Dive Brief:
- Pilot Company has debuted several new hot and cold food items at its travel centers, according to a recent company announcement.
- The retailer’s new menu items include loaded mac and cheese bowls, Nashville hot wings, a spicy Italian pizza and a Southwest salad. It’s also relaunching its Pilot Big Dog all-beef hot dog, which debuted for a limited time last summer.
- This continues a wave of foodservice innovation seen across the c-store industry so far this year. Retailers continue to launch made-to-order items and experiment with fresh ingredients and value deals amid broader efforts to compete with restaurants.
Dive Insight:
Pilot revealed its latest foodservice items last week to celebrate National Mac and Cheese Day on July 14. Its new loaded bowls come in two varieties: tangy buffalo chicken and savory chicken bacon ranch.
The bowls appear to be permanent additions to Pilot’s menu. The retailer had a one-time buy-one, get-one offer on July 14 for both options through its loyalty app, marking the company’s first-ever Mac and Cheese Day promotion, according to the announcement.
"Drivers can count on us for delicious and convenient food that doesn't just fill them up but enhances the travel experience and brings joy to their journey," Jamie King, vice president of food and deli operations for Pilot, said in the announcement.
Pilot’s new spicy Italian pizza is topped with sausage and pepperoni while its Southwest salad features chicken, jalapeno peppers and corn. Its Pilot Big Dog is a half-pound hot dog wrapped in fresh pizza dough and topped with garlic butter.
Pilot is adding a new and improved foodservice section to many of its travel centers as part of its $1 billion New Horizons remodeling project. Locations with this new counter offer an array of items, such as roasted chicken, meatloaf and steak burgers, as well as sides like mashed potatoes and gravy. It’s unclear if Pilot’s latest food items will be served at this counter.
Knoxville, Tennessee-based Pilot operates nearly 900 travel centers across 44 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces. The company also offers trucking fleets a variety of solutions for fuel, credit, factoring, maintenance and rewards.
