Parker’s debuts beverage subscription program for loyalty members

Dive Brief:

Convenience store retailer Parker’s has launched Chewy’s Drink Club, a beverage subscription program available to its rewards members, according to a recent announcement.
For $6.99 a month, Chewy’s Drink Club subscribers can get one large fountain drink per day at any Parker’s or Parker’s Kitchen store in Georgia and South Carolina.
With dispensed beverages continuing to struggle in c-stores, subscription programs can help boost the once powerful category, experts say.

Dive Insight:

Parker’s is responding to “customer demand” with the new program and aims to save its loyalty members time and money when they visit for a beverage, CEO Greg Parker said in the announcement.

Parker’s Rewards members can enroll in Chewy’s Drink Club via the company’s newly updated mobile app or website. Membership includes access to the retailer’s Southern Sweet Tea, Parker’s Fancy Lemonade and fountain drinks like Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta and Dr. Pepper.

“Our hope is that this new dispensed beverage subscription plan will make it even more convenient and cost-effective for customers to include a stop at their local Parker’s in their daily routine,” Parker’s Loyalty and Brand Manager Nick Hand said in the announcement.

Parker’s latest initiative underscores the steps c-store retailers are taking to grow the dispensed beverage category, which has fallen in recent years. In 2019, cold dispensed beverages accounted for 11.4% of inside sales for U.S. c-stores, according to NACS. That dropped to 6.9% in 2020, and has yet to reclaim double digits, most recently hitting 8.1% in 2022.

“Getting back to 2019 would be a lofty goal, but a good goal to have,” Chris Rapanick, director of business development for NACS, said of dispensed beverages during the association’s annual tradeshow last year.

Parker’s isn’t the only c-store retailer using a beverage subscription service to give the category a lift. Circle K launched its Sip & Save beverage subscription program last summer, which lets members have a beverage a day at Circle K stores for $5.99 a month. This program resonated with consumers amid inflation, David Hall, VP of global foodservice for Circle K, said at the trade show.

Savannah, Georgia-based Parker’s operates more than 70 Parker’s and Parker’s Kitchens locations in Georgia and South Carolina.