Dive Brief:
- Kent Kwik, the convenience store arm of The Kent Companies, has released a line of six new private label nuts and trail mixes, the company announced last week.
- Kent Kwik’s new mixes include cran-slam trail, sweet energy trail, fruity trail, hot and spicy cashews, kettle sweet pecans and butter toffee peanuts.
- Private label products are becoming a larger part of many convenience retailers’ playbooks, with companies such as 7-Eleven and Casey’s General Stores continuing to roll out new offerings at a rapid pace.
Dive Insight:
As inflation continues to put pressure on retailers, private label goods let c-stores take home larger margins on popular categories.
7-Eleven noted in its second-quarter earnings this month that it has released 87 new products in its private brand line with a goal of reaching 215 by the end of this year. The average margin on those items is 51% — 19 percentage points higher than national brands — according to the earnings presentation.
Casey’s has also said it will continue bolstering the depth and breadth of its private label options. In last month’s earnings call, CEO Darren Rebelez said Casey’s has 320 private label items and has another 20 in development.
Kent Kwik’s new cran-slam trail is made with cranberries, peanuts, almonds, raisins, pineapple, papaya, banana chips and pepitas; the sweet energy trail has butter toffee mixed nuts, chocolate buttons, raisins and almonds; its fruity trail contains chocolate buttons, peanut M&M’s, raisins, banana chips, pineapple and papaya tidbits, peanuts almonds and coconuts; the hot and spicy cashews are coated with spicy seasonings; its kettle sweet pecans are kettle-cooked and coated in a sweet glaze; and the butter toffee peanuts are covered in a toffee glaze.
These new products were announced a couple weeks after the company unveiled a Hatch Green Chili burger, which was topped with hatch green chilies, bacon, pepper jack cheese and jalapeño ranch. The burger can be found at Rustic Cafe, the Kent Companies’ foodservice banner.
Founded in 1957, Midland, Texas-based The Kent Companies operates over 100 convenience stores across Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Mexico and Florida. Its c-store banners include Kent Kwik, Bountyland and Tom Thumb Food Stores, among others. The company also has 150 dealer locations in its network, along with several restaurants and tire shops.
