With gross margins on fuel hovering around 5 per cent, it’s not surprising that many convenience store operators are taking a fresh look at their foodservice programs - where margins are typically over 40 per cent and may exceed 60 per cent.As a percent of total c-store sales, foodservice remains small. But higher fuel prices may actually help c-store operators grow their foodservice sales, according to American food consultants Technomic. “Consumers are much more interested in reducing... ...Read more »

Increasingly feeling the pain at the pump, more American consumers are taking steps to compensate for rising gas prices, according to new research from The Nielsen Company. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of consumers are reducing their spending, up 18 points since June 2007 and up 14 points in the last six months alone.Nielsen’s research also finds that more consumers are combining shopping trips (78 percent), and more than half of consumers are now eating out less (52 percent) and staying... ...Read more »

World Bank Group President, Robert Zoellick, has called on leaders of the G8 as well as the major oil producers to act now to deal with surging food and energy prices, warning that the world is now “entering a danger zone”. Mr Zoellick outlined his fears in a letter to the head of the imminent G8 summit in Japan, in which the World Bank, World Food Program (WFP) and International Monetary Fund estimate that about $10 billion is needed to meet short term needs of people hit hardest by... ...Read more »