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C o n ve n i e n c e Re ta i l e r S h o w D a i l y Fri d a y, O c to b e r 1 0 , 2 0 1 4 4 KRISPY KRUNCHY DRAWS ON CAJUN CULTURE Twenty-five years ago, Neal Onebane was a 17-year veteran in the convenience store industry with ten locations in Lafayette, La. Over the years, he wit- nessed the myriad changes in the industry as it moved from "gas stations" to "con- venience stores." One of those changes that dramatically affected his bottom line was when he added a deli in his stores. Sales rose by 25 percent as customers flocked to his stores for prepared foods. Onebane realized he needed to shift his focus to food service if he was to maxi- mize his store profits. He began experi- menting with the flavors of his Cajun cul- ture. "After the success of foodservice in my stores, I realized that there was a void in the industry, and that food service in C-stores needed a facelift." Onebane began peddling his "little seasoning company" to stores in Cajun country. "I'd like to say that it took off at warp speed, but it didn't." The reality is that it took many years and miles before he had created the brand Krispy Krunchy that now is located in 33 states with over 1,600 locations. "I knew I had a great product, I was young and ambi- tious, and I believed that other C-store operators, when shown this product, would be as excited about it as I was." In the beginning, Cajun seasoned bone-in chicken, tenders, fries and jam- balaya were the staples. The addition of Cajun boudin bites added a somewhat exotic item to customers out of south Louisiana; nonetheless, it was embraced and devoured by those who never EXCEL DRYER MAKES GREEN STATEMENT WITH XLERATORECO HAND DRYER An interview with William Gagnon, Vice President of Marketing, Excel Dryer Inc. CRSD: Tell our readers about your com- pany. What's your main line of business? WG: Excel Dryer is a family-owned and operated small business that has been manufacturing the finest American-made hand dryers for over 50 years and the only hand dryers that are Made in the USA Certified ® . The high-speed, energy-efficient XLERA- TOR ® hand dryer uses patented tech- nology to completely dry hands three times faster (in 10-15 seconds – dry time based on third party testing per- formed by SGS International on stan- dard XLERATOR/XLERATOReco hand dryers with 0.8 nozzle to 0.2g or less of residual moisture) while using 80 percent less energy than conven- tional hand dryers. CRSD: Are you introducing any new products? WG: The XLERATOReco ® hand dryer is the newest product Excel Dryer offers. The XLERATOReco new "no heat" technology dries hands in 15 seconds (dry time based on third party testing per- formed by SGS International on standard XLERATOR/XLERATOReco hand dry- ers with 0.8 nozzle to 0.2g or less of resid- ual moisture) using only 500 watts, mak- ing it the most energy-efficient and envi- ronmentally-friendly hand dryer on the planet. With a maximum draw of four and a half amps, multiple XLERATOReco units can be installed on one circuit, which significantly reduces the time and costs of installation. Continued on Page 45 Continued on Page 45 OSER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH, ENDORSED BY OR APPROVED BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONVENIENCE STORES OR THE NACS SHOW TRADE SHOW. Lee M. Oser CEO and Editor-in-Chief Kim Forrester Paul Harris Associate Publishers Lorrie Baumann Editorial Director JoEllen Lowry Jeanie Catron Dave Bernard Associate Editors Yasmine Brown Vicky Glover Graphic Designers Ruth Haltiwanger Senior Customer Service Manager Lynn Hilton Roscoe Smith Account Executives Enrico Cecchi European Sales Convenience Retailer Show Daily is published by Oser Communications Group ©2014 All rights reserved. Executive and editorial offices at: 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300/Fax: 520.721.6300 www.oser.com European offices located at Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini, 11, 50125 Florence, Italy.