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sure bets Ocean Spray Works with Lyons Magnus to Introduce Company's Branded Dispensed Beverages to Foodservices Market Consumers will now be able to enjoy Ocean Spray's great-tasting, good-foryou juices at foodservice locations throughout the country. Lyons Magnus and Ocean Spray Cranberries have signed a licensing agreement that will enable consumers to choose Ocean Spray beverages at more of their favorite convenience stores, restaurants, hotels, schools and healthcare facilities. "We are excited to combine the resources of our unique manufacturing strategies with the strong consumer brand recognition of Ocean Spray to offer foodservice operators a unique advantage in offering products that will resonate with consumers," said Kent Walrack, President and COO of Lyons Magnus. "Our objective is to create a positive consumer experience in foodservice locations by offering great-tasting, high quality Ocean Spray products in order to help increase their visits to those foodservice operators who offer our products." The power of this partnership leverages the dispensing expertise and wide foodser- vice infrastructure of Lyons Magnus with the market strength and consumer brand recognition of Ocean Spray's quality juices and juice drinks. Through the agreement, Ocean Spray will provide Lyons Magnus with cranberry juice concentrate and use of the Ocean Spray brand. Lyons Magnus, in turn, will manufacture Ocean Spray branded juices, including cranberry, orange, apple and lemonade, for use in their dispensed beverage machines, marketing them through its foodservice infrastructure. "We are pleased to partner with Lyons Magnus to offer consumers more choices in delicious, healthy beverages, by providing a line of unique Ocean Spray branded products sold by Lyons Magnus in their high quality dispense system to the foodservice market," said Peter Wyman, Vice President of Sales at Ocean Spray. "Ocean Spray and Lyons Magnus share the same core values as companies, so it is a natural fit to combine the strengths of both organizations to broaden our consumer reach." Founded in 1852, Lyons Magnus develops and markets quality value-added fruit, beverage and chocolate products with innovative packaging to meet the needs of foodservice, ingredient and international customers. Headquartered in Fresno, Calif., the company is directly involved at nearly every level of its industry, including the growing and processing of key raw materials, process engineering, manufacturing, warehousing and transportation. For more information, visit www.lyonsmagnus.com. Ocean Spray is an agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry growers in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, Canada and Chile, as well as 35 Florida grapefruit growers. The company is North America's leading producer of bottled juices and juice drinks, and has been the best-selling brand name in the bottled juice category since 1981. Ocean Spray posted fiscal 2012 gross sales of $2.2 billion and net proceeds of $338 million. n Walgreen's Announces Plans to Construct Nation's First Net Zero Energy Retail Store in Evanston, Illinois Walgreens recently announced plans to build what the company believes will be the nation's first net zero energy retail store. That is, engineers predict the store will produce energy equal to or greater than what it consumes. The drug store chain plans to achieve this by utilizing solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal technology, energy-efficient building materials LED lighting and ultra-highefficiency refrigeration. "We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and leading the retail industry in use of green technology," said Thomas Connolly, Walgreens Vice President of Facilities Development. "We are investing in developing a net-zero store so we can learn the best way to bring these features to our other stores. Because we operate 8,000 stores, we believe our pursuit of green technology can have a significant positive impact on the nation's environment." The new Walgreens store will be located in Evanston, Ill. at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Keeney Street. The Chicago-area location will allow convenient access for Walgreens engineers based at the company's headquarters in Deerfield, Ill., to measure the store's performance for an entire year, determining if the store does in fact reach its goal of net zero energy use. 2 C onvenienceRETAILER May/June 2013 Walgreens plans to generate electricity and reduce its usage by more than 40 percent through several technologies in the store including roof-top solar panels, two wind turbines, geothermal energy obtained by drilling 550-feet into the ground, LED lighting, daylight harvesting, carbon dioxide refrigerant for heating, cooling and refrigeration and the use of energy efficient building materials. Engineering estimates indicate that the store will use 200,000 kilowatt hours per year of electricity, while generating 256,000 kilowatt hours per year. Walgreens will attempt to have the store achieve LEED Platinum status, which is the most stringent green designation by the U. S. Green Building Council, and plans to enter the store into the International Living Future Institute's Living Building Challenge. The store will be Walgreens' second showcase project in the Department of Energy Better Buildings Challenge. Through the Better Buildings Challenge, Walgreens has committed to a chain wide 20 percent energy reduction by 2020. The project is the latest of many green initiatives for the company. Walgreens currently operates two stores that have achieved a LEED certification level of gold. The company also operates 150 stores utilizing solar power, a store in Oak Park, Ill., using geothermal energy, a distribution center in Waxahachie, Texas that generates energy though the use of wind and 400 locations with electric vehicle charging stations. Walgreens stores use 25 watt fluorescent lamps, the lowest wattage in the industry, as well as LED cooler and freezer lighting. In addition, 15 Walgreens distribution centers have achieved net zero waste, which means revenues from recycling exceed waste expenditure. To follow the new store's two-year journey to achieve net zero status and the company's other green initiatives, visit the Net Zero Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/ Wa l g r e e n s - N e t - Z e r o - C o m m u n i t y / 141953242640364?fref=ts. n GATE Convenience Stores Launches Mobile App, Redesigned Website GATE Convenience Stores recently rolled out OpenStore® by GasBuddy, a mobile app now available for download on the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry platforms. The OpenStore app showcases in-store promotions, updated gas prices, store locations and more. In addition, customers can send feedback from their mobile phones and receive time-sensitive electronic mobile coupons and special offers. OpenStore by GasBuddy is a multichannel digital marketing solution that increases customer loyalty by providing much needed two-way communication between convenience store owners and customers using leading-edge web technologies and custom branded mobile applications. The OpenStore dashboard makes it easy to collect customer feedback, manage social media, deliver mobile coupons and conduct text message campaigns, all from one single location. OpenStore makes a brand and a convenience store stronger and more aligned with current marketing trends. "The retail environment is constantly changing and evolving, but at GATE one principle stands the test of time: We are committed to going 'beyond convenience' by making the customer our top priority in all we do," said Mitchell Rhodes, Chief Operating Officer of GATE. "The addition of our new mobile app and totally redesigned website will allow us to further enhance the GATE experience for our customers in the store, on the web or wherever they go." Jason Toews, Co-founder and CEO of OpenStore by GasBuddy agrees. "We help our clients identify new opportunities, make choices between those opportunities and optimize their customer experiences to attain and sustain market leadership," said Toews. "OpenStore is a complete turnkey social technology solution that will support GATE strategies to reach their customers with targeted marketing and powerful messaging." Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., GATE operates convenience stores throughout the Southeastern United States, including in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina. GATE is committed to building state-of-the-art facilities with a focus on spacious floor plans, expanded fueling options, bright and clutter-free interiors, well-lit exteriors, a broad selection of merchandise and services and well-trained, courteous personnel. For more information, visit www .mygatestore.com. n

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