Emma Rae is pushing the boundaries of what a convenience store can offer.
With a career in retail management spanning 15 years, she has worked for independents, supermarkets and bakeries. Now, she runs a Simply Fresh store at Northumbria University and is consolidating her experience to provide a cutting-edge c-store service.
“This store was opened for student essentials, but I knew I didn’t want to run it as a standard convenience store,” she explains. “We quickly learnt what sold well and what didn’t and built a stand-out range of interesting products.”
Much of Rae’s sales come from soft drinks, snacks and chocolate, with the Co-op range answering the need for value throughout. But the store is stretching sales and profits with on-trend products that keep customers coming back.
What to ask your customers
Rae has an investigative approach to new product requests and takes an active interest in learning about emerging opportunities.
“We had one request for nicotine pouches, but I hadn’t heard much about them,” she says. “We did our research into what brands to stock and introduced them. They started selling, and we now sell more of those than vape and tobacco combined.”
This ethos spans to other categories, too, including lifestyle and fitness products. A recent find for the store in this area is Zooki Electrolytes, a hydration powder.
“We find it appeals more to our sportier students, those training for marathons and challenges like that. I hadn’t heard of it, but I hate turning shoppers away, so I called suppliers and got a box of each in,” she says. “It’s always worth trialling new products.”
The need to appeal to health-conscious students has spurred more research, with Rae focusing on finding the right range for her ‘sportier’ demographic.
Finding the right focus
The store’s focus is on specialist dietary products, and protein has taken over for Rae in the past few years, which she set up with help from us here at Epicurium.
“We’ve had a strong relationship with Epicurium for years. I simply told them my challenge and vision, and they handled the rest,” she says. “They started by using their knowledge of other stores from universities specifically to determine which products were in growth, and we tried them.”
Protein and specialist items help drive overall profits and give her the freedom to implement a more competitive pricing strategy on core items.
“Standard c-store categories can be restrictive on pricing and margins, so we’ve had to find another way to drive these, which is where protein came in. With some items, we’re getting 30%-40%,” she says.
Other challenger brands that Rae has introduced recently include iPro Hydrate, XOXO drinks and Deliciously Ella.
“Our staff try new products first on the understanding that they tell me what they think and I base our orders on this. The XOXO drinks have had great feedback,” she says.
The right support
“I value Epicurium a lot. They’re very knowledgeable and have a lot of insights they can offer us,” Rae comments. “They help us, they listen to us, and there’s a strong mutual trust. The rep visits we have are invaluable.”
Rae works with our rep, Liam, who she can contact directly, and he helps her with ordering new products.
“I get on especially well with Epicurium reps. They know us and our customers, which helps us get more products in and drive sales further,” she adds.
Through a continual cycle of introducing new products, testing, reviewing and reforming, Rae is constantly improving her store’s range and pushing the boundaries of what convenience retail can offer – and what her customers can expect.
By using Epicurium insight, Rae can stay at the forefront of key trends with the confidence that she is offering what her shoppers need.
