Abbie Westra reports at CSP that Quiznos has only been in the convenience channel since last year, and already the sandwich chain is honing in on crucial dayparts and creating platforms specifically for the 175 c-store locations. Today, it rolled out a convenience-specific breakfast menu to those stores and is planning for a grab-and-go addition in its second quarter.
The breakfast menu came after field research with both c-store retailers and their consumers to determine “in a c-store environment, what would make a perfect QSR experience?”, Schultz Hartgrove, senior vice president of convenience development for Quiznos, told CSP Daily News.
The company realized it was missing a strong breakfast menu to complement the retailer’s coffee program and draw that desirable a.m. customer—which, said Hartgrove, c-stores have “abdicated” to McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and other QSRs. Regardless of how strong a c-store’s coffee is, he says, “the consumer is only going to stop once.”
The new menu includes a warm cinnamon roll with caramel topping and a sausage biscuit sandwich. The convenience-centric items join the Breakfast Sammie, a traditional Quiznos sub with eggs and ham or sausage.
The new breakfast platform requires no new equipment for operators, and Hartgrove said it could potentially be rolled out to traditional locations that are in densely populated areas with heavy foot traffic.
“We feel this has really big growth [potential], but we don’t see this going to all stores,” he said.
The suggested price point for the breakfast items range from $2.29 to $2.79—low enough for customers to get a food item and a cup of coffee for under $5, said Hartgrove.
“Convenience and breakfast are interlinked, and we wanted to address that from not only the operator standpoint, but the consumer standpoint as well,” he added.
Up next, Quiznos is planning to add a grab-and-go platform for its c-store locations. The cold-sandwich format will give retailers the opportunity to offer pre-made sandwiches in off-hours or for hurried customers without going through a third-party vendor. The platform is expected to launch in the second quarter.
Related reading at CSP: Quiznos Courting C-Stores
