As mentioned, c-store fresh, hot and cold foods are getting more sophisticated. Here are some recent introductions.
To appeal to on-the-go breakfast diners, earlier this year, AdvancePierre Foods, Cincinnati, introduced three BIG AZ breakfast sandwiches that can be sold hot from a sandwich warmer or microwaved on demand from the cold case. Varieties are Double Sausage & Cheese Biscuit, Biscuit Stacker and Western Omelet.
The sandwiches are individually hand-assembled and feature a fresh-made appeal thanks to their clear, hand-wrapped film, which also features a front-of-pack calorie count, supporting vending operators. This makes them ideal for both vending machines and micro markets as consumers prefer to see their food before making a purchase, and operators will be in compliance with the FDA requirements that took effect this past December regarding calorie disclosures on food items sold in vending machines.
The BIG AZ Double Sausage & Cheese Biscuit and BIG AZ Biscuit Stacker both feature a big, flakey home-style biscuit. The Double Sausage & Cheese Biscuit includes two pork sausage patties and two slices of American cheese. The Biscuit Stacker is filled with a pork sausage patty, smoky bacon, scrambled egg patty and a slice of American cheese. The BIG AZ Western Omelet features a frittata egg patty with ham, onion and red and green peppers and a slice of Pepperjack cheese in a flour tortilla wrap. The BIG AZ Double Sausage & Cheese Biscuit and Biscuit Stacker have a 14-day refrigerated shelf life, and the Western Omelet has a seven-day refrigerated shelf life.
The company also now offers a BIG AZ Sriracha Chicken Sandwich, which is similarly prepared and packaged. It, too, can be merchandised warm or microwaved on demand.
There’s also 13 new Fresh-Cut sandwiches that feature home-style breads, natural cheeses and premium meats. AdvancePierre’s Flavor-Guard packaging for Fresh-Cut’s wedges, hearty-size wedges and wraps affords consumers a 360-degree view of the product through a sturdy, protective clamshell. A recessed, formed lid creates a secure seal to lock in freshness. The Fresh-Cut subs’ paper packaging has similar flavor-protective properties and includes a window. All products feature a front-of-pack calorie call-out. The sandwiches have a 14-day refrigerated shelf life.
Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson Convenience has launched Bold Boneless Wings for the c-store channel. This product is formulated for superior hold quality with consistent piece sizes. Each bite-size piece offers big, bold flavors perfect for consumer snacking opportunities. Varieties are: Mango Habanero, Sriracha Sweet and Spicy, and Zesty Garlic.
For breakfast, the company is also rolling out Jimmy Dean Southern-Style Chicken Biscuits. There’s also a new Hillshire Farm Smoked Chicken Sausage for roller grills.
Home Market Foods, Norwood, Massachusetts, the leader in roller foods, has some new offerings including Greek Chicken Gyro RollerBite, which is seasoned all-white chicken inside a Mediterranean herbed crust. There’s also new Burger Joint Cheeseburger RollerBites in four on-trend flavors: Black & Bleu, Chipotle Bourbon, Ghost Pepper and Sriracha.
Snap Dog Inc., Brooklyn, New York, takes a unique approach to marketing its new foodservice hot dogs. Known as “the hot dog with its name on it,” Snap Dog uses an all-natural technique of branding its company logo and the word “beef” on the surface of every Snap Dog. This lets consumers know exactly what kind of hot dog they are being served.
Born on the streets of New York City, Snap Dog is the brainchild of former New York restaurateur Keith Dorman, who set out on a mission to upgrade the hot dog experience across America. Dorman ensures that Snap Dogs are made with 100 percent premium beef and cooked the old-fashioned way, in a real smokehouse.
Snap Dog has a specially formulated frank for those foodservice operators who prepare and hold their hot dogs in a water and steam environment. Another formula is for those operators who use heated rollers or grills to prepare and hold their hot dogs.
