When Wawa Comes to Town

Earlier this year, Pennsylvania-based Wawa opened its first c-store in the Cincinnati market, in the far north suburb of Liberty Township. Across the street from that store is a recently renovated UDF, a representative of an 86-year-old brand whose 30-some outlets had long ruled the roost in greater Cincinnati’s c-store sector.

Wawa is just one of several competitors invading UDF’s turf, The Cincinnati Enquirer noted in a recent front-page story on that subject. While executives from UDF (short for United Dairy Farmers) didn’t participate in the story, the newspaper was able to gather enough information to tell readers what the company is doing to counter the appearance of Wawa and several other new competitors, including Sheetz, Buc-ee’s and QuikTrip.

UDF’s main responses are bigger stores and more hot-food offerings, the Enquirer noted, both of which can be seen at the brand’s renovated store that’s across the street from the new Wawa.

All this reflects how the convenience store business is moving away from its gas-and-grab-and-go origins, industry observers say.

“What we’re seeing is there’s a real move toward customer experience,” Jeff Lenard, spokesperson for the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), told the Enquirer. “It’s not enough for any retailer, convenience or otherwise, to just sell items, because the internet can do that and you never have to leave your couch.”

That’s especially true for a new generation of millennial and Gen Z shoppers who are contending with an uncertain economy and restaurant fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, Kim Busdieker, Associate Marketing Professor at the University of Cincinnati, told the newspaper.

“When you can’t have the big luxuries, you go for the small luxuries,” she said.

Eons away from the rolling hot dogs and junk food of yesteryear, Busdieker said quality food at c-stores – like brisket sandwiches at Buc-ee’s or fresh-baked bread at Wawa – helps meet that demand.

Click here for more from the Enquirer story.