Dive Brief:
- Minuteman Food Mart has hired Thomas Becker as vice president of retail operations, merchandising and marketing, a company spokesperson confirmed to C-Store Dive.
- Becker most recently spent five years as director of U.S. proprietary brands for Circle K, a role he held until this past April, according to his LinkedIn bio, where he noted that he joined Minuteman in November.
- Becker is likely to play an essential role at Minuteman as the roughly 60-store convenience retailer continues its expansion across North and South Carolina.
Dive Insight:
It’s not clear how Becker will work alongside Ed Bitondo, who became Minuteman’s VP of convenience store operations earlier this year after a 10-year career with Thornton’s. However, as VP of operations, merchandising and marketing, Becker will likely have a 360-degree view of Minuteman’s business.
Many Minuteman locations feature the company’s prepared foodservice program, which offers made-to-order and grab-and-go meals such as fried chicken, ribs, burgers, biscuit sandwiches, hot dogs, pizza and mac and cheese bowls. The retailer has used self-checkout kiosks in some of its stores since 2023, and also refreshed its mobile app and brand identity earlier this year.
Minuteman’s spokesperson did not respond by press time when asked to share further details of Becker’s new role.
While at Circle K, Becker was responsible for profit and loss, marketing, product development and procurement for the retailer’s private label portfolio in the U.S., according to his LinkedIn bio. Becker said this side of the business launched over 350 new SKUs while he was leading it.
He also brings several years of product, brand and marketing experience outside the convenience industry to Minuteman. Earlier in his career, Becker spent about three years as director of private label brand management and marketing for supermarket giant Ahold Delhaize. He also spent two years as director of private label, brand marketing and product development for supplies retailer OfficeMax. Becker was inducted into the Private Label Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame earlier this year.
