• Convenience Store News, Wednesday, March 24, 2010 10:27 AM

After 46 years of serving up its coffee in grab-and-pour glass pots and more than a year and a half of research and development, 7-Eleven is going to change the way it delivers about a million cups of joe each day, Linda Lisanti reports in an exclusive interview with Jay Wilkins, the chain's category manager for hot beverages.

The chain will switch from glass pots to urns, install new coffee bars with a more functional layout and redesign it cups and coffee branding. It will also start to target promotions to Millennials -- the 20-to-35 year old male and female consumers it's particularly looking to attract (while retaining its current base, which is mostly male, late 30s to early 40s).

Younger customers recognize urns as "a freshness cue," Wilkins says. Urns also hold product at a more optimum temperature. As for existing customers, he says: "I think the biggest hurdle is not whether or not they like an urn; it's getting them to try it and [overcome] the mindset that 'I've made my coffee the same way for so long.' Once they try the urn, they'll see that their coffee still tastes the same."

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