Local provenance of raw meat in Ireland has long been of high importance for consumers. As a result, the vast majority of raw meat sold in all major retailers is of Irish origin.

With its exceptional customer service, longstanding culture of fresh food at service stations, and commitment to ongoing innovation, Ireland’s grip on the foodvenience crown remains unchallenged.