Wawa Introduces Single-Serve Coffee

CSD Staff
Dec 03, 2012

“At Wawa, coffee is more than a hot beverage,” says Wawa CEO. “It’s a way of life.”

Wawa Inc. has launched Wawa Original Blend and 100% Colombian in a single-serve container compatible with the popular Keurig brewing system.

These coffee products are now available in all of Wawa’s 604 stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida. New varieties will be added in early 2013.

“We are pleased to launch these convenient new single-serve coffee containers so our customers can enjoy Wawa’s signature flavors in the comfort of their homes,” said Mendy Meriwether, category manager for Wawa. “A tremendous amount of development has gone into ensuring the cup that customers brew at home is as perfect as the cup our customers buy at any Wawa location.

We have seen an incredible amount of excitement from our customers so far, and we look forward to expanding our varieties to generate even more ways to simplify our customers’ lives.”

Wawa coffee is a proprietary, private-label blend, available only at Wawa stores. Since the year 2000, Wawa has served more than one billion cups of coffee. Within the brewed coffee market, Wawa ranks No. 1 in Philadelphia and No. 8 in share nationally.

“At Wawa, coffee is more than a hot beverage,” said CEO Howard Stoeckel. “It’s a way of life. Now we’re making it even easier for customers to bring Wawa home.”

Wawa Coffee History
In 1975, freshly brewed coffee became available in Wawa stores because store managers wanted to save time for busy customers. When coffee was first introduced, “pour over” pots were used.

Stores soon had pots of water lined up in the morning rush to accommodate customers. In 1978, the coffee program “perked up” with the introduction of the five-burner “Bun-o-Matic.” This new system accessed filtered water directly and managers were able to make coffee with the flick of a switch. In the 90’s, Wawa remodeled and expanded the coffee area to separate the brewing from the customer area. The addition of the 20-ounce cup and later the Big 24, fueled Wawa’s coffee program.

In 2010, Wawa embarked on a chain-wide coffee make-over, completing transforming the coffee areas in all stores with new graphics, new designs, and energy-efficient thermals to replace glass pots.

In 2012, Wawa began offering fullservice specialty beverage area where, via touch screens, customers can order 20 hand-made varieties of lattes, hot chocolates and more.

Wawa Coffee Varieties
Wawa customers enjoy over 195 million cups of Wawa’s award-winning coffee each year. It’s brewed fresh using Wawa’s own special blend of the finest roasted coffee beans and filtered water. Wawa varieties include; Regular, Decaf, Varietals (Kona, 100% Colombian), its own proprietary regular and decaf, French Vanilla, , Hazelnut, and dark roast for those who prefer stronger. And now an extensive line of full-serve, built-to-order specialty beverages, including lattes, cappuccinos, hot chocolates and more are available at the Food Service area of all Wawa stores and ordered through Wawa’s touch-screen ordering system.