Dive Brief:
- Convenience retailer Yatco Food Mart has partnered with wholesale outlet Mable to bring locally sourced food products to its entire 18-location c-store network, according to a Thursday announcement.
- This month, Yatco will begin selling gluten-free, plant-based snack thins; plant-based cookie dough bars; and vegan energy bites made in Boston — about 30 miles east of Yatco’s headquarters in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Some Yatco locations will feature new end caps and mobile merchandisers, while others will have these products on shelves throughout the center store, according to the announcement.
- Yatco is the fourth c-store retailer to partner with Mable, joining Alltown Fresh, Neon Marketplace and Nouria Energy in doing so, according to a Mable spokesperson.
Dive Insight:
Even as inflation continues, consumers are opting for healthy snacks, particularly those with high protein or which use plant-based or gluten-free ingredients. The healthy snacking market is expected to reach an annual growth rate of 6.5% from 2022 to 2029, according to Meticulous Research.
Working with Mable is Yatco’s way of recognizing this shift in consumer demand towards healthier and locally sourced food options, according to the announcement.
"As a company, we pride ourselves on being able to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing wants and needs of our consumers,” Hussein Yatim, vice president at Yatco, said in the announcement. “Partnering with Mable will help support our drive to provide local, unique, better-for-you products that not only are delicious but also have cool stories behind them.”
Earlier this year, Boston-based Mable — which also works with independent grocers, specialty food markets and other retailers — brought similar products to most of Neon Marketplace’s c-stores in New England. Those items included veteran-owned, ethically sourced and women-owned options.
C-store category managers using Mable’s platform can source new products both digitally and through recommendations from the company’s wholesale experts. Mable’s drop-shipping model lets retailers ship inventory directly to their stores.
Yatco operates 18 c-stores across Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
