Express Seminar 2024: Convenience, Connections Deliver Taste of Home

Nearly 300 senior leaders and Express managers worldwide are uniting in Orlando this week for the annual Express Seminar to learn about new products and solutions for bringing the best grab-and-go tastes of home to Soldiers, Airmen, Guardians and their families.

Exchange President Jason Rosenberg and Consumables Vice President Martha Robuck kicked off the seminar, encouraging attendees to soak up knowledge and family-serving-family spirit.

“This week will be focused on building on the Exchange’s commitment to deliver the very best tastes of home to wherever Warfighters and their families go,” Rosenberg said. “Take home as much knowledge as you can. Learn from each other and from our vendor partners. What you do in our Express stores each day makes a difference in Warfighters’ readiness and resiliency and keeps the Exchange benefit relevant.”

Meaningful connections

In 2023, the Exchange’s convenience and specialty business, including gas, represented 36% of the organization’s $8.5 billion in revenue. In 2023, Convenience Store Decisions magazine ranked military convenience stores, including Army & Air Force Exchange Service Expresses, 15th on its list of top 100 chains in the industry.

“The Express is a vital part of the Exchange business,” Robuck said. “It’s a gathering place for our Nation’s military community. We create emotional connections with our heroes and their families.”

Express stores are often near training barracks, making it easy for service members to grab meals and snacks to go, said Divisional Merchandise Manager David Arens.

“Soldiers, Airmen and Guardians start and end their days at an Express,” Arens said. “We provide variety throughout every daypart. We have new innovations for breakfast from quick-serve restaurants. We have lunch and dinner as well as healthy snacks, fruits and salads. We’ve become a solution for service members and civilians. We have variety—and it’s been awesome to see.”

On the menu: Lots of learning

At the seminar, managers will learn about the Exchange’s strategies for continued convenience channel growth. More than 100 vendors, including well-known names like Frito-Lay, Mars Wrigley and Conagra, will be on hand with information on new products.

“We want associates to take away as much learning as they can about the products—what they look like and taste like—and take that knowledge back to their teams,” Robuck said. “Our associates will be well-prepared once they leave the seminar knowing what’s new and what’s trending for the year, so they can educate shoppers too.”

Meals on the go

For 2024, quick-serve restaurants (QSRs), including Hunt Brothers Pizza, Chopz, Hot Stuff Kitchen and Eddie Pepper’s Tacos to Go, will continue expanding. In 2023, more than 40 restaurants opened in 30 locations, with sales of $41.3 million, up 28% over the prior year.

A new concept, Express Kitchen, is planned for 2024. The QSR is intended for smaller Expresses. Menus will include breakfast empanadas and bites, chicken wings, mini tacos, pizza by the slice and more.

“Express Kitchen will enhance our offerings at smaller Expresses, letting us grow beyond a standard convenience store offering,” Arens said. “Menus will be customizable to meet the stores’ needs. Our shoppers deserve this.”

Flexing the BE FIT 360 focus

The Exchange’s BE FIT 360 program thrives at the Express, where more than 350 stores have endcaps featuring better-for-you snacks and beverages. BE FIT sales at Expresses totaled $64 million in 2023.

“The strong callouts and visibility for better-for-you options are unique to the Exchange,” Arens said. “C-stores outside the gate don’t have the emphasis on better-for-you that Expresses do. We are catering to military shoppers, who require healthier options.”

Shelf tags, signing and social media callouts drive awareness to the Exchange’s BE FIT 360 program.

“We have a lot of healthy snacks and drinks at the Express so service members can come in, grab some protein and be ready for their next exercise,” Robuck said. “We make it easy for them to quickly make healthier choices.”

MILITARY STAR solutions

MILITARY STAR card promotions especially for the Express help drive traffic, said Exchange Credit Program Strategy Vice President Grant McCloud. For example, Express shoppers earned double points on fuel on Fridays in February and double points on all purchases on Mondays in March. Additional promotions are in the works.

Updates to the card, which are coming later this year, will help make MILITARY STAR the payment of choice at the Express, making checkout easier and faster.

“Our goal is for the MILITARY STAR to add even greater value to a visit to the Express,” he said. “What’s ahead for the credit program is a game changer for every service the Exchange offers, especially the convenience channel.”

Sustaining momentum

Divisional Merchandise Manager Danielle Pelland says her teammates keep the excitement surrounding the Express going all year for the best customers, and associates, in the world.

“Expresses have multiple touch points with our heroes throughout the week,” Pelland said. “Our associates’ constant interaction and communication with those they serve keeps the Express relevant to their lives.”

She encouraged seminar attendees to focus on learning about upcoming trends in snacking and beverages.

“We are looking for excitement and in-store activities to engage customers as well as keeping up with trends,” Pelland said. “We will continue working with celebrities on events and products that Millennials and Gen Z want.”

For Arens, sustaining that momentum is part of what makes the Express business exciting.

“With one-time buys and trending items, the Express provides incredible variety,” Arens said.

“We have a lot happening—from food to drinks and everything in between, there’s always something new and exciting to see at our Expresses. The Express has become a gathering place, especially after PT. It’s a place to grab a beverage, a quick bite and catch up and chat. It’s been terrific to see.”

Stay connected

Check out the Exchange Post all week for coverage of the seminar. Follow the Exchange’s associate-focused social media channels for real-time updates on Facebook, Instagram and X.