Lunar Adventures: exploring a little bit of everything

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My request for convenience stores everywhere: More drink choices

I wish 7-11 and the like would increase their drink selection. Maybe I’m weird, but I’m not a fan of most standard sodas — the Coca-Cola, the Pepsi, the Dr Pepper, etc. — they have too much sugar and are too high-fructose corn syrupy.

There are, however, a lot of drinks I am a fan of — Izze Soda, several different cream sodas, Sonic-style limeades, and well-made lemonade, to name a few. Fresh juices are also great.

You can get these at some delis, markets like Central Market or Whole Foods Store, but never at your chain convenience store like 7-11 or a gas station market.

I feel like 7-11 is devoting too much space to the energy drink segment and not enough to other specialty drinks. Maybe their market isn’t growing as fast, but a few more non-standard choices would be great. It’d really get me in their doors more often, anyway, and I believe there’s plenty of room — I’ve seen smaller delis carry a nice drink selection.

Sonic has the right idea — they have a wide selection of unique drink items. That gets people into their drive-in, where they’re likely to grab a quick meal while they’re there. I think 7-11 (I refer to 7-11 mostly in this post, but I understand in the northern US they’re far less common, and there’s a different dominant convenience store chain — insert your convenience store chain of choice wherever you see 7-11 in this post) could see a similar business boost from carrying non-standard drinks.

Sat May 5th, 2007 11:18 pm

Filed under Business