The unlikely pairing of Arkansas convenience store chain Road Runner and Fornetti, an international bakery headquartered in Hungary, began in the way many modern relationships do -- online.
A representative from Fornetti USA, as the story goes, came across the LinkedIn profile of a Road Runner employee with a shared alma matter. Using the professional networking site to start a conversation made sense with Fornetti in its search to establish a convenience store business in the U.S.
Nearly a year after being introduced online, Fornetti and Road Runner, owned by North Little Rock's Coulson Oil, entered into an official business relationship.
Fornetti products -- breads and pastries, in particular -- will be distributed in 12 Road Runner stores in Arkansas. Since it was founded in Hungary in 1997 the company has expanded to 6,000 locations in Europe with more than $100 million in annual sales, Fornetti USA CEO Nick Peters said.
Peters recognized the potential market for quality European baked goods in the U.S. and convinced Fornetti to invest across the Atlantic. Fornetti is concentrating on the convenience store market in the U.S., but sells to large supermarkets and coffee shops across Europe.
Ingredients are prepared in a factory, frozen and then baked in-store. It takes about five minutes of training for employees to learn how to operate a system that uses a bar coding system to set time and temperature on in-store ovens.
Pastries will make up the initial convenience store products with prices ranging from 79 cents to $2.39. Breads -- ciabatta, sourdough and other "treat breads," as Peters describes them -- will be available around Thanksgiving for between $1.73 to $5.49 per loaf.
"We're not going after the sliced bread market," Peters said.
Finding a convenience store chain willing to offer higher-end baked goods led Fornetti to Coulson Oil. Road Runner locations in Hot Springs, Heber Springs, Fort Smith, Conway and Little Rock will be the first to sell Fornetti products in Arkansas. There is limited availability in Oklahoma.
Coulson owns and operates 12 Road Runner stores and is looking for ways to differentiate itself as it expands its footprint in Arkansas and Texas. Road Runners offer the usual convenience store fare of sandwiches and fried foods, but was looking for a way to connect with shoppers who have more refined tastes.
"There's really nothing like this is the U.S. right now. There's certainly nothing like this in Arkansas," Coulson Oil President and CEO John Harris said. "We thought it would be a great way to help grow our brand. It's something totally different at a nice price point consumers here in Arkansas will gravitate toward."
Road Runner is hoping to capitalize on the growing trend of convenience stores offering more than junk food and fuel. Food sales make up about $61 billion in annual sales for the convenience-store industry, according to statistics from the National Association of Convenience Stores. That total represents about 21.2 percent of in-store sales for convenience stores, a figure that is trending up annually.
Industry estimates place the value of the in-store bakery goods market at about $13 billion annually.
Each of the Road Runner locations will carry products -- Fornetti and otherwise -- that are geared for the specific community in which they operate.
Currently the company is in the process of building a 4,200-square-foot store with eight pumps on Broadway in Little Rock. It will be complete in late February or March and take up nearly an entire city block, which includes Broadway on the east, West Ninth Street on the south, South Arch Street on the west and West Eight Street on the north.
Harris said the store will cater to the business community and residents living downtown. In addition to the Fornetti Cafe the store will offer made-to-order coffee, sandwiches and smoothies, plus a limited selection of home products and an expanded fresh fruit section for downtown residents.
Fornetti products are expected to sell particularly well there.
"Our Broadway location really started the conversation with Fornetti," Harris said. "We wanted to be able to offer something different to the downtown community. It grew from that conversation to looking at rolling it out in all Road Runner stores.
"We think it's a great partnership."
If you have a tip, call Chris Bahn at (501) 378-3518 or email him at cbahn@arkansasonline.com
SundayMonday Business on 10/30/2016