By JamIe Hartford
I’m so hungry, I could eat a sandwich from a gas station.” That line, spoken by Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold in the film National Lampoon’s Vacation, memorably summed up America’s attitude toward packaged sandwiches back in 1983. But a lot has changed since the Griswolds’ ill-fated trip to Wally World. The average convenience store sold more than $1,390 per month in commissary and packaged sandwich products over the first nine months of 2010, according to NACS/CSX data. Sales of the products were up 2.2 percent over the same period in 2009.
But with QSRs popping up on every corner and more and more c-stores offering made-to-order food, it begs the question: Do packaged sandwiches still have a place on your shelves?
Last summer, ExxonMobil rolled out Landshire Inc.’s packaged sandwich products in all of its approximately 600 On the Run convenience stores across the United States. Landshire’s wedge and sub packaged sandwich products replaced the Deli Express varieties ExxonMobil had carried for years before.
The company has always sold packaged sandwiches, though it did experiment with a made-to-order program in its Charlotte, North Carolina, market eight or nine years ago. In the end, it wasn’t rolled out system wide. Culturally, the program was not within the organization’s realm of expertise as an oil company.
Labor was also an issue, which a made-to-order program requires a lot of, while packaged sandwiches need comparatively little. ExxonMobil buys the products wholesale from its supplier, McLane, and splits the tasks of stocking and rotating product (required up to twice daily in high-volume stores) and checking cooler temperatures among three employees — the store manager, assistant manager and a foodservice lead employee. Landshire, Deli Express and other packaged sandwich providers also offer direct-store delivery options that further reduce the labor commitment.
Packaged sandwiches also make sense for customers, especially those in a hurry.
In the 20-plus years since they were the butt of Mr. Griswold’s joke, packaged sandwiches have come a long way, said Joseph Trover, CEO of St. Louis-based Landshire, which provides packaged sandwiches to more than 9,000 convenience stores in more than 18 states. Advances in manufacturing, transport and refrigeration have improved quality and safety.
Customers are also becoming better acquainted with the products. Packaged sandwiches can today be found everywhere from c-stores and airports to college campuses and restaurants.
At QSR concept Pret A Manger, sandwiches are made fresh daily in each store before they’re packaged and placed in coolers. An export from the U.K. — where packaged sandwiches are very popular among consumers — Pret A Manger now has around 30 locations in the United States. Menu options range from slow-roasted beef and blue cheese to hummus and roasted tomato.
While Pret A Manger’s offerings might sound uncommon, producers across the board have been spicing up their sandwiches in recent years.
“People want variety,” said Tom Poplau, marketing associate for packaged sandwich provider Deli Express. “They want to move away from just ham and cheese on white or turkey and cheese on wheat.”
Manufacturers are also moving beyond the traditional American, provolone and Swiss cheeses; opting for more upscale meats, such as Black Forest ham and prosciutto; and experimenting with flavored breads. Deli Express took a cue from the restaurant industry and rolled out a line of sliders. Landshire has been testing carriers such as flatbreads and focaccia, and Advance Pierre Foods has jumped on the spicy trend, adding jalapeno pieces to their cheeses and using pepper rings as condiments.
Packaged sandwiches used to be limited to a life in the cooler, but no more. QSR sandwich giant Subway began toasting subs in 2004, and since then convenience stores have also started giving consumers the opportunity to heat their sandwiches.
“It used to be that you only needed a cooler [to carry packaged sandwiches], and cold sandwiches are still a piece of it,” said Advance Pierre’s Schroder. “But if you’re serious about foodservice, the product needs to be hot.”
Sticking a sandwich in the microwave, of course, is not a new concept, but advances in packaging and the use of better bread have greatly improved the way the products hold up when they’re nuked. “There are a lot of different film structures that have come out that help the products hold up in the microwave,” Trover said.
The microwave isn’t the only option for customers looking for a hot lunch, either. Some stores use high-speed combination ovens, and Advance Pierre even offers a Mercato Grill line of products designed to be heated in a panini press.
Just as people often judge books by their covers, consumers are likely to judge sandwiches by their packaging. How the product is presented can be just as important as how it tastes. Packaging, when done right, can go a long way to change the negative preconceptions some customers hold about packaged sandwiches. (For more on foodservice packaging, read “It’s All About the Presentation” in the January 2011 NACS Magazine.)
“You want to be presenting a product that looks fresh, safe and clean,” said Poplau, from Deli Express. “Customers are demanding a high quality product that looks like it has been produced in a very safe way, with no broken seal and that looks like there’s no way someone could have touched or tampered with it.”
Landshire’s Trover said 15 years ago, sandwiches in plastic wedge packaging made up just 15 percent of the company’s total sales. Today, wedge packaged sandwiches, which offer a clear view of the product, account for about half of the company’s business.
Last year, Utah-based MarkOne Foods caught the media’s attention with its Candwich, a line of sandwiches packaged in 24-ounce cans. The Candwich is shelf stable and can even be sold from a vending machine. Other packaging options, however, are moving in a different direction.
“There’s been a continual progression away from retail to a more foodservice-style packaging application,” said Advance Pierre’s Tony Schroder. He cites examples including products wrapped in paper or butcher wrap, encased in a clamshell containers or that come placed on a tray — “anything that can make [the sandwich] appear more fresh, like it was possibly made on site or more typical of what you might get in a restaurant.”
The key to selling packaged sandwiches, producers say, is simple: Give them space.
“Increasing shelf space [for packaged sandwiches] is something that most c-stores in general can do to maximize their sales,” Trover said. “[Giving the products] better shelf space helps lift their overall sales and profit.”
It’s also important to ensure the product you’re serving is safe. To maintain a safe product, Dr. Angela Fraser, an associate professor and food safety specialist at Clemson University, said the sandwiches should always be stored at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or colder, if they’re in a cooler, and at 135 or hotter when under a heat lamp. If the lamp can’t hold that temperature, the sandwiches should be thrown out after a period of time. Operators should measure temperatures at opening and closing time with a calibrated thermometer and keep a log.
“From a customer perspective, I like to actually see a thermometer that is visible,” Fraser said. “So the customer opens that cooler, sees the thermometer and people feel good knowing that you are trying to maintain a safe product.”
Ask about your supplier’s HACCP plan and always inspect the product upon delivery, Fraser said.
If you don’t choose a direct-storedelivery program, be prepared to embrace waste. Shrink can run as high as 50 percent, and if you’re not throwing at least some product out, you’re probably hurting your sales.
“Even if you sell 40 sandwiches a day, if you’re not throwing four away or you’re selling out completely…that would indicate that you haven’t met up with customer demand,” Trover said.
Still, done well, a packaged sandwich program can be an easy way for operators to enter the foodservice game.
Jamie Hartford is a freelance writer based in Hood River, Oregon. You can see more of her work at jlhartford.com.