As convenience retailers move into the holiday season, limited-time offers and fresh menu items are coming fast and furious. Still, it was international flavors, not Thanksgiving fare, that grabbed the spotlight over the past few weeks.
Below is a look at some of the new food items appearing at retailers across the country.
7-Eleven focuses on international flavors
7-Eleven launched a line of Hispanic-inspired products, called Selección 7, within its 7-Select private label last month. The company started with baked goods, including vanilla and chocolate conchas, which are sweet breads with a frosted topping; mantecadas, fluffy vanilla-flavored muffins sold in four-packs; and panqué con nueces, a loaf-style pound cake with pecans.
In select regions, Selección 7 also includes candy and snacks, including chamoy peach rings, Chichurritos and Japanese-style peanuts.
The retailer also rolled out a limited-time Flavors of Korea menu, which offers eight Korean-inspired foods. These include Bibigo spicy chicken dumpling, Bibigo Korean BBQ-style pizza and gochujang boneless wings. Roller grill options include a Korean-style-BBQ-sauced taquito and Korean-style BBQ-seasoned sausage. Raise the Roost locations are also adding the Seoul Style Sweet Heat Chicken Sandwich.
Wawa testing sushi
Wawa is testing sushi at some Philadelphia stores, according to several local news reports.
The chain is offering six varieties under the Sushi Soko brand, which is produced by Hissho Sushi.
The chain told CBS and ABC affiliates that it’s testing the sushi in express grab-and-go cases, and that popular rolls so far include crunchy and spicy varieties.
Sheetz brings back barbecue pork lineup
Sheetz retired barbecue pork in 2020, but now it’s bringing the flavorful protein back due to popular demand.
Each of Sheetz’s six Big Pig sandwiches comes with six ounces of barbecue pork on a split-top bun. Options include the Big BBQ Classic, with barbecue sauce, red onions and pickles; Big BBQ Onion and Big BBQ Goldie, which offer crispy onions, pickles and regular or Carolina Gold barbecue sauce; Big Boom Boom, which adds bacon, pickles and Sheetz’s Boom Boom sauce; Big Cuban, which is topped with Applewood smoked ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mayonnaise and yellow mustard; and Big Sh’picy, with jalapeños, pepperjack cheese and jalapeño ranch.
Customers can also custom-order a barbecue pork sandwich.
East Coast rivals renew Thanksgiving favorites
Wawa and Sheetz both announced the return of holiday LTOs.
Wawa offers a variety of options for its popular Gobbler, which combines Thanksgiving staples like turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce. Customers can order the dish in hoagie, wrap or bowl form, according to the company’s website.
Sheetz’s Holidaze menu, meanwhile, includes the Holidaze Sub, with turkey, cheese, gravy, crispy onions and cranberry-orange relish on a roll that has stuffing baked into it; Flatzgiving, a flatbread topped with turkey, cheese, crispy onions and cranberry-orange relish; and a turkey bacon cranberry salad.
Casey’s launches pan pizza
Casey’s General Stores is building on the success of its pizza program by debuting a pan pizza.
The retailer said it spent around two years developing its pan pizza, which is square with a “fluffy” crust and edge-to-edge toppings.
Customers can order any type of pizza on a pan crust, including specialty and breakfast options.
Choctaw Travel Plazas brings fiery partnership to sandwich LTO
Choctaw Travel Plazas has added a Crystal wing sauce chicken sandwich to its lineup for a limited time.
The sandwich features a breaded piece of chicken dipped in Crystal wing sauce and topped with pickles on a brioche bun.
The sandwich will be available through the end of the year at Choctaw Travel Plazas’ 18 locations in Oklahoma.
Rutter’s gets a start on the holiday season with hard eggnog
Rutter’s is adding a hard eggnog to its adult beverage lineup for the holidays. Inspired by the company’s traditional eggnog, the drink has notes of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Rutter’s hard eggnog is available in collectible bottles and will be sold through the end of December while supplies last.
Hunt Brothers adds dual LTO
In honor of its 35th anniversary, Hunt Brothers Pizza is adding its first dual LTO.
The company is offering its chicken bacon ranch and Italian trio pizzas as whole, 12-inch pizzas or grab-and-go slices.
The chicken bacon ranch pizza has ranch sauce and chicken breast topped with a blend of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, bacon and the brand's Just Rite Spice.
The Italian trio pizza starts with marinara sauce and adds a blend of mozzarella and Monterey Jack cheeses, pepperoni, Italian sausage and sliced meatballs, topped with Just Rite Spice.
