[Posted to CSPDailyNews.com by Traci Carneal]
Going beyond dogs and into multiple day-parts, grills grow into foodservice anchor.
It wasn’t long ago that buying a cup of c-store coffee was uneventful: a couple of pots, usually one decaf and one regular, sitting on the counter. No big deal. Today that picture has changed, now including coffee bars, design flourishes and a broad range of condiments.
The revolution perhaps offers a glimpse into the future of the roller grill, says Brad Duesler, president and CEO of Food Concepts Inc., a Middleton, Wis.-based retail merchandisingsolutions provider.
“The coffee industry has been the leader in customer interactivity and service,” Duesler says. “The use of colors and graphics in merchandising and presentation, the smoother lines in equipment and the increased consumer interaction have taken the coffee purchasing experience to the next level.
“This type of reawakening is starting to happen in the roller-grill category as these machines are being transformed from hot-dog producers into day-part solution providers with expanded offerings such as ethnic and flavor profiles—egg rolls, taquitos, Tornados, spicy sausages.”