If all goes well, future forecourt owners will be looking to the revamped Kinnegar Service Station in Holywood, Co Down, as a blueprint for how to incorporate sustainability into forecourt design, which, at Maxol Kinnegar features a newly extended Eurospar with deli, self-checkouts and increased carparking.

Maxol CEO Brian Donaldson says that not only will the flagship project be the company’s first dedicated EV hub on the island of Ireland, but it will also implement their new sub brand Maxol Recharge before it is rolled out elsewhere.

“Kinnegar is going to be our innovation hub to test the different types of chargers that we will operate under the Maxol Recharge brand, including very fast rapid and slower 50kW chargers,” he says.

“Really what we’re looking at is testing the technology, getting to better understand the early EV adopters and making sure that we are investing in the right way and giving the right experience to the customer.”

Location is key

The choice of the relatively upmarket village of Holywood was no accident, he explains.

“We selected Kinnegar because of the local demographic (medium to high income households), high rates of EV adoption and ownership and because it had the right footprint to facilitate an EV hub,” he says.

“We obviously are working closely with NIE Networks in getting the capacity and sufficient power supply needed for the EV charging hub.

“The kind of power that’s going into Kinnegar for the EV hub is around 550 KVA, which is equivalent to that needed for a small housing estate of about 15 houses.

“We’ve developed our own bespoke canopy which will have solar panels on the roof. We’ve created a completely new suite of point of sale to make it easy for the customer to identify the different types of chargers, whether it’s a 50kW charger, a 100kW charger or a 175 kW charger.

“We’ve also developed our own payments technology which links into the forecourt controller in terms of how we charge per kW. We also wish to introduce a surcharge for customers who overstay beyond the recommended period of time to help ensure they don’t restrict the facility for other customers.”

Blueprint for change

The charging hub isn’t the only feature that is showing of Maxol’s environmental leadership – the entire site is being designed with sustainability in mind, and is trialing new technology to cut energy consumption, Brian says. “It’s probably going to be the first location where we’ll install solar panels to generate some of our own electricity,” he says.

“We’re looking at developing an energy management system that controls the use of energy in-store, replacing all of our refrigeration with closed refrigeration, and we’ll be recycling the heat from those units within the premises as well.

“That’s on top of the good work we’ve been doing with grey water collection along with our use of LED and light sensors, making sure that we only use electricity when people are in those parts of the building.

“From that perspective Kinnegar is gearing up to be the blueprint for what we would like to roll out across our larger format stores, north and south, over the next 2-3 years.”

Major investment

Maxol is also extending and improving its sites at Edenderry and Downpatrick and has invested around €10m on capital works on the island of Ireland, including major projects in Kilkenny and Mitchelstown in Cork.

“We’ve done a major store revamp in Mitchelstown, increasing the amount of retail square footage, and we’ve also put in a new deli, a new seating area and moved it into the new Maxol shop concept. It was one of the very last three Mace stores that we had within our network in the south,” Brian says.

“We’re also putting in new underground storage, canopy and a completely new forecourt with increased car parking space, and relocating a new drive-thru car wash facility. The works are due to be finished by the end of October and we are planning to finish the works in Kinnegar, Edenderry and Downpatrick around the same time.”

As in the other projects, Maxol has acquired more land in Kilkenny, allowing it to double the size of the retail offer.

“Our site in Kilkenny will have a new deli and a new seating area, and we’re also re-laying the forecourt configuration and introducing much more car parking,” Brian says.

“It’s another busy year for us in retail and we’re now working on other planning applications where we would like to introduce more quick service restaurants with Burger King.  This will bring the iconic BK brand to even more locations in the south of Ireland.

“We’re also looking at where we believe there’s opportunity to expand our instore offers by acquiring more land or by developing within the existing footprint or boundary of the land that we own at possibly another 10 locations, which we would look at developing over the next 3-5 years.”

Challenging backdrop

All this innovation has taken place against a challenging backdrop which saw the industry pitchforked from the pandemic into a fuel crisis and a cost of living crisis, as well as national labour shortages.

Brian says Maxol has been very fortunate in that its key suppliers were able to maintain fuel supplies. “We had to make sure that we kept in daily contact with what was happening on the forecourt, to ensure our forward estimates were matching demand. We worked very closely with our key suppliers south and north, which was crucial” he says.

“One of the biggest challenges was trying to keep track of the volatility and the rapid upward move in wholesale prices and reflecting both upward and downward changes in the market fairly and quickly.

“On certain days there were double digit increases in the cost of product, so depending on when our retailers were receiving deliveries, that impacted very much on what their retail price could be.

