How corner stores can cash in on the ready meal phenomenon

Every day, the 150,000 convenience stores in the US conduct more than 126 million transactions. An increasing number of these are for freshly prepared meals to eat on the go and fresh produce — in fact, produce sales in convenience stores have shown double-digit growth for several years.

Women and millennials in particular are demanding nutritious, portable and affordable menu items available at any hour of the day or night.

Consumer attitudes toward convenience stores are changing: 67% of all shoppers surveyed — and 75% of millennials — feel there are now more healthy items to choose from. While retailers are clearly responding to changing demands, they have thus far only experienced the tip of the proverbial iceberg. For those retailers who wish to see a lot more ‘green’, the key may simply be to get more fresh.

Weighing in on the business

A variety of weighing technologies provide C-store retailers with options for determining and implementing the fresh food programs that will serve them best. For example, if freshly prepared meals and side dishes represent a retailer’s best opportunity for business growth, a backroom food prep scale with weigh/price/label capability may make the most sense. For other retailers, a customer self-serve label-printing scale offers shoppers complete control in determining the exact portion size and ingredients they prefer — for salads, dried fruit and nuts, bulk items, and so on. Other retailers can opt for a high-speed, technologically advanced checkout scale with a built-in barcode reader to keep the checkout line moving quickly while maximising profit and managing inventory.

Mettler Toledo has a range of convenience store solutions — visit www.mt.com/cstores.