LINCOLNSHIRE, IL - A feature earlier this week in The Packer highlighted the increasing focus that the convenience store industry is placing on fresh produce.

Addressing the role of produce distributors for the c-store industry, Steve Kenfield, vice president of sales and marketing for HMC Group Marketing Inc., said they must be selective, or the strategy could prove unsuccessful.

"There??s a wide range of convenience stores," Kenfield said. "There are some that look almost like a fresh market, and there are some that you pump your gas and buy beer and cigarettes, which won??t hold much value for produce."

Kenfield said that stores carrying produce must educate themselves on selling fresh food, "or the exercise will be a waste of time," wrote The Packer.

"You put a one-off item in a convenience store, and nobody will see it or expect to find it there, no matter how much the concept resonates with upper management, unless they see it understand it and expect to find it there and enjoy their experience when they buy it there," he said. "I think you??re going to see in the right venue, with the right product, that??s a point of contact with consumers with that right item. But you??re not going to see it overnight."

The article referenced 7-Eleven??s success at selling fresh-cut produce, highlighting its advantage among its competitors as it receives daily delivery of fresh food.

"By using that delivery system of fresh foods, [7-Eleven is] able to get fresh cut fruit and vegetables in a store on a daily basis??and that has been in place since 1999," said Jim Richter, executive vice president for Wilcox Fresh.

A "tremendous growth channel" is how the United Fresh Produce Association??s Jeff Oberman described the fresh food opportunity in the convenience sector.

"It??s a natural fit," Oberman said. "When we talk about new channel development, we see the c-store segment to be a real champion for fresh-cut produce in emphasizing our strengths on convenience."

Richter said the grab-and-go concept is ideal for fresh cut fruit and vegetables.

"You are seeing it and again I go back to eating in the car," he said. "If you can eat it in the car, it supports what we used to call 'dashboard dining.?? If you can support that, you??ve got a winner. So many items are consumed in the car, that??s kind of the first avenue for that."

For more on our industry??s efforts, read the February NACS Magazine cover story, "Uncover Nutrition."