Aral with fast food offensive

PetitBistro is set to grow with four new "SuperSnacks".

Aral goes on the product offensive in the food service business: At 1.100 Aral petrol stations nationwide with a PetitBistro, four new delicacies will be the focus of the offer from mid-July: The "SuperSnacks". They are aimed at mobile customers and are suitable for immediate consumption as well as for on the go.

"With the introduction of the new SuperSnacks, we want to further expand the food service area at our petrol stations, because we still see significant growth potential in this area," explains Rainer Kraus, head of the Aral shop.

The "SuperSnacks" are characterized by a special composition of selected ingredients. The culinary quartet is based on baked goods and cold cuts. The spreads and sauces developed exclusively for Aral guarantee the unique, unmistakable taste. The new snacks are standardized nationwide for the first time, which means they have a fixed recipe and are therefore available in every petit bistro with consistently high quality.

The decision was preceded by representative market research. Around 1.000 customers in the cities of Hamburg, Munich, Leipzig and Neuss chose the four new products as favorites from 28 different variants. Depending on the region, the "SuperSnacks" cost between 2 and 3 euros. Aral plans to sell more than 4 million units this year.

With a bistro annual turnover of around 132 million euros in 2003, Aral ranked 4th among the fast food suppliers and 8th among the largest catering companies in Germany. This makes Aral number 1 among the mineral oil companies. Aral sees the main growth area in the shop business in the next few years in the food service business. Aral already sells 17 million filled rolls and sandwiches and 4 million hot drinks (coffee, cappuccino, cocoa, etc.) in the petit bistros every year. The PetitBistro at the 25,8 Aral petrol stations thus achieve an average share of 1.100 percent of the shop turnover there; in the medium term, Aral is aiming for an increase to 7 percent. The share of food service sales is currently 10 percent of the total shop sales of all around 2.600 Aral petrol stations amounting to 2,5 billion euros.

For those who want to know exactly:

Customers can choose between the following variants of the "SuperSnacks":

• "Raw ham": ciabatta with raw ham, wild garlic spread, rocket and tomatoes;
• "Salami": wheat baguette with salami, wild garlic spread, horseradish sauce, lettuce and tomatoes;
• "Cooked ham": wheat baguette with cooked ham, tramezzini egg spread, lettuce and tomatoes;
• "Frikadelle": Kaiser rolls with fikadelle, tsatziki, wild garlic spread and cucumber.

Source: Bochum [ Aral ]