Gift link I'm really excited about 7-11 bringing elements of the Japanese Konbini experience to the US. There are technical and logistical challenges. I hope Mr. Dacus succeeds. If he succeeds in...
I'm really excited about 7-11 bringing elements of the Japanese Konbini experience to the US.
Leading the push to expand Japanese-quality fresh food to 7-Eleven in North America is Stephen Dacus, a Japanese American former Walmart executive who started as chief executive of Seven & i Holdings, the 7-Eleven parent company, three months ago.
There are technical and logistical challenges.
The sandwiches are made with the fluffy Japanese “milk bread,” and a team in Texas worked with Japanese suppliers to learn how to produce it in the United States. Milk bread and Japanese mayonnaise give the egg sandwiches “the heavenly pillow thing,” Mr. Dacus said.
In the United States, Mr. Dacus said, fresh food often means hot food that can be frozen and cooked on site, eliminating the need for multiple daily deliveries. He added that the company could draw on a Japanese-style model of having closer ties to its food suppliers to improve products in response to what customers want.
I hope Mr. Dacus succeeds. If he succeeds in making convenience food fresh, healthy, cheap, and readily accessible—and convince other American companies that this is a real shift—then he will make seriously positive social impact on the American food landscape. I want to see a future where Americans can just easily and cheaply reach for a healthy rice ball or sushi roll as they can for a burger or hot dog.
The only place that has food within a mile walk of my house is a 7/11. I would love if I actually wanted to eat something from there, but 10,000 kinds of 1/4 full potato chip bags are not...
The only place that has food within a mile walk of my house is a 7/11. I would love if I actually wanted to eat something from there, but 10,000 kinds of 1/4 full potato chip bags are not interesting to me.
The closest thing in my general area to what’s being described are those creepy Amazon stores that track what you pick up and charge you through their app instead of some kind of checkout. They have a ton of fancy fresh food.
I’m not based in the US, so won’t benefit from this, but it would be good if they brought sake and the onigiri (Japanese rice triangles). I bought an onigiri from 7-11 in Japan with very low...
I’m not based in the US, so won’t benefit from this, but it would be good if they brought sake and the onigiri (Japanese rice triangles).
I bought an onigiri from 7-11 in Japan with very low expectations and it was just amazing. Strong recommend!
If they can pull it off, that'll be impressive. But I do wonder how many of their Japanese offerings they'll bring to the US. Just like any country, we have our own tastes when it comes to...
If they can pull it off, that'll be impressive. But I do wonder how many of their Japanese offerings they'll bring to the US. Just like any country, we have our own tastes when it comes to convenience store foods. Hot dogs, pizzas, corndogs, breakfast sandwiches and burritos, taquitos, are popular. "Fresh" sandwiches are definitely a thing, too. But they're the typical "American" sandwiches and wraps.
And while "gas station sushi" is a thing -- and I know onigiri is not sushi, but ask your average American and they'll probably call it "sushi" -- it's usually considered pretty low quality and something to generally be avoided. Unless you want to be stuck on a toilet all day!
I'll be curious to see if Japanese-style egg sandwiches are popular here or even released here. I'm sure the company did their market research to help determine that. But if I had to guess, 7-11 will bring some things over -- give me those croquettes and also Hawaiian spam musubi! -- but will largely orient their food offerings towards average American tastes.
My suspicion is that their best bet is to shed the old American convenience store staples entirely. It's definitely a risk for the main offerings to be unfamiliar, but the main offerings currently...
My suspicion is that their best bet is to shed the old American convenience store staples entirely. It's definitely a risk for the main offerings to be unfamiliar, but the main offerings currently have a stigma of low quality. I think there's a risk that not cutting the stuff that people associate as low quality can cause that association to infect the new products even if the new products are better.
As a personal example, if I go into my local 7-11 after this revamp and see heat lamped pizza and roller hotdogs I'm not going to have any interest in checking out any of their new food options because they've already telegraphed to me that their acceptable level of quality is lower than I'm seeking.
My question is whether individual 7-11s will be able to maintain the quality needed, no matter what they sell. American convenience store food can be done right. In another 7-11 post from a couple...
My question is whether individual 7-11s will be able to maintain the quality needed, no matter what they sell. American convenience store food can be done right. In another 7-11 post from a couple weeks ago or so, I think I mentioned QuikTrip out in parts of the Midwest. On some parts of the Eastern seaboard, Wawa and I think Sheetz kinda compete in that higher-tier space (still new to this region, so I don't yet completely know the convenience store game out here). I'm sure other parts of the country have their own "king of the convenience stores" brands.
