The nation’s two largest convenience store chains have prepared a new range of light meals as they seek new growth drivers amid intensified competition.
President Chain Store Corp’s (PCSC, 統一超商) 7-Eleven stores on Monday began sales of new rice ball, sushi and sandwich products in 400 outlets close to commercial areas in Taipei.
“Our observation is that more customers are buying light meals, such as sushi packs or sandwiches, for lunch or dinner,” PCSC fresh food division head Liang Wen-yuan (梁文源) told reporters.
“In addition, the number of people choosing light food for lunch or dinner in summer is usually 30 percent more than in winter,” Liang said.
Among 7-Eleven’s fresh-food sales last year, sushi products showed the highest growth, Liang said.
He did not elaborate on exact figures, but said the company is targeting another 30 percent sales increase in sushi products this year, as well as a 10 percent sales growth in rice ball products from last year.
PCSC also plans to raise the number of outlets selling new light meal products to 700 by the end of next month, he added.
The company reported consolidated sales of NT$64.52 billion (US$2.1 billion) in the first four months of this year, up 0.52 percent from a year earlier, with sales of fresh food accounting for a record 25 percent.
The rising trend in light meal sales has also prompted Taiwan FamilyMart Co (全家便利商店) to focus on salad products — which have posted annual sales increase of between 20 percent and 30 percent over the past few years — and sushi products.
The company said sales of several new sushi products last month helped boost the segment’s sales by between 40 and 50 percent from March and led the company’s total revenue from January to last month to grow 2.52 percent year-on-year to NT$18.01 billion.
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