Christine Blank
4 min read
This story was originally published on C-Store Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily C-Store Dive newsletter.
Keeping prices reasonable while offering a quality menu can seem like an uphill struggle. The industry continues to be plagued by inflation on food, packaging, cleaning supplies, labor and more, while ever-changing news about tariffs is concerning, at the very least. As a result, many c-stores are making changes in menu offerings, pricing, ordering and other logistics.
“At this point price fluctuations are the norm. Even if it's not tariffs, that doesn't mean that global supply issues won't still impact prices,” said Mike Kostyo, vice president of Menu Matters, a food industry strategic consulting firm.
"You have to create an operation that is both nimble enough to react to swings in pricing while also creating some stability in your operation so you aren't in constant reaction mode.”
Eggs, coffee, ground beef and chicken — all important ingredients in c-store foodservice programs — have seen the biggest price increases in the past year, according to Matt Hautau, VP of merchandising for distributor Core-Mark, a division of Performance Food Group.
Egg prices have been the most notable, rising 72% in March versus last March, according to Circana, with the USDA projecting a 41% overall increase this year.
However, retailers and restaurants are “getting hit from all sides,” said Maeve Webster, president of Menu Matters.
“All ingredients have increased to various degrees, and when everything is increasing, then it almost doesn't matter which grow [the] most, unless they are a key component of a concept (like eggs for a breakfast place),” Webster said in an email. One way operators are counteracting that is by prioritizing the most important ingredients and making compromises on those that have less impact.
For example, while a breakfast program can’t do away with eggs, it may switch to cheaper dairy products or baking ingredients.
“It’s important patrons don't notice major changes, particularly on the foods they love,” Webster said.
Despite the higher cost of eggs, c-stores have continued emphasizing their lucrative breakfast programs this year — including deals such as EG America’s $3 breakfast value meal, launched earlier this year.
Some breakfast chains, including Waffle House and Denny’s, implemented surcharges on egg-based menu items.Where possible, some c-store operators have swapped to cheaper options like liquid eggs and plant-based options, Kostyo said, though he declined to name companies. Similarly, Core-Mark also said some clients have switched to egg patties or liquid eggs.
