7-ELEVEN - THE REVOLUTION OF FRESH

     The juggernaut convenience store, 7-Eleven, is changing. Now it is offering a larger selection of healthy and regional food to satiate its ever growing customer demand.
     With options like, fresh fruits, salads, gluten free food, the c-store chain bets on its innovation and attention to costumer’s needs, tailoring food choices based on particular costumer preferences.
     “What we are finding is that a lot of our consumers are becoming more demanding, more discerning,” says Anne Readhimer, 7-Eleven’s senior director of fresh food innovation.
     “They’re looking for higher quality items, freshness, differentiated products—not products you see everywhere else—as well as value. Value is very important. And we know within the 7-Eleven context, the products we offer need to be convenient as well as suitable for eating on the go”, the senior director continues.
     7-Eleven has been adapting its store layouts to accentuate its fresh food offerings, which is an ongoing process. And has now lauched the 7-Eleven GO!Smart line, offering breakfast sandwiches under 400 calories, including sausage biscuit and English muffin breakfast sandwiches and lunch varieties. The new line also offers snacks such as gourmet light popcorn, sprouted tortilla chips in exotic flavors and yogurt bars. 7-Select GO!Smart products, which continue to add different offerings, are designed with nutritional balance as a priority, Readhimer says.
     “One of our top-selling products is a turkey sandwich which has whole wheat bread with rolled oats in the crust, garlic, peppercorn turkey breast, with lettuce and tomatoes,” mentions Readhimer . “So all the favors our customers are looking for along with all of the health benefits.”
     “At 7-Eleven, we’re growing our fresh food department to meet the changing needs of our customers and as we are seeing that higher demand as customers continue to crave these offerings, we’re going to expand the space needed to support those products,” Readhimer states.
     “As we’re building and designing our new store layouts for the future, you’ll see the new builds will have more space and as we go back and retrofit other stores, you’ll also see that expansion in the fresh foods space allocated,” Readhimer finishes.
     7-Eleven counts with 61,000 stores around the globe and 8,900 U.S. locations, being that 50% of its locations are franchises. Interested in knowing how about the initial cost of owning a 7-Eleven franchise in the U.S.? Take a look bellow.

Initial Investment

Initial Franchise Fee: $160,000
Training Expenses: $9,000
Down Payment for Opening Inventory: $20,000
Additional Opening Inventory: $13,200 - $48,100
Cash Register Fund: $300 - $5,000
Store Supplies: $250 - $2,000
Licenses and Permits: $6,000 - $8,000Additional Funds During First 3 Months: $30,000
Real Estate and Equipment: Covered in “7-Eleven Charge” 
Goodwill: Only applicable to incoming franchisee’s buying a current franchisee’s interest in a franchise

ESTIMATED TOTAL$1,039,750 - $1,122,100

*The above information has been taken from the FDD of 7 Eleven. Year of FDD: 2016