7-Eleven Thinks Upscale

7-Eleven moved upmarket this fall by adding healthy snacks and ultra-premium wines to the merchandising plan.Introduced chain-wide in September, the rollout of roughly 35 SKUs of gourmet, organic and better-for-you snacks diverges from the c-store channel's typical food strategy — health-agnostic products for young males — by targeting more health-conscious on-the-go consumers. Prices range from $1.49 to $4.99.“Our goal was to create a selection of great-tasting, upscale snacks while still providing our guests with value,” Rebecca Frechette, a vice president of merchandising at 7-Eleven, said in a media release.The lineup consists of three items that 7-Eleven claims have never before been sold in a c-store: dried peas from Calbee North America’s Snapea Crisps, low-calorie popcorn from SkinnyPop LLC’s flagship brand, and dry-roasted edamame from Seapoint Farms LLC.Other SKUs come from channel veterans: nut mixes from Sahale Snacks’ flagship brand, pretzels from Snyder's-Lance's Pretzel Crisps, various pita crisps from PepsiCo's Stacy’s, microwaveable popcorn from Dale & Thomas Popcorn LLC’s Popcorn, Indiana, and vegetable chips from Hain Celestial Group’s Terra Chips. 7-Eleven also introduced 13 products from private label 7-Select. Sold in seven-ounce containers, the SKUs include Santa Fe-style trail mix, veggie chips and raw almonds. In October, the retailer included three of the healthier SKUs when it introduced larger “Snack Tubs” of 13 7-Select products. A home-page carousel ad touted the tubs.The new product lineup is being merchandised together on endcap racks.Also in October, 7-Eleven introduced a quartet of ultra-premium varietal wines from La Crema Winery, Louis M. Martini Winery, Constellation Brands International and Wild Horse Winery. The SKUs rolled out to roughly 700 stores across 16 states. Markets include Northern Virginia, San Francisco, Chicago and Newport Beach, CA. Selling for less than $20 (in most markets), the wines are aimed at prosperous Millennial women, according to an article in USA Today. Headers on floorstands tout the price point.“We want to be a wine destination, and these new, ultra-premium wines are giving local wine lovers another reason to consider 7-Eleven,” Greg Manzer, market manager for 110 stores in Virginia, said in a media release announcing the rollout.The top wine-selling stores in the chain now carry 24 to 40 SKUs. “We want to create a mini-wine shop within some of our stores that have shown strong demand,” vp-merchandising Alan Beach said in the release. “I believe we will see more of our stores adding premium and super-premium wines as demand increases.”

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