500 Micromarkets And Growing Five Star Food Service Celebrates Milestone

CHATTANOOGA, TN -- Five Star Food Service has reached a major milestone in mid-February with the installation of its 500th self-checkout store. No. 500 opened at its hometown newspaper and longtime vending customer, the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

To celebrate the transition from traditional vending machines to a micromarket, newspaper employees were treated to an expanded version of Five Star's typical grand opening. The all-day celebration included a brief tutorial on how to use the market, cash to spend in the market and raffle giveaways. Raffle prizes included iPads, FitBits, GoPros, tickets to local attractions, professional sports tickets and a four-day trip to Disney.

"Our employees are very excited about the market," said Chattanooga Times human resources director Sheniqua Hambrick-Thomas. "They are always looking for a good, affordable food option that doesn't require them to leave the office. Due to the nature of our business, it is hard to leave the office for lunch, plus having lunch delivered gets expensive."

In other news, Five Star and Flowers Foods have partnered to offer the new Mrs. Freshley's blueberry powdered and chocolate frosted strawberry mini donuts at a special promotional price in all of Five Star's micromarkets for the month of March.

"To continue to be successful in the future, we will have to operate like a world-class retailer," said Five Star senior vice-president of sales and marketing Greg McCall. "We study the strategies of the great companies in grocery and c-store channels to identify concepts and products that deliver growth."

Five Star implements an annual promotional calendar in its micromarkets containing 40-plus promotions, giving consumers opportunities to win prizes, take advantage of discounts, and try the hottest new products.

Five Star says potential new products and brands for its markets go through a selection process. And each micromarket is merchandised with a specific planogram based on market size, consumer demographics and special client requests. The merchandising process is specific, from a store's layout and point-of-sale materials, to how its products are categorized, organized and displayed.

Founded in 1993, Five Star Food Service, a Canteen franchise, is one of the largest privately held vending operations in the Southeast. It opened its first micromarket in early 2011.

Five Star micromarket 500 at Chattanooga Times.