"7-eleven" news and stories

According to our sister site Gadling, a dozen 7-Eleven stores across North America have now been transformed into the fictional convenience store Quik-E-Mart (yes, I spelled it wrong) Kwik-E-Mart. The change will last for the month of July to help promote the upcoming Simpsons movie which is due for release on July 27.

Apparently, the 6,000 or so other 7-Eleven stores that weren't converted have also jumped on the promotional bandwagon by selling Simpsons-related snack items such as Buzz Cola, KrustyO's cereal, and - you guessed it - the infamous Squishee. In fact, one flavor of 7-Eleven's own Slurpee will be sold as "WooHoo! Blue Vanilla" Squishee for the month.

Sadly though, they will not be offering Duff Beer.

You can see a full listing of the renovated locations via the link below.

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Do you pick up coffee in the morning? Well, if your regular cup of java isn't quite doing it for you, 7-Eleven has now released a new 'Fusion Energy' coffee with natural herbal extracts to help kick-start your day.

Their Exclusive Blend coffee is infused with all-natural herbs including guarana, ginseng, and yerba maté, which they believe will boost your energy and sharpen mental alertness. The flavor, however, is supposedly no different than their regular coffee.

The product was tested at Canadian 7-Eleven stores last summer, and has now been launched nationally in the United States.

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A few months ago Nick mentioned that Fizzy Fruit may be introduced into some schools. Well many years before it made the news I tried my hand at making my own fizzy fruit at home. I had heard about the idea a few years earlier from people in the brewing industry when I was an assistant brewer during grad school in Seattle. It's pretty easy to do. I used an empty soda syrup keg, filled it with assorted fruit, added CO2 under pressure, and chilled it overnight. This carbonated the fruit, the same way soda is carbonated, so that it fizzed with tiny bubbles like champagne when you ate it.

Looking back, it was fellow blogger Joe D who taste tested that first batch with me in the winter of 1996/1997. Personally I didn't think much of most of the fruit. They all tasted good, and the fizz was fun, but except for the grapes, the fizz was more annoying than anything else. With the grapes it was actually enjoyable. I guess because they were small, sweet and tart, and you could pop whole ones in your mouth. I never thought the idea was going to go anywhere, but I guess it has.

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More and more stores are stocking the shelves with private label goods. This is especially evident in grocery stores, but it is spreading to convenience stores, as well. 7-Eleven has just introduced its own "Big Gulp" brand of sodas and candy bars, all marketed as "value priced" alternatives to major brands. The soda is sold in 2L bottles and comes in five flavors: cola, root beet, lemon lime, orange and cranberry-raspberry. The first four will clearly compete with national brands, but the cran-raspberry might be positioned to compete with juice drinks, despite the fact that it is carbonated. The chocolate bars will be available in milk chocolate and in dark chocolate with rice crisps. The company is also planning 20-oz bottled drinks and energy/sports drinks in the near future.

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