“It was certainly very challenging because I don’t think we had ever seen that kind of rapid increase in daily wholesale prices. Thankfully, we didn’t have any stock issues. At times it could have become quite tight but none of our service stations ever had to restrict sales to customers.

Changing customer behaviours

“One of the interesting things that we saw during this period was a change in customer buying behaviours. Clearly the media was very much on top of what was happening, and people were trying to buy before prices moved up, and equally before the duty cuts were announced, so you would have seen a very low demand for fuel on the day when those duty cuts were due to apply, south and north.

He says poor communication by the Irish government allowed the public to believe that prices would drop at midnight after the duty cut.

“That created confusion, and it also created some bad feeling with customers, retailers and frontline staff, which was unnecessary and indeed I think it was recognised by the government that they should have handled things better.

“We didn’t have the same situation in Northern Ireland and the UK because I think the communication that was coming from government was clearer that prices wouldn’t drop immediately because retailers were going to have to sell out the higher paid stock.

“It really was all hands-on deck and it was a case of trying to manage the situation and navigate the various challenges that appeared each day – but we did it and we think we’ve got through the worst of it. Thankfully in recent weeks, energy prices on oil have been coming back and prices are certainly coming down on petrol and diesel.”

Double hit

The war in Ukraine has led to a double hit on energy and commodity prices, coming on the heels of the post-Covid supply chain disruption, he says.

“Economists both in the UK and Ireland are saying recession is likely to follow towards the end of this year and the early indicators are suggesting the extent of recession is likely to be more severe in the UK than in the south of Ireland.

“It’s quite unique that we’re going into a recession with full employment, which is unheard of. This recession is being driven by the imbalance in supply and demand. So if demand starts to pull back and there is a rebalancing within supplies, it may well be a short recession, but no one is certain as to what will unfold over the next 18 to 24 months.”

With a full employment market, it’s proving difficult to attract staff into the sector and this is leading to wage inflation, he says. “In the south of Ireland we’ve got new social reform legislation coming through such as living wage, pension enrolment, statutory sick pay etc and if all of those changes are implemented at roughly the same time or over the next 12 months, that could add 9% or more to typical wage costs,” Brian warns.

Labour challenges

“I don’t think anyone is objecting to the social reform and legislation that government wants to bring in, but it shouldn’t happen all at once and certainly not having just come out of a pandemic and straight into an energy and a cost of living crisis.

“We would hope for a bit of common sense and that legislation changes are not all applied at one time to try to keep wage costs at a manageable and appropriate level to maintain business viability if nothing else.”

As a frontline service, retailers have worked hard during some very difficult times, Brian says.

“It would just be nice to get back into a much more normal trading environment but we don’t see that happening, effectively for the next 18-24 months.

Building the future

“We’re 102 years old this year and we’re in the middle of reworking and signing off our new strategic plan which will take us up to 2027,  it’s based on building on the good foundations of what we’ve already put in place.

“We want to continue to look after our independent retailers, we want to look after our people in head office and we want to support our suppliers who have been good to us because it works both ways.

“That’s what we’re looking forward to; continuing to build upon the good things that we’ve already put in place while supporting all of our business partners that have supported us over the last three turbulent years, which have been some of the most challenging in our long history.

“But we have continued to both invest and innovate during this time, a highlight of which included the launch of our first Loyalty App.  This, together with our new flagship EV hub, new sites and ongoing developments right across our network, mean that there is a lot to look forward to for Maxol and all of our partners.”

To read the full feature in the latest issue of IFCR, click HERE.

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Kerry’s latest research into foodservice beverages shows consumers are seeking flavours that they link with health and nutrition benefits such as strawberry, lemon and mango, but are also seeking excitement and a sensory experience through newer formats like Frappuccino and bubble tea. 

Examining nearly 400 limited time offerings (LTOs) across 12 regions in Europe, the new Art of Taste and Nutrition 2022 summer analysis categorises the top beverage platforms and flavours, while examining future trends and influences across the world. According to the research, the top three LTO trends are as follows: 

• Travel through taste: Moving beyond just a beverage, LTOs can also deliver an experience. Many outlets this year launched beverages with flavours such as mango, pineapple, passion fruit and coconut to create a tropical island experience for the senses. 
• Natural refreshment: Consumers are craving a cool, refreshing beverage, with many now focusing on flavours they consider natural and local to the different European regions such as lemon and strawberry.  
• Health and nutrition focus: Consumers are looking to foodservice outlets for healthier options. Nutrition focused LTO ranges need to deliver not only great taste but also health benefits through fortification and healthy halo ingredients. 

