Kepak is to increase its rep visits and support in convenience stores as it positions food to go as a potential answer to likely sales woes caused by legislation on other categories.
Ross Davison, head of convenience UK at Kepak Group confirmed plans to expand its convenience team, telling Better Retailing: “We want to scale up our levels of interaction via in person instore visits and physical and digital communication, so retailers can take advantage of the re-branding of Rustlers, launching of Grab a Bite brand and the exciting purchasing of Summit Foods.”
Grab a Bite is a thaw, heat and serve burger range designed to make it simpler and less wasteful for stores and other sites to offer a hot food to go range.
Summit Foods, acquired by Kepak late last year, also produces hot and cold food to go options for stores under the Snacksters, East st. Deli and Booker exclusive Snax on the Go brands.
Kepak’s convenience expansion will also target getting more stores to stock the supplier’s core range ‘across chilled and food to go’.
Davison suggested these categories should be a key focus for retailers looking to overcome upcoming challenges in other categories. He advised: “With new legislation coming into force in 2025 and beyond including the single-use vape ban on 1st June 2025, retailers need to adapt and develop new instore sales opportunities. We want to support all our current and new retailers.”
Independent stores and forecourts were listed as the brands’ key target areas, with the head of convenience adding that Kepak will be focusing on shop owners ‘wanting to head into these challenges set by legislation.’
Laying out the supplier’s pitch to shop owners, he told Better Retailing: “We believe food to go is a great area of development for stores to increase footfall. Our propositions ranging from minimum labour and cost for those retailers wanting to try food to go, to a more specific targeting offer for retailers wanting to take their food to go offering to the next level.”
Stores interested in working with Kepak were invited to contact the supplier on its Rustlers Trade website ‘so we can start a conversation on how we can help. ‘
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