SLURPING UP NUTRITION 7-ELEVEN DEVELOPS ITS OWN FORMULA FOR FITNESS CROWD.Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer 7-Eleven, home of gargantuan gar·gan·tu·an adj. Of immense size, volume, or capacity; gigantic. See Synonyms at enormous. gargantuan Adjective huge or enormous [after Gargantua, a giant in Rabelais' sodas and heat-lamp hot dogs, can now count itself in the health food business. Long known primarily as a vendor of Slurpees, nachos and cigarettes, the king of convenience stores The following is a list of convenience stores organized by geographical location. Stores are grouped by the lowest heading that contains all locales in which the brands have significant presence. has been gradually bringing in healthier fare. In addition to its fresh fruit, sandwiches and sushi, the chain announced Wednesday that it's now offering its first proprietary line of fitness and nutrition products, sold under the Formula 7 brand name. ``We still have doughnuts and Slim Jims Slim Jim is a brand of dry meat snack manufactured by ConAgra Foods, Inc. They are popular in the United States, due in part to their unique texture, salty taste and "hip" marketing. More than 500 million are produced annually in at least 20 varieties,. , but today's consumer wants a broader variety,'' said Kevin Gardner, director of marketing and communications for the Dallas-based chain. ``We see this as a platform across the store. We think there's potential for this brand as we move to the next trend in diets.'' So alongside the Snickers
Snickers is a sweet bar made by Mars, Incorporated. bars and pork rinds, 7-Eleven will be slinging its own $2.49 energy drinks, similar to Red Bull, and fitness beverages similar to Gatorade for $1.79. It also sells a line of nutritional bars for $1.79 apiece, placed next to the Tiger's Milk Tiger's Milk is a nutrition bar made by Schiff Nutrition Group, Inc. Joe Weider introduced Tiger's Milk in the 1960s. The nutrition bar brand is known as "America's Original Nutrition Bar. and PowerBars favored by bodybuilders and on-the-go eaters. Made of exotic-sounding ingredients such as bee pollen bee pollen, n mixture of flower pollen, honeybee digestive juices, and nectar. Has been used therapeutically for asthma, allergic conditions, im-potence, bleeding stomach ulcers, altitude sickness, as a dietary supple-ment has been used for cancer, high , green tea polyphenols and gingko biloba Gingko biloba, n See gingko. , the lines mirror the sort of foods sold in health clubs. They also have sizable amounts of high-fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is any of a group of corn syrups that have undergone enzymatic processing in order to increase their fructose content and are then mixed with pure corn syrup (100% glucose) to reach their final form. and other sugars, making them not strictly healthy fare. ``I was fairly surprised,'' Gardner said. ``A lot of energy bars aren't a delightful treat, but these taste pretty good.'' Nutritional benefits aside, customers haven't yet embraced the idea of hitting a convenience store for the food they'd normally look for after working out. ``I come for the water, the coffee, Slurpees - maybe one of those cheddar cheese green things,'' said Mo Dean, a 27-year-old art student from Woodland Hills. ``Protein bars and stuff like that? I'd rather go buy them in bulk somewhere.'' Jerome Noria also couldn't shake the snack shop's old image as he reached past the Factor 7 products for one of the name-brand competitors. The 15-year-old Chatsworth High sophomore likes the store as a haven for regular snacks rather than fancier offerings hyping their antioxidant antioxidant, substance that prevents or slows the breakdown of another substance by oxygen. Synthetic and natural antioxidants are used to slow the deterioration of gasoline and rubber, and such antioxidants as vitamin C (ascorbic acid), butylated hydroxytoluene counts and herbal ingredients. ``Natural stuff? Not at 7-Eleven,'' he said. ``It's probably not healthy here.'' The chain hasn't completely bought into the fitness craze, however. For its traditional patrons, it also recently quietly added a second proprietary brand: Big Gulp candy bars and bottled soda. Brent Hopkins, (818) 713-3738 brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) In Woodland Hills, Kevin Blitz checks out an energy drink in 7-Eleven's new Formula 7 line of fitness and nutrition products. (2 -- color) An energy drink at a 7-Eleven store in Woodland Hills bears the chain's Formula 7 label for fitness and nutrition products. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion