Some are blessed, and embrace the sunrise, most people need some assistance for starting the day. In addition, people may need to refuel in the middle of the day. The obvious answer is coffee, but whether it’s cold or hot may not be so obvious. In 2017, sales of cold brew coffee jumped to 38.1 million, from the 8.1 million in sales from 2015. As these numbers continue to grow, sales are expected to reach new heights.

Offering cold brew coffee in your store, is a must have. The following are the top cold brew coffee brands your customers are expecting:

1. Grady’s Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate: This super smooth coffee will start your day off right with the taste of this New Orleans flavor. When in doubt, this is a good recommendation.
2. La Colombe Pure Black Cold Brew Coffee: This selection is steeped for 16 hours in stainless steel wine tanks, then pressed and filtered twice. Despite being on the sweeter side, the taste is unforgettable.
3. HeyDay Cold Brew Coffee: This delicious coffee is perfect for those with sensitive stomachs. It is easy to sip and goes along great with sweeteners.
4.  RISE Brewing Co. Original Black Nitro Cold Brew Coffee: Organic and free of harsh chemicals and additives… This brand may be one of a kind in what it’s bringing to consumers.
5. Lucky Jack Double Black Nitro Cold Brew Coffee: For those who need an extra kick, this is infused with extra espresso to deliver the double dose of caffeine. It will surely get the job done.

Your store already sells coffee. Why not take it to the next level and sell cold brew coffee? Contact YOUR distributor to learn how you can increase your sales and make it easy for the customer to start their morning off right.

Are you prepared for the Holidays? It’s never too late! Click here to learn what you can do to maximize revenue.

Euromonitor expects sparkling water sales to reach $3.1 billion by 2022. Here are some of the most popular sparkling water brands.

1. Pellegrino 

Pellegrino sold over one billion bottles the last year. The low calorie drink also comes in fruit flavors. 

2. Sparkling Ice 

Sparkling Ice contains zero calories and zero sugar and comes in a variety of flavors.

3. La Croix 

 La Croix is an all natural sparkling water that comes in over 20 different flavors .

4. Sprindrift 

 Sprindrift is a newer brand, launching back in 2010. The drink contains two ingredients: fruit juice and water.

5. Perrier 

Perrier has been around since the last 1800’s and has always been a customer favorite. The drink contains no sugar, caffeine, or calories. 

If you’re considering adding sparkling water to your store, start by asking your wholesaler for velocity reports to find out what they are moving. Sales for sparkling water are expected to increase and it’s a trend you do not want to miss out on. 

Halloween is just around the corner and retailers in all industries should make sure they are taking advantage.  2017 is expected to bring record high spending, to the tune of $9.1 billion and the c-store owners across the country are in the perfect position to rake in much of this money.  With many opportunities at your disposal, there’s no reason to miss out on the holiday profits.  If you aren’t sure how to make the most of this Halloween, we’ve got a list that will help you get in the spirit.

• Sell Bulk Candy – Few people want to be the only door on the block without a bowl of goodies for trick-or-treaters and whether they’re really busy or just simply forgot about Halloween, there will be people scrambling for candy to pass out. Try to get some boxes of large bags of candy that last minute shoppers can grab at your c-store.  The NRF predicts that $2.7 billion will be spent on candy, don’t miss out on this category spending.
• Have a Halloween Event – You could always host a small event at your store for the neighborhood to bring them in on Halloween, or during the weekend. While hosting a Halloween event may not bring in a lot of purchases right away, it will help remind local consumers about your business and hopefully bring them back in later.
• Halloween Specials – As a c-store owner, you know that seasonal promotions are a great way to increase traffic and basket size. During the Halloween season, you have a great opportunity to boost your sales with product cross-promotion and special pricing on specific items.  Most product manufacturers have special Halloween edition products that your consumers will love so try promoting those even more.
• Offer Novelties – Although candy and snacks are a great choice for additional Halloween sales, you should also consider carrying some non-edible novelty Halloween products. During Halloween, consumers love buying fun items including spooky prank items and fun decorations.  Although you will have to make room for these short-term items, you will enjoy the typically higher profit margin when your c-store customers purchase them.
• Promote Fall Products – Halloween is a great time to promote your fall flavors and special products. That means if you’re not carrying pumpkin and cinnamon flavored everything, you should be.  Also, the cooler fall weather is pushing consumers toward drinks like coffee and hot cocoa.  By adding a hot drink station, you can provide a benefit to neighborhood trick-or-treaters.

The end of the year is filled with plenty of holidays, which means plenty of opportunities to make more money.  Halloween is a great opportunity to kick off the season and show your c-store customers that you’re paying attention to what they want.

What’s PUDO?

PUDO is short for “Pick Up and Drop Off”.  With the boom of online shopping, many consumers need a safe place to have packages delivered when they cannot be home to receive them.  PUDO’s program turns your c-store into a location where your customers can have their online purchases delivered to your store and held for them to pick up when possible.  It’s similar to Amazon lockers, and a great way to provide an added solution to your customers while bringing them in to your store.

Do I need any special equipment?

This program doesn’t even require you to use extra counter space!  All merchants need is:

• Dedicated protected space in their store to keep packages
• Wi-Fi
• PUDO tablet & scanner (provided for FREE)
• PUDO signage (provided for FREE)

How will this benefit my business?

