Coffee calls out to customers

A robust coffee offering may be more important that ever to convenience store operators as gasoline prices seem to reach new highs weekly. Many operators are trying to generate more profit from in-store sales, citing tight margins on the fuel side; and coffee, an integral component of foodservice, has long been viewed both as a means to draw customers inside and as a key sales generator.

And the coffee habit isn’t one consumers kick easily. When it was reported this week, for example, that Wawa, based in Wawa, Pa., was increasing the price of its coffee by six cents per cup, a customer told a reporter for The Courier-Post , "It's not going to change my purchases."

However, it could make a nice change to Wawa’s bottom line. Coffee is the 570-store chain’s best selling product, according to Courier-Post reporter Joseph Gidjunis, who pointed out that, at 125 million cups annually, multiplied by 6 cents, the company expects to generate an extra $7.5 million. (A Wawa spokeswoman told the newspaper that rising fuel and transportation costs contributed to the price increase.)

The coffee market meanwhile is changing as fair trade coffee and organic coffee are making inroads in the U.S., according to trade organizations and news reports. For example, data from the Organic Trade Association's 2007 Manufacturer Survey of the 2006 market indicated that U.S. organic coffee sales amounted to approximately $110 million in 2006, up 24 percent from the previous year.

Some convenience store operators are picking up on the distinction that such a premium offering can lend.

Eastside Mart, for example, an independent convenience store in Providence, R.I., this month began serving coffee from True Blue Coffee Roasters, an organic, fair trade coffee roasting company in Old Fields, W. Va.

Since purchasing Eastside Mart a year ago, the new owner, Paul Smith, has expanded the store's product lines including upgrading the coffee program. True Blue's organic fair trade coffee was Smith’s choice for the store’s new coffee and sandwich island, according to a press release issued by True Blue.

Smith, who has been recognized by Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline for economic development, said, "The deciding factor in using True Blue Coffee Roasters to upgrade my coffee program was fair trade certification. All their coffee being organic also caught my attention. It was what I was looking for.” Smith said the coffee “drives in our customers.”

Eastside Mart's other additions include the state lottery and deli sandwiches. Smith said he plans to continue to expand the store’s offerings with more all-natural and organic products.