Dive Brief:

• Stop & Shop is adding wing bars to 187 stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey starting this month and will continue adding them throughout November, according to a press release.
• The grocer will offer eight varieties of wings at $7.99 a pound, including boneless buffalo, garlic parmesan, sweet chili and pit boss pork wings. Seasonal offerings will include kickin’ bourbon barbecue, Korean barbecue and mango habanero.
• The new offering is part of Stop & Shop's Taste of Inspirations brand that features premium marinades and sauces. The wings will be made and fried in-store. 

Dive Insight:

Stop & Shop has been testing its wing bars in a handful of stores in recent months, the company said in the announcement, and saw a "fantastic" response to the offering. The newly added wing bars will be placed in Stop & Shop's prepared food section and will operate during the hours of 11 a.m. to 2:30p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m daily.

With football tailgate season in full swing and the holidays around the corner, shoppers are going to look for more convenient ways to feed friends and family. Wing consumption peaks around the Super Bowl, with an estimated 1.35 million wings consumed on last year’s big game day alone, according to the National Chicken Council. The average meat-eater consumes nearly 18,000 chicken wings in his or her lifetime, according to a survey conducted by OnePoll for Moore's Marinades and Sauces. 

Stop & Shop relies on its deli prepared foods section to inspire customers and help with meal ideas. On its website, the company offers a Start at the Deli page with several recipes built around prepared food items, particularly rotisserie chicken and fully cooked chicken tenders. Adding wings to the lineup will give the grocer more meal ideas and solutions to propose to shoppers. 

The retailer has been testing several store initiatives as part of a brand-wide remodeling effort. It recently became the first grocer on the East Coast to install The Mini Bakery, or Breadbot, in one of its stores. Some of its other innovations include in-store smokers, electronic kiosks and other foodservice concepts. Stop & Shop also uses Marty the Robot to monitor shelf-level performance and is piloting a micro-fulfillment technology with Takeoff Technologies.