As part of Kwik Trip’s 2016 commitment to PHA, which works with the private sector to make healthier choices easier, the convenience store chain committed to improving access to healthier food, implementing a new EATSmart program and promoting healthy habits among employees and consumers at its more than 500 locations in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.
Specifically, Kwik Trip committed to and is delivering on offering four categories of fruit, four categories of vegetables, six whole grain products and four non-fat or low-fat dairy products – all of which would be priced lower than the regional average to further increase affordability and access, according to PHA.
The non-profit notes in an Aug. 16 release that while Kwik Trip already met its goal to offer an “expanded stock of healthier options, including healthier packaged foods like nuts and whole grain granola bars throughout the store” by June 2017, it still wants to “increase healthier options in the checkout area.”
Another way the c-stores are promoting PHA’s work to boost healthy living is by placing coin canisters near every checkout lane – a strategy that helped raise $75,000 during its 2017 campaign, PHA said in the release. This builds on the three prior years of the canister campaign to bring the total fundraise to $255,000 since 2014.
The retailer’s commitment to providing healthier and fresh options at its stores also is translating to increased sales, with Kwik Trip reporting it sells 400 pounds of bananas per store per day, and bulk produce sales up 5.5% within one year of its original commitment to PHA in 2014.
According to an interview with the non-profit, a Kwik Trip executive store leader said products that sell well include salads, fruit bowls and trays, hard-boiled eggs and bulk fruit – especially when it is sold for less than at most grocery stores for $3.99 for a dozen.