Page 40 - Conveniece World Magazine Nov/Dec 2020

CAFÉ CONVENIENCE G eneral Manager of Meris Food Equipment, Michael Brick words it perfectly when he said, “10 years ago, it wasn’t common to be able to get a decent coffee or a light meal, other than a meat pie, at a petrol station or a convenience store, unless it was a regional roadhouse”. Gone are the days, when on a road trip you would mutter the words, “I guess I’m only going to have a packet of chips and a soft drink for lunch, because that’s all they (petrol stations) will have.” While I’m sure some people never complained about that option, the bar is now set incredibly high for cafes in petrol stations. Bowser Bean Café Marketing Manager Matt Gronow agrees with Mr Brick’s sentiment that some time ago, you wouldn’t have thought about purchasing quality food or beverages at the servo. “Five to 10 years ago, customers would laugh at getting a coffee from a service station. Now it’s become a destination,” he said. “Within the P&C industry there has been a significant shift in the offer of barista coffee.” Quality coffee wanted Director of Jomeis Fine Foods, Vicki Nguyen discusses with Convenience World the huge trend that is coffee and how it’s evolved throughout cafes. Ms Nguyen says that on average 9.2 cups of coffee per person, per week is consumed. “Once upon a time, it was barista milk and skinny milk, now we have lactose free, soy, almond coconut, oat, macadamia milks available, and the list is growing. “Cafes have had to shift to accommodate the demands of all the various plant-based milk options.” She expands on while coffee is popular, the industry has had to undergo some serious updating. “Coffee is a $100 billion industry, but has had growing pains in recent times, as people are becoming more aware of their health.” Mr Gronow prides himself and the Bowser Bean Café in keeping up with coffee quality standards, and provides insights that freshness is a significant key factor when it comes to coffee in convenience. “Currently, we are seeing a greater push for high end automated coffee, and we are experimenting at one of our locations, but barista coffee still remains a key driver for our customers,” he said. “I think there have been significant changes with coffee technology. For example, automatic coffee tampers that produce a consistent tamp, automatic barista coffee machines that require minimal staff interaction to produce high-quality coffee.” On the go, the way to go When listing through what he says are the current major trends in cafes, Mr Gronow notes food to go. “It is likely we will see the majority of cafes place greater emphasis on pre-prepared meals to go, so that less customers are dining in (Covid related) and more customer turnover.” Mr Brick also discusses the idea of taking advantage of the food to go trend. “Because petrol and convenience operators are realising that food to go generates great returns – our client Vantage Fuels, Victorian-based multi- site operator, has demonstrated the advantage of a strong focus on food during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Vantage Fuels Managing Director Haydn Tierney told us, ‘An established food and coffee offer has enabled \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[our in-store café\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] Bowser Bean to maintain the majority of its in-store trade despite a significant decline in fuel sales due to Covid-19.’” Mr Brick continued, “Australian petrol and convenience market still has plenty of untapped scope for further development of food-to-go offerings, as consumers are prepared to spend more on ready-to-eat offers, at more varied times in the day.” Not only is the food-to-go trend popular within the P&C channel, but Ms Nguyen notes that it’s also shown popularity among regular cafes. Covid-19 is proving to have accelerated the speed at which ready-to-go meals become popular, with Covid being cited from Ms Nguyen as being a factor of ready-to-go, so readily available in cafes. “Coffee is a $100 billion industry, but has had growing pains in recent times, as people are becoming more aware of their health.” 38 CONVENIENCE WORLD NOV/DEC, 2020