PUDO is an easy, no hassle way to gain more foot traffic for your store.  When consumers in your area place an order with certain online retailers, they’ll be given the option to select a PUDO point as their shipping address.  Your store and address will be automatically listed as a nearby location.  Customers who used PUDO can also bring packages they are shipping back to your store to be picked up by the shipping service.

By bringing these consumers into your store to pick up packages, you are increasing the likelihood that they will buy other products while they’re there and become a loyal customer.  PLUS, did I mention that you make a $1 every time a package is picked up or dropped off in your store?

How do I turn my store into a PUDO location?

Signing up for the PUDO program is easy.  We’ve developed a partnership with PUDO so that you can sign up now and secure your location’s membership for free. 

Visit our PUDO page to get started today:  {{cta(‘1294e767-9438-4c0a-a269-6821cdc7e6bb’)}}

What is C-StorePro?

C-StorePro was created by c-store owners for c-store owners.  The all-in-one back office solution allows business owners to manage their stores with just one easy-to-use software program.  C-StorePro offers a variety of packages with features that include:

• Live Transaction Monitoring
• Live Price Changing
• Inventory Tracking
• Automated Daily Reports
• Customizable Store Reporting
• Fuel Management and Delivery Tracking
• Lottery Management

With C-StorePro, store owners can monitor their store’s activity, analyze their reports, and adjust inventory from their laptop, tablet, or even personal smartphone.  That means store owners can say goodbye to mountains of paper work and difficult processes and say hello to simple streamlined functionality.

How does it benefit c-store owners?

Every store owner and manager wants to see their store succeed, and C-StorePro makes that even easier to guarantee.  The visibility and control that the software offers allows already busy retailers the opportunity to free up some of their time for other activities, or even some relaxation. PLUS, C-StorePro’s software is developed by passionate engineers that value innovation and top of the line security.

C-StorePro is the ideal tool for store owners and operators who are ready to take control of their store’s back office activities without all the hassle and confusion.  Some of the other benefits include:

• Scalibility – the software is built to accommodate stores as business grows and the c-store industry changes.
• Affordable – C-StorePro is top-notch technology at a reasonable rate.
• Flexible – The software can be customized to a unique store’s needs and even integrated with POS systems.
• User Friendly – The platform allows store owners to do everything from one screen.
• Well Supported – The C-StorePro team provides free set up and training to all stores and their support team is always available for questions or issues.

Interested?

Getting started with C-Store Pro is pretty simple, and they even offer a free trial! You can visit their website today to sign up and after 30 days, choose either a single store ($39/month) or multi-store ($59/month) plan.

The Flavors

Made with applesauce this flavor is tender sausage with a smoky aftertaste.

Awaken tastebuds with a spicy, savory & juicy sausage flavor.

Bacon with a tender, smoky, and savory applewood flavor.

Bacon with an applewood smoke and brown sugar flavor that is both salty and sweet.

An Innovative Morning Product

With a variety of sizes including 4oz, 2.5 oz, 1.4oz, and 1.25oz, Jack Link’s A.M. comes in bite sized bags in every flavors as well as a twin link pack for the original sausage flavor. The new products starting retail price vary from $1.99 to $6.99.

Ranging from 120 to 160 calories, customers are also likely to enjoy the new morning line due to its low calorie nature. Shoppers that are on-the-go and wanting something filled with protein will be reaching for Jack Link’s A.M.

Mars

Dove Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs; Mars has redesigned their famous Dove chocolate bites into eggs! With a suggested retail price of $0.79, these delicious eggs are sure to move in your c-store.

M&M’S White Chocolate Candies; Mars is reintroducing their white chocolate candies in an 8-ounce bag selling for $3.49.

M&M’S Peanut Butter Speckled Eggs; customers are familiar with the peanut butter speckled eggs but now they are coming in a large shareable size selling at $1.50 a piece.

Hershey’s

Hersey’s Kisses Carrot Cake Flavored Candies; these famous small chocolates are ready for Easter with a new carrot cake flavor selling at $3.98 per bag.

Reese’s White Peanut Butter Eggs; these are coming back again this year and will be available in regular or king size.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Crème Eggs; will be available as an individual egg or in a new five-pack version.

Reese’s Gold Bunny; this is the classic chocolate bunny filled with peanut butter and wrapped in a fun god holiday foil.

Cadbury Chocolate Crunch & Crème Mini Eggs; available in regular and king size are also a part of the “new innovations and spring-inspired packaging that will excite and delight consumers”.

Jelly Belly

BeanBoozled Throwback Edition; this new product from Jelly Belly is a revived version of the 2008 edition. The new ‘Throwback Edition features six flavor pairs from the first, second and third editions of BeanBoozled, as well as four of the most iconic flavor swaps such as Baby Wipes, Coconut, Ear Wax, Cafe Latte, Skunk Spray, and Licorice.

Sour Bunnies; these are bunny-shaped Easter candies in 6 fruit flavors and spring colors in a fun 6oz size selling for $6.99 per bag.

These fun candies will help bring in customers who love candy and want to participate in the spring time fun. Whether it is an afternoon snack or to fill up an Easter basket, these candies are sure to sell!