How grocery stores can win at foodservice

A food offering convenience stores might want to consider adding is chicken and waffle pizza, which is a growing trend in restaurants, according to CSP sister research arm Technomic’s recent Dish report.

This mashup, which features the “classic breakfast combination of chicken and waffles as a pizza topping,” can be found in limited-service restaurants. For example, Cicis Pizza is selling a Chicken and Eggo Waffles Pizza that features pizza crust topped with Eggo waffles, crispy chicken and a maple syrup drizzle.

Elsewhere in the Technomic report are limited-time offer standouts. Among the top three that consumers said they are likely or very likely to buy is Burger King’s Cheesy Tots, which feature coin-shaped potato tots filled with cheese. The other two are Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries and Mission BBQ’s Baked Cheesy Potatoes.

Another item that may spur innovation in foodservice at c-stores includes Burgerville's Piquant Cheeseburger with Country Natural local beef, Face Rock Creamery two-year-aged white cheddar, Beaver horseradish aioli, red onion and shredded lettuce. The restaurant also brought back its Sweet Potato Fries for a limited time.

Elsewhere, Jimmy John’s debuted the Picklewich, a new limited-time offer featuring some of the chain’s signature sub ingredients sandwiched between a giant dill pickle instead of bread. Options include the Vito Picklewich, which has salami, capocollo, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, oil and vinegar. The Turkey Picklewich has turkey, provolone, lettuce, tomato and onion.

Related:Why grocery stores are starting to look like quick-service restaurants

Popeyes, meanwhile, rolled out the Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich, a new sandwich with a fried buttermilk-battered chicken breast fillet topped with barrel-cured pickles and a chile-infused Ghost Pepper Sauce. It’s served on a buttered and toasted brioche bun.

Finally, Subway’s new Ghost Pepper Bread consists of the chain’s Artisan Italian bread dough coated in ghost pepper-, habanero- and paprika-seasoned panko breadcrumbs. It’s then topped with Monterey-cheddar cheese and jalapeno slices, then baked. The new sandwiches Subway is offering to promote this bread include Spicy Nacho Steak, which is made with sliced steak, cheddar cheese sauce, green peppers, red onion, jalapenos and SubKrunch sandwich topping. It’s finished with a drizzle of creamy Sriracha sauce. 

Data for this report is sourced from Technomic’s Ignite Menu consumer-rated LTOs data, which provides consumer insights on Top 500 restaurants and leading 40 convenience-store chains’ products, including purchase intent, draw, uniqueness and craveability.

Related:Report: Convenience still drives morning routines

This story was originally featured on CSP Daily News, a sister publication of Supermarket News.