So to me, it's less of an issue of whether they'll succeed based on American or Japanese cuisine. It'd be cool if they did bring some of the Japanese stuff over. I agree with @egoeimi that Japanese foods and culture -- Asian culture as a whole -- is popular these days in the US. I watch some YouTubers based in Japan who sometimes rate konbini foods and drinks. Entertaining, but also just educational.
But even if they do bring over their Japanese stuff, will it have the staying power, as @blivet mentions when Family Mart tried 20yrs ago, and more importantly will they maintain the necessary quality? Or will their potential Japanese offerings suffer the same fate as their American offerings?
Brands absolutely can turn it around. Fast food is never going to be healthy, but I'd say McDonald's has a done a good job of shedding that completely unhealthy image they had in the past. Like when "Supersize Me" was a big deal. These days, it's less unhealthy (I love McD's, but I will never say it's healthy!), probably fresher, and their stores are typically clean and modernized. It's possible for 7-11, too.
So we'll see. I have two 7-11s super close by to me, both in walking distance. I would love to be able to walk into a nice, clean, bright, well-stocked 7-11, with fewer skeezy folks hanging around outside, and pick up some fresher foods, Japanese or American or both.
It's a real 50-50 toss up. On one hand, in many ways, America is completely different: it's much more racially diverse, and the cuisines that minorities have imported to the country have...
But even if they do bring over their Japanese stuff, will it have the staying power, as @blivet mentions when Family Mart tried 20yrs ago, and more importantly will they maintain the necessary quality? Or will their potential Japanese offerings suffer the same fate as their American offerings?
It's a real 50-50 toss up.
On one hand, in many ways, America is completely different: it's much more racially diverse, and the cuisines that minorities have imported to the country have thoroughly infused its cuisine. You can find mochi ice cream in most urban grocery stores. 20 years ago, matcha was a niche thing you could find only in Japanese ethnic stores and hippy food co-ops: now it's everywhere, from every grocery store to every Starbucks offering matcha lattes. Dutch Bros Coffee has incorporated popping boba as a drink ingredient.
On the other hand, there is inertia in some fundamental eating habits. Americans tend to like big meals and don't really lightly snack throughout the day like the Japanese do. And 7-11's and mini eateries are all within a few minutes walking distance for many Japanese urbanites, who are used to walking a few doors down to grab a snack. But Americans are 5–15 minutes driving, so Americans are less inclined to just hop over to a convenience store for a snack. Maybe 7-11 will need a drive through concept.
Definitely a risk and you may well be right that it's best to start over entirely, but there is some precedent for succeeding at rebranding. There are a handful of higher-end American convenience...
I think there's a risk that not cutting the stuff that people associate as low quality can cause that association to infect the new products even if the new products are better.
Definitely a risk and you may well be right that it's best to start over entirely, but there is some precedent for succeeding at rebranding. There are a handful of higher-end American convenience stores (Wawa, bucees, others) which successfully sell nicer versions of hotdogs, chicken sandwiches, and so on.
I think there are a few things working in 7-11's favor: Japanese snack foods are trending. Lots of people like to watch influencers visit Japanese 7-11's. In hip US cities, Japanese sando pop-ups...
I think there are a few things working in 7-11's favor:
Japanese snack foods are trending. Lots of people like to watch influencers visit Japanese 7-11's. In hip US cities, Japanese sando pop-ups are all the rage. I'm sure 7-11 has been taking notes.
Both adapted and modern Asian food has historically been very successful in making inroads into (urban) American tastes, more so than other cuisines (except maybe Mexican). First you had the mom and pop Chinese restaurants blazing the trail. Then you got the Panda Expresses, sushi restaurants, Thai restaurants. Now boba shops are ubiquitous in US cities.
I bet 7-11 senses that the konbini as the next Asian food 'thing'. At least in cities. I doubt they'll roll this out to small towns or rural areas.
It’s another Asian convenience store chain that’s known for its prepared food, so it seems like at least partial competition? They have big stores too, though.
It’s another Asian convenience store chain that’s known for its prepared food, so it seems like at least partial competition? They have big stores too, though.
I wouldn't describe H Mart as a convenience store: it's a full-service grocery store on the level of Safeway or Whole Foods, with a bakery, meat and seafood counter, deli, produce, etc. They...
