It’s All About Choice

Convenience retailers such as 7-Eleven are focusing on better-for-you options to attract new customers and offer healthy snacking choices.

September 16, 2013

MCLEAN, Va. – Purveyors of junk food…dirty…unhealthy…pricey…

If you’ve heard these descriptors before, you’ve probably heard them in reference to convenience stores. They’re certainly not compliments — whether true or perceived — but some retailers are hoping to change what their shoppers not only think about their stores, but also what they can expect to buy when they walk through the door.

The nation’s largest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, is rolling out a host of better-for-you snacks in an effort to bring healthier options to store shelves and attract Millennials. USA Today writes that retailers is “taking a cue from a generation that demands better-for-you snacks and which snacks more often” by offering a “revamped snack section” at 8,000 of its U.S stores.

"Better-for-you is one of the fastest-growing segments of the snacking category," Rebecca Frechette, a vice president of merchandising at 7-Eleven, told the news source.

But if 7-Eleven builds it, will they come? One marketing guru has doubts that Millennials will put 7-Eleven at the top of their list if they want a healthy snack.

"I'd say 7-Eleven's trust in this area is much lower than, say, Whole Foods," Robert Passikoff, founder of marketing research firm Brand Keys, told the news source.

However, executives at 7-Eleven don’t doubt that the new snacks will “take off,” which will have a prominent endcap placement on the first aisle customers walk by in the store. There’s also a reasonable price point of $1.49 to $4.99.

"I do not recall 7-Eleven ever putting such a focus on snacking," 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris told USA Today.

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