This article is brought to you by Abierto.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Convenience stores are serious players in the food and beverage industry. Foodservice now accounts for 35.5% of in-store gross profits, compared to 29.2% in 2011, NACS data show. According to Rick Sales, president of Abierto, a digital and engagement solutions company, there are ways c-stores can boost foodservice revenue even more by fixing a few common food menu mistakes.

“Convenience retailers work hard to create the best possible foodservice offerings, but sometimes fumble on the basics when it comes to their menu,” said Sales. “Simple things can make a big difference in the short term.”

Sales points to four questions retailers should ask themselves about their menus:

• Is the menu readable? Is the font too small? Are you cramming too much information on too small of a TV screen—or still using paper menus?
• Is it accurate? Customers can walk away frustrated if they attempt to order an item only to be told that it’s not available.
• Does the menu display specials consistently and with enough emphasis? If specials are displayed on a TV screen loop, some customers may never see them because they don’t watch the screen long enough.
• Do you showcase limited-time offers (LTOs)? If you’re only advertising LTOs at the point of sale, you are missing out on revenue.

“During COVID, many retailers revamped their foodservice programs and updated their menus, but how do they get customers to trial new offerings? Retailers have to let their customers know. A clear, accurate menu accomplishes this,” said Sales.

According to Sales, Abierto’s OPEN.Menu platform makes fixing these common but costly mistakes easy and lessens the chance of them occurring again.

The platform is a modular, programmatic menu application that displays real-time pricing and product availability for each location in a retailer's store network. It’s also cloud-based and allows retailers to make sure they have the most up-to-date foodservice menu by allowing users to edit menu information in real time across all stores or just for certain locations. The software makes it possible to update imagery, add specials or LTOs, adjust prices and make any other necessary changes with the click of a button.

“OPEN.Menu lets retailers show off their robust foodservice offerings instead of distracting the customers with menu mishaps,” said Sales.

This is the first installment of a two-part NACS Daily series on how convenience retailers can maximize their foodservice menus. Learn more about Abierto.