Slide 1

Promoting and Advancing Petroleum Marketing, Retail Grocery, and Convenience Stores in West Virginia

Driving Local Business and Community Growth Across West Virginia

Our Purpose and Commitment

OMEGA is a West Virginia-based organization dedicated to supporting and advancing the business interests of the state’s petroleum marketing, retail grocery, and convenience store industries.

As a network of over 225 locally owned businesses, OMEGA actively promotes cooperation, advocates for favorable legislation, and provides education and resources to its members. With over 50,000 employees, OMEGA members significantly contribute to the state’s economy, generating more than 10% of all state taxes and supporting local communities through scholarships, charitable donations, and civic involvement.

OMEGA is committed to fostering industry growth while serving West Virginians with essential services like fuel, food, and convenience.

Read

who frontpage

member frontpage

Join a Community that Champions, Connects, and Elevates!

Your Essential Connection in West Virginia

OMEGA offers three types of membership: Convenience Store Members, Petroleum Marketer Members, and Grocer Members, all of which play a vital role in providing fuel, food, and essentials across West Virginia. As a liaison with state and national agencies, OMEGA works closely with organizations like NACS, PMAA, FMI, and the N.G.A. to advocate on behalf of its members.

We keep members informed through newsletters, legislative updates, an online resource hub, and educational seminars. Additional member benefits include access to the Encova Workers’ Compensation Discount Program and participation in our annual Trade Expo and fundraising efforts for children’s charities. OMEGA is here to support, advocate, and enhance the success of our industry members.

It’s helpful to enter a new year armed with lessons learned in the prior year. This is especially the case for fresh foods, given the wide range of categories and the complexities of the business. In this spirit, I want to raise the profile of a few insights from FMI’s 2019 fresh foods thought leadership. These are all based on reports that leveraged consumer surveys, and the findings will be instructive for 2020.

<p>By Rick Stein, Vice President, Fresh, Industry Relations, FMI<br /> <img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/photos-for-staff-use/produce/picture39.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=5a9e406e_2" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="Picture39" title="Picture39" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></p> <p>It&rsquo;s helpful to enter a new year armed with lessons learned in the prior year. This is especially the case for fresh foods, given the wide range of categories and the complexities of the business.</p> <p>In this spirit, I want to raise the profile of a few insights from FMI&rsquo;s 2019 fresh foods thought leadership. These are all based on reports that leveraged consumer surveys, and the findings will be instructive for 2020.</p> <h5>1. Produce Growth Lies in Frequency </h5> <p>Household penetration for fresh produce is almost 100%. In other words, you can&rsquo;t get much higher than that. Given this reality, &ldquo;growth in produce sales is not about finding more buyers, but about finding ways to encourage current buyers to purchase (and eat) fresh produce more often,&rdquo; according to FMI&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/store/ProductFormPublic/power-of-produce-2019"><em>The Power of Produce</em></a> report.</p> <p>This makes sense when you consider that shoppers aren&rsquo;t necessarily consuming produce every day. The report found that 36% of shoppers eat fresh fruits and vegetables three days a week or less.</p> <h5>2. Foodservice Has Lunchtime Opportunity</h5> <p>Lunch isn&rsquo;t a consistent performer for many retail foodservice departments. Shopper engagement at lunchtime varies widely, according to FMI&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/store/ProductFormPublic/power-of-foodservice-at-retail-2019"><em>The Power of Foodservice</em> <em>at Retail</em></a> report.</p> <p>Retailers need to prioritize speed at lunchtime, offering the ability for consumers to get in and out of the store quickly. How quickly? Shoppers don&rsquo;t want to spend more than an average of 15 minutes waiting for their lunch order.</p> <p>Other important retail strategies are offering extensive grab-and-go assortments and making available easy parking.</p> <h5>3. Promotions Drive Meat Purchases </h5> <p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/store/ProductFormPublic/power-of-meat-2019"><em>The Power of Meat</em></a> research found sales promotions can prompt unplanned meat and poultry purchases. In fact, nearly eight in 10 shoppers surveyed pointed to this influence.</p> <p>Promotions also can influence store switching among more than half of shoppers, the research found.</p> <p>Shoppers displaying the highest sensitivity to promotions are more likely to be parents and to use two to four social media platforms to develop meal ideas.</p> <h5>4. Seafood Accelerates by Generating Trial</h5> <p>Retailers have a wide range of strategies available to boost trial in seafood, according to <a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/store/ProductFormPublic/power-of-seafood-2019"><em>The Power of Seafood</em></a><em> </em>report.</p> <p>Sampling and in-store cooking demonstrations are highly effective, the research found. Moreover, most seafood customers are willing to act based on recommendations from their stores&rsquo; seafood department. This might involve making a new recipe or buying a new seafood species.</p> <p>Other drivers of trial include recommendations from friends or family and information from television, online and social media.</p> <h5>5. Item Location Important in Bakery</h5> <p>Food retail<strong> </strong>shoppers frequent both the bakery aisle and the in-store bakery, and they have definite opinions about preferred placement of items, according to <a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/store/ProductFormPublic/power-of-bakery"><em>The Power of Bakery</em></a> report.</p> <p>For example, only 11% of shoppers prefer to find packaged bakery items in a separate aisle in the center of the store, which is the common scenario in most stores today. Many shoppers would prefer to see these items placed closer to the in-store bakery.</p> <p>This indicates a shopper interest in more integration of bakery items within a store.</p> <p>One strategy to consider is experimentation with putting select aisle items in the in-store bakery, and vice versa.</p> <p>Hopefully these fresh foods insights spark ideas for the new year. Thanks to all the industry partners that supported this research. Stay tuned for a lot more thought leadership from FMI in the coming months. And save the date for FMI&rsquo;s third annual