YORK, Pa. —Rutter’s is building on its menu transparency efforts with the addition of antibiotic-free chicken to its menu. The No Antibiotics Ever meat will be sold at all Rutter’s foodservice locations.
Chicken with the No Antibiotics Ever health claim bars suppliers from using antibiotics of any kind, starting from the egg. The chicken will be available grilled and in boneless chunks, wings and tenders. Customers can purchase the chicken from hot grab-and-go displays or customize their orders by selecting NAE, short for No Antibiotics Ever, at touchscreen kiosks.
“Rutter’s is committed to sustainability and transparency throughout all our stores,” said Ryan Krebs, director of foodservice for the York, Pa.-based convenience-store chain. “It made complete sense to build off our already implemented cage-free eggs, clean-label products, recycling initiatives and local sourcing. This provides yet another avenue for customers to make intentional decisions regarding their food and lifestyle choices.”
In 2018, Rutter’s appointed a fresh and local category manager and added locally sourced produce to its grab-and-go and made-to-order offerings. Last year, Krebs told CSP Daily Newsthat one of the biggest challenges for the chain is staying on top of shifting consumer demands.
“Gen Z and millennials have brought back such a transparency and passion to food,” he said. “It has become an ultimate experience to put food in your mouth. Does that bring a lot more work to things? It does. You have to be more technologically savvy. You have to be more transparent. You have to source different, so we have about 85 local items on our menu.”
About 58% of consumers would be more likely to purchase food or beverages at quick-service concepts described as antibiotic-free, according to Technomic’s Future of LSR Consumer Trend Report. Nearly one-third of consumers would be willing to pay more for this claim.
Rutter’s was No. 101 in CSP’s 2018 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by number of company-owned retail outlets.