Convenience Doesn’t Have to Mean Unhealthy

in Alternative Crusts, Convenience Store, Deiorio's Gluten Free, Dough Balls, Healthy Choices, Various Dough Articles by deiorios

When most people think of convenience store food, they think quick, grab-and-go meals. But with 63% of people aiming to make healthier food choices most of the time, and 93% wanting to eat healthier at least some of the time (1) , convenience doesn’t have to be synonymous with unhealthy, processed snacks.

Offering customers a healthy alternative to normal “junk food”, also helps curb the stigma that convenience store food is just that – only a convenience.

Let’s face it, between dietary restrictions and lifestyle eating choices, typical convenience stores don’t often give the most variety for these specialized diets. Showcasing items that are locally-made, naturally sweetened, preservative-free, and plant-based are all options to integrate healthy choices and instill the feeling of “making a good choice” into customer’s minds.

In some cases, convenience stores can revamp existing products that customers already like, for a healthy alternative. Most baked goods and pizza, come to mind here. “Gas station pizza” is a staple for people on the road who are looking for a quick bite to eat, since they’re already stopping to fill up their car. Rather than picking up a bag of processed chips to mindlessly snack on while driving, they look for something that’s a bit more like a full meal. However, this also alienates people who are looking for low-carb swaps or who have a gluten-intolerance.

By revamping the traditional “gas station pizza” mentality and offering options such as our plant-based crust or gluten-free crust, you can showcase healthier options, while appealing to a bigger mass of people who otherwise would overlook the pizza case, entirely.

This doesn’t have to be limited to pizza, though. There are options to spruce up all kinds of convenience store snacks. The man who comes every morning for a cup of coffee, for example, might be enticed to add a doughnut to his purchase if he knows that it’s made with a fresher option, like a dough ball versus something that was made, frozen, transported and then thawed before going into a plexiglass case.

Updating convenience store options, also updates the perception of how the food and snacks are. Rather than just being a quick, convenient option, it can now be a healthy option you can still grab on the fly.