I wouldn't describe H Mart as a convenience store: it's a full-service grocery store on the level of Safeway or Whole Foods, with a bakery, meat and seafood counter, deli, produce, etc. They definitely have a very good and relatively healthy prepared food section. A roll of kimbap is always a delicious, nutritious, and cheap lunch option.
These kinds of businesses open to serve existing Asian American communities, but they end up attracting non-Asian shoppers too.
Ah interesting! I looked it up. It is unusually small for an H Mart. They probably chose a smaller footprint for an urban format. Normally H Mart stores are in the suburbs and have traditional big...
Ah interesting! I looked it up. It is unusually small for an H Mart. They probably chose a smaller footprint for an urban format. Normally H Mart stores are in the suburbs and have traditional big box footprints.
I have never seen a convenience store here in Southern California even in the heavily Asian neighborhoods that I live in and visit. I’ve only seen their grocery stores. Have they brought their...
I have never seen a convenience store here in Southern California even in the heavily Asian neighborhoods that I live in and visit. I’ve only seen their grocery stores. Have they brought their convenience stores here in the US?
I love the idea of this! I'd love to be able to walk five, ten minutes, to a local 7 Eleven and grab lunch, especially if they could beat the prices of fast food/fast casual restaurants and make...
I love the idea of this! I'd love to be able to walk five, ten minutes, to a local 7 Eleven and grab lunch, especially if they could beat the prices of fast food/fast casual restaurants and make it a little bit healthier.
I don't think this will work outside big metro areas. For this to work, you'd have to have a lot of locations. It would have to be cheap enough. And its gotta be better than the food 7 Eleven sells now. I don't care how cheap it is or how convenient it is, I'm not buying a slice of pizza that's been cooking under the bright warming light for the past four hours.
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I'm really excited about 7-11 bringing elements of the Japanese Konbini experience to the US.
There are technical and logistical challenges.
I hope Mr. Dacus succeeds. If he succeeds in making convenience food fresh, healthy, cheap, and readily accessible—and convince other American companies that this is a real shift—then he will make seriously positive social impact on the American food landscape. I want to see a future where Americans can just easily and cheaply reach for a healthy rice ball or sushi roll as they can for a burger or hot dog.
The only place that has food within a mile walk of my house is a 7/11. I would love if I actually wanted to eat something from there, but 10,000 kinds of 1/4 full potato chip bags are not interesting to me.
The closest thing in my general area to what’s being described are those creepy Amazon stores that track what you pick up and charge you through their app instead of some kind of checkout. They have a ton of fancy fresh food.
I’m not based in the US, so won’t benefit from this, but it would be good if they brought sake and the onigiri (Japanese rice triangles).
I bought an onigiri from 7-11 in Japan with very low expectations and it was just amazing. Strong recommend!
If they can pull it off, that'll be impressive. But I do wonder how many of their Japanese offerings they'll bring to the US. Just like any country, we have our own tastes when it comes to convenience store foods. Hot dogs, pizzas, corndogs, breakfast sandwiches and burritos, taquitos, are popular. "Fresh" sandwiches are definitely a thing, too. But they're the typical "American" sandwiches and wraps.
And while "gas station sushi" is a thing -- and I know onigiri is not sushi, but ask your average American and they'll probably call it "sushi" -- it's usually considered pretty low quality and something to generally be avoided. Unless you want to be stuck on a toilet all day!
I'll be curious to see if Japanese-style egg sandwiches are popular here or even released here. I'm sure the company did their market research to help determine that. But if I had to guess, 7-11 will bring some things over -- give me those croquettes and also Hawaiian spam musubi! -- but will largely orient their food offerings towards average American tastes.
My suspicion is that their best bet is to shed the old American convenience store staples entirely. It's definitely a risk for the main offerings to be unfamiliar, but the main offerings currently have a stigma of low quality. I think there's a risk that not cutting the stuff that people associate as low quality can cause that association to infect the new products even if the new products are better.
As a personal example, if I go into my local 7-11 after this revamp and see heat lamped pizza and roller hotdogs I'm not going to have any interest in checking out any of their new food options because they've already telegraphed to me that their acceptable level of quality is lower than I'm seeking.
My question is whether individual 7-11s will be able to maintain the quality needed, no matter what they sell. American convenience store food can be done right. In another 7-11 post from a couple weeks ago or so, I think I mentioned QuikTrip out in parts of the Midwest. On some parts of the Eastern seaboard, Wawa and I think Sheetz kinda compete in that higher-tier space (still new to this region, so I don't yet completely know the convenience store game out here). I'm sure other parts of the country have their own "king of the convenience stores" brands.
So to me, it's less of an issue of whether they'll succeed based on American or Japanese cuisine. It'd be cool if they did bring some of the Japanese stuff over. I agree with @egoeimi that Japanese foods and culture -- Asian culture as a whole -- is popular these days in the US. I watch some YouTubers based in Japan who sometimes rate konbini foods and drinks. Entertaining, but also just educational.
But even if they do bring over their Japanese stuff, will it have the staying power, as @blivet mentions when Family Mart tried 20yrs ago, and more importantly will they maintain the necessary quality? Or will their potential Japanese offerings suffer the same fate as their American offerings?
Brands absolutely can turn it around. Fast food is never going to be healthy, but I'd say McDonald's has a done a good job of shedding that completely unhealthy image they had in the past. Like when "Supersize Me" was a big deal. These days, it's less unhealthy (I love McD's, but I will never say it's healthy!), probably fresher, and their stores are typically clean and modernized. It's possible for 7-11, too.
So we'll see. I have two 7-11s super close by to me, both in walking distance. I would love to be able to walk into a nice, clean, bright, well-stocked 7-11, with fewer skeezy folks hanging around outside, and pick up some fresher foods, Japanese or American or both.
It's a real 50-50 toss up.
On one hand, in many ways, America is completely different: it's much more racially diverse, and the cuisines that minorities have imported to the country have thoroughly infused its cuisine. You can find mochi ice cream in most urban grocery stores. 20 years ago, matcha was a niche thing you could find only in Japanese ethnic stores and hippy food co-ops: now it's everywhere, from every grocery store to every Starbucks offering matcha lattes. Dutch Bros Coffee has incorporated popping boba as a drink ingredient.
On the other hand, there is inertia in some fundamental eating habits. Americans tend to like big meals and don't really lightly snack throughout the day like the Japanese do. And 7-11's and mini eateries are all within a few minutes walking distance for many Japanese urbanites, who are used to walking a few doors down to grab a snack. But Americans are 5–15 minutes driving, so Americans are less inclined to just hop over to a convenience store for a snack. Maybe 7-11 will need a drive through concept.
Definitely a risk and you may well be right that it's best to start over entirely, but there is some precedent for succeeding at rebranding. There are a handful of higher-end American convenience stores (Wawa, bucees, others) which successfully sell nicer versions of hotdogs, chicken sandwiches, and so on.
I think there are a few things working in 7-11's favor:
I bet 7-11 senses that the konbini as the next Asian food 'thing'. At least in cities. I doubt they'll roll this out to small towns or rural areas.
H Mart doesn’t have nearly as many locations, but they seem to be expanding pretty rapidly in the US and getting positive press when they do.
I’m not sure what H-Mart has to do with this story, exactly.
It’s another Asian convenience store chain that’s known for its prepared food, so it seems like at least partial competition? They have big stores too, though.
I wouldn't describe H Mart as a convenience store: it's a full-service grocery store on the level of Safeway or Whole Foods, with a bakery, meat and seafood counter, deli, produce, etc. They definitely have a very good and relatively healthy prepared food section. A roll of kimbap is always a delicious, nutritious, and cheap lunch option.
These kinds of businesses open to serve existing Asian American communities, but they end up attracting non-Asian shoppers too.
The one in Woodside, NY is quite small. Apparently that was the first one, though, so maybe it’s an exception.
Ah interesting! I looked it up. It is unusually small for an H Mart. They probably chose a smaller footprint for an urban format. Normally H Mart stores are in the suburbs and have traditional big box footprints.
I have never seen a convenience store here in Southern California even in the heavily Asian neighborhoods that I live in and visit. I’ve only seen their grocery stores. Have they brought their convenience stores here in the US?
The H Mart by me is a huge grocery store with a bunch of counter service eateries along one of the outer walls.
I love the idea of this! I'd love to be able to walk five, ten minutes, to a local 7 Eleven and grab lunch, especially if they could beat the prices of fast food/fast casual restaurants and make it a little bit healthier.
I don't think this will work outside big metro areas. For this to work, you'd have to have a lot of locations. It would have to be cheap enough. And its gotta be better than the food 7 Eleven sells now. I don't care how cheap it is or how convenient it is, I'm not buying a slice of pizza that's been cooking under the bright warming light for the past four hours.
To whom should I send the invoice for my strategy consulting services?