CINCINNATI, OHIO – This Wednesday, Kroger launched a new fresh-focused convenience store format.
The retailer opened its first Fresh Eats MKT in the Columbus, Ohio suburb of Blacklick, according to news source the Cincinnati Business Courier. The new concept features fast-casual carryout foods, mobile/online ordering, restaurant seating, a drive-thru pharmacy, fuel pumps, a Starbucks, and a selection of fresh items that is expansive by c-store standards.
“Fresh Eats MKT is a fresh, new way to shop,” Jeff Parker, President of Kroger’s Convenience Store Division, according to the Courier. “We look forward to serving customers and offering fresh products, friendly service and convenient shopping in a way we’ve never done before.”
With made-to-order offerings like pizzas, burritos, sandwiches, salads, and smoothies, and a deli, dairy, bakery, and produce department that approaches the company’s larger-format sister stores, Fresh Eats MKT could be the future of Kroger’s c-store identity.
Some have speculated, as the Cincinnati Business Courier also reported, that the brand may eventually be expanded to the existing stores under Kroger’s Turkey Hill banner, and the company has already begun rebranding in deli departments in the Columbus area.
Could Fresh Eats MKT be the future of fresh-focused retail? AndNowUKnow will continue to report on this and other developments in the produce industry.
