The Victorian reginal hub of Horsham will be the site of the fifth Caltex Foodary petrol and convenience offer, as confirmed on the AACS Study Tour on Wednesday.
Caltex will continue to expand its convenience offer through 2017, opening more Foodary outlets and grab-and-go food bars.
Opening its first NSW store in Concord, the Foodary was designed to be a convenience hub for the thousands of commuters who use the petrol stations each day.
Caltex CEO Julian Segal said Caltex will open up to 30 Foodary outlets by the end of 2017.
“We’ll have 20 to 30 sites converted by the end of this year; what we’ll do then is pause and assess what’s working and what’s not working,” he said.
The Foodary’s offerings vary from store to store: for example, the Foodary in South Yarra, which was only recently opened, has a couple of unique features including a Guzman y Gomez takeaway, yet to be opened pending local council approval.
The Foodary in Padstow on Fairford road serves up barista coffee, is open 24 hours and has partnered with Boost Juice.
Another unique offering from The Foodary is the Caltex app designed to improve the way customers pay for the fuel and order food items from within the store.
The ITunes description of the app says: “At The Foodary we understand you often need quick and convenient solutions while on the go. To help, we’ve created The Foodary app. Change the way that you purchase fuel, buy fresh ‘made daily’ meals and order your coffee”.
Caltex general manager convenience development Helen Moore told C&I Week that The Foodary is part of Caltex’s evolving retail convenience strategy.
“The Foodary is all about providing customers with a convenient experience in both food and services,” she said.
“The Australian convenience industry is rapidly evolving and our goal is to meet the changing needs of consumers, wherever they are. We will continue to trial and test new products and services to ensure what we’re offering is what customers want.” A spokesperson for Caltex said The Foodary leverages Caltex’s existing strengths to give customers what they are asking for including fresh food and convenience products.
A spokesperson for Caltex said The Foodary leverages Caltex’s existing strengths to give customers what they are asking for including fresh food and convenience products.
“We have drawn upon international trends, gaps in local competitor offers and most importantly customer pain points and desires in developing our new convenience offer,” she said. “
When compared with Europe and Asia, the concept is underdeveloped in Australia- we know what there is more opportunity here.”
Caltex recently announced it’s new Freedom of Convenience strategy which included the creation of new customer solutions in the convenience market place.
The spokesperson said: “Consumers shop more frequently with a ‘time save’ focus- we are striving to meet their changing demands.”