Commenting on the new report, Daniel Sjogren, VP and General Manager for Foodservice in Kerry Europe, said:  

“With markets in Europe fully re-opened this summer, foodservice operators find themselves once again competing for consumers attention. LTOs have come back with a vengeance and are more popular than ever. We have found that consumers are looking for exciting sensory experiences, with the rise of bubble tea and drinks that are a visual experience and shareable on social media.  

“Fruit flavours continue to be the core flavour offering for summer LTOs across Europe but with two clear distinctions. Firstly, exotic flavours have become more prominent in consumers’ minds as they remind themselves of their favourite holiday destinations. However, consumers are also becoming more conscious of their own health and are seeking out flavours aligned to their personal nutrition needs.”  

Future trends 

Looking towards 2023, it is clear that sustainable nutrition will continue to gain traction with consumers more concerned with both their physical and mental health post-pandemic and the health of the planet. They are also more interested in unique menu items, with foodservice operators now having to consider not only taste but look, texture and smell to create a complete sensorial experience.  

“Our prediction for the future is that sustainability along with nutrition will continue to become more important as consumers look for great tasting beverages that are better for them and better for the planet. However, many operators find it challenging to deliver on these evolved trends while also being able to communicate them to their consumers in a meaningful way. At Kerry, we look forward to partnering with customers to bring our insights to life and deliver exciting new concepts for summer 2023,” adds Mr Sjogren. 

The Art of Taste and Nutrition beverage analysis for summer 2022 can be downloaded here.  

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Ray and Brendan Lee were flying high after taking home the ultimate gong from the IFCR Awards in 2019 – and so was the business.

“Lee’s Centra was trading exceptionally well at the time, prior to the pandemic,” says Ray Lee.

“It was ticking all the boxes, and then of course first lockdown hit, and that was a hugely scary time for us.”

At the time, the company owned two stores, the Lee’s Centra in the Main Street of Charleville and the newer Lee’s Centra Applegreen Charleville on the outskirts of the town on the main Cork to Limerick road, which had just undergone a major redevelopment.

Hardest hit

It was the latter that was hardest hit in the first stage of the pandemic, thanks to the tight restrictions on travel.

“Once we got through the first lockdown, we found as we were going into the summer of 2020, we actually had a very good summer,” Ray says.

“Business seemed to come back very quickly – I suppose you had a lot of people that were traditionally travelling out of the country were all staycationing. Certainly, staycationing over the last two summers would have significantly driven our business.

“So once we got through the shock of the first lockdown, we just adapted and I think it was a turning point for us personally and for our business in that it probably made us become more resilient.

“Probably like all retailers in Ireland we’ve had to adapt and become more resilient and be able to react quickly to big changes in our macro environment, so it really made us step back and say ‘OK, in the midst of all these challenges, where are the opportunities for our business’?”

Spotting potential

A former general manager with SuperValu in west Cork and Kerry, Ray spotted the potential of the Centra store in the heart of his home-town of Charleville and bought it in 2004.

“Then in 2005, my brother Brendan joined the business and an opportunity came up to acquire a forecourt on the main Cork to Limerick road, just on the outskirts of Charleville,” he says.

“There was a very small forecourt shop and a lot of untapped potential because at the time forecourts were starting to evolve into destinations.  We could see the opportunity because at the time, if you travelled from Cork to Limerick and onto Galway there were very few good forecourts on that road, so we saw a huge opportunity there to become a destination for consumers on the N20.

“Back then it was very much a trial store for a new forecourt format for Centra – it was one of the early Centra forecourt stores to have a sit-down area. So we put a huge emphasis on sit-down, on deli, and on coffee – which at the time was starting to become a big part of the business so we really focussed on getting the offer right in these key categories.”

Flush with success

Another area where the Lees set themselves apart was in the provision of the humble WC.

“We put a lot of money into developing really top standard customer toilets because again we could see that any forecourt you went into back then, it was a walk around to the side door where you found a dingy old toilet – whereas we saw an opportunity, because of the amount of female consumers that were on the road, in particular, that weren’t stopping at forecourts because of the toilet facilities,” Ray says.

“We had seen in the UK where 67% of UK female consumers at the time chose their forecourt based on toilet facilities and we saw a huge opportunity to really tap into that. It became a destination stop and then we had a good deli offer, we had a good sit-down area, we had a good coffee offer and we had customer friendly toilet facilities. Nowadays you expect that in every forecourt but back then it wasn’t such a luxury.”

Evolving situation

In the meantime, the store has undergone three refurbishments, plus the addition of the Applegreen brand in 2018 which Ray describes as a “significant development”.

“The biggest and most recent development would have been in 2018 when we completely redeveloped the store, adopted the Centra Live Every Day brand positioning and brought the best of what Centra had to offer into that store and further enhanced our deli and sit down areas,” he says.

“We brought in the Applegreen brand also in 2018 and that was a big positive for our forecourt business.

“We added two additional pump islands so we went up to six pump islands – that would have led to growth in our fuel sales prior to Covid of probably 20-25% volume.”

Varied customers

The forecourt attracts a varied customer base, primarily transient customers passing along the main road, he says.

“You’re on the main N20, one of the busiest national roads in the country, whereas the store on the main street would be primarily local customers.”

As the first shock of the pandemic wore off and lockdown lifted, the brothers began to look at how they could further innovate within their business.

“We started to really innovate within our business, so for example we have our own bakery and it produces an entire range of both chilled and ambient bakery products, all branded Lee’s. We produce them from our store on the main street and it supplies the other two stores as well,” Ray says.

Catering at home

“At the time we saw opportunities in areas such as catering at home, all these occasions that people still wished to celebrate when the whole hospitality industry was locked down. We took on a head chef in November 2019 and we set about creating a whole at-home dining offer, ranging from everything from one-off occasions, like cheeseboards, meal kits, pizza kits and afternoon tea.

“Our head chef Declan has really upped our food credentials. He has developed a whole range of at-home dining solutions so we have a full range of restaurant quality chef-prepared meals, that are made from an in-store production kitchen using only the best local natural ingredients. That has done exceptionally well and has given us a point of difference over our competitors with a full range of these “Lee’s” branded ready meals to take home from our stores.

“We had also established a bakery prior to the pandemic and we do a lot in terms of occasion cakes and birthday cakes. So during the pandemic we needed to find a way to get to the market a bit better so we developed an online solution, lovelees.ie.

Marking the occasion

“Before, if you wanted an occasions cake, you had to come into the store, so we took the opportunity to look at how we could make this easier for our customers. Now you can go online on your phone, and build your cake to your requirements, upload a picture you want on the cake, pay and then collect two days later.

“We took advantage of the opportunities that the pandemic presented and we also used it as an opportunity to focus on improving the customer experience. We were always strong on areas such as the customer experience, but now we certainly are much stronger than we would have been prior to the pandemic.”

During the pandemic, the business also offered deliveries focusing on the more vulnerable in the community and working closely with community organisations such as the GAA to support people.

Seeking value

Ray admits the business is operating in a particularly challenging environment post-Covid with relentless inflation ultimately fuelled by the unfortunate crisis in Ukraine.

“The focus is back on value for money where it might not have been for the last few years, given the significant challenges around inflationary pressures,” he says.

“But we’ll work through these challenges, we’ve been through similar challenges in the recent past such as the financial crisis, and we believe that ultimately, we’ll get through the current challenges by working closely with our brand partners.”

Another focus for the business has been on sustainability, a journey which has been ongoing for the past five years for Lee’s.

Green journey

“It was something that we could see in our own locality and from talking to the younger generation in particular that sustainability was going to become a big issue,” Ray says.

“So we had been doing a lot of work on that – we had introduced segregated sustainability bins into our stores to try to encourage customers to think before they threw stuff in the bin on the forecourt. We were on a journey already encouraging consumers to think more about what they’re wasting in packaging and bins.

“Centra have been very proactive in this space in terms of starting to introduce initiatives such as compostable cups and compostable shopping bags etc. From the point of view of the actual stores we have introduced full LED lighting to our stores in recent years along with highly efficient refrigeration.

“But no doubt it’s going to become a bigger issue into the future and it’s something we all have a responsibility, I believe, to get behind and ensure that we leave the world in a better place for the next generations coming along.”

Branching out

One long-held ambition for Ray and Brendan – to bring more stores into the fold – has just come to fruition with the acquisition of the Centra / Circle K at Pallasgreen, Co Limerick on the N24 Limerick to Waterford road in March of this year.

“Certainly we have ambitions to grow the business further, so I suppose a lot of the work we have been doing over the past few years has been focussed on putting the resources and skillsets in place to allow us to scale the business, when suitable opportunities arise,” Ray says.

“Again, we’re really focused on the things that make us different from our competitors, so the likes of our production kitchen for meals, our chef-prepared ranges, and our bakery is a huge contributor to our business, so we want to continue to innovate with new products and customer solutions, and ultimately roll those out to new store locations.”

Ray is quick to point out that huge credit is due to their teams in their stores to whom they owe all their success to date.

“Myself and Brendan are very fortunate to have great people working in our business, and they have embraced all the challenges the last few years have presented us and they have been instrumental in ensuring our business continues to thrive in challenging times,” he says.

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The measure was announced earlier this year by the Government as part of the Circular Economy Bill, which is aimed at reducing waste and influencing behaviour.

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