ALTOONA, Pa. – Sheetz Inc. has been hard at work advancing new menu items and engaging in one-of-a-kind marketing and promotion strategies.
The chain’s test of Sheetz Bros. Creamery, a soft-serve-and-topping concept developed at the Sheetz restaurant last year, continues. “During the winter [of 2010/2011], the Creamery did surprising well during a time when many area ice cream outlets are closed,” Louie Sheetz, executive vice president of marketing, told CSNews Online. “It kept a steady level of business.”
In the spring, the chain added the Sheetz Bros. Creamery concept to two more convenience stores in Richmond, Va., and western Pennsylvania. “We’re taking this slowly,” Louie Sheetz said. “We studied it over the summer season, looking at what impact local marketing played, how placement and merchandising in the store worked. This would mean a major refurbishing of the stores if we roll it out. It needs a footprint of about 60 square feet.”
Additionally, the chain is considering upgrades to its fountain, hot drink and fixings areas. “We’re trying to ‘package up’ a project so that when we do the refurbishing, all of the new elements will be added at once,” Louie Sheetz said. “But we haven’t made the call on the Sheetz Bros. Creamery yet. If it goes in, it will go in every store. But with that size of an impact on the store, the rollout would be a two- or three-year project like [the] Sheetz Bros. Coffeez program was. We’d be deliberate and take our time, before we start marketing it chainwide.”
Meanwhile, a made-to-order whole-pie pizza program is now available in every store. “We’ve been promoting it since April and it’s done very well,” he said.
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