Baking & Snack - November 2022 - 40

CONVENIENCE STORES
United Dairy
Farmers' bakery
provides its fresh
signature donuts
that are delivered
daily to its c-stores
around Cincinnati
and Columbus, Ohio.
Donald Phelps Photography
its Muffin Town branded cinnamon toast, whole grain
fudgy brownie and muffin tops as well as its Smart
Choice Bar Banana Chocolate Chunk. Roger Piffer, director
of marketing for the Chelsea, Mass.-based company,
said popular muffin tops and cornbread complement
coffee service, lunch and snacking occasions. He
noted the cornbread is sold as a part of its grab-and-go
Snack'N Loaves line served with soup or chili. It's also
available in 4-lb bakeable trays with 30 squares for fresh,
bulk foodservice.
" We're the No. 1 best seller of cornbread in the country,
and it's easy to see why, " Mr. Piffer said. " You can
have it with a main meal or on its own. You can have
a cup of coffee and a cornbread slice, and it's delicious.
We're seeing catering companies, supermarkets and
more places asking for cornbread. "
Ms. Reese pointed out that Utz partners with c-store
meal programs and even places videos on the gas pump's
screen to highlight a new item or pairing a bag of chips
with a sandwich meal to encourage visiting the c-store
vs. a QSR down the street.
" One of the challenges is getting people going from
the pump and into the store, " she said. " That's a behavior
that we're working with our retailers to capitalize
on drivers' awareness to entice consumers to walk into
the store. "
Once inside, Ms. Reese said, the emphasis is on merchandising
in high-traffic areas, placing incremental
displays and adding new products with high-impact
packaging.
" Everybody passes by your products at the register,
40 Baking & Snack November 2022 / www.bakingbusiness.com
and it's the food and especially coffee that drives foodservice
traffic, " she observes. " If we can leverage or somehow
find an empty space, that's what we're really trying
to capitalize on for incremental impulse purchases. "
Utz uses smaller case packs, clip strips, peg-holed
packaging and other tools to fit in any empty space in
the store. Recently, it began offering a smaller, 2.75-oz
canister of its popular barrels of cheeseballs.
" We're looking at even more capabilities to increase
opportunities to place our products anywhere in the
store, " Ms. Reese said. " With our focus on supporting
operators, we work hard to bring solutions for placements.
We are constantly working to remove obstacles
so that we can get to win-win placements and not discussions
about why certain spaces won't work. "
Utz tailors its merchandising to the local region,
whether it's the core market serving its direct-store distribution
system along the East Coast or in newer areas
as it continues to expand nationally.
" We're really trying to figure out, 'How do we get our
brand, whether it be a regional or core brand, in front
of as many shoppers as possible?' '' she said. " Typically,
those single-serve and immediate-consumption packages
are a great way to drive new product trials in emerging
markets. "
When it comes to serving c-stores, it's always a matter
of convenience. Bakeries and snack producers need to
use all the tools at their disposal to quickly grab the attention
of increasingly mobile and often impatient consumers
who are working at home or want to get on the
road again as soon as possible.
*
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Baking & Snack - November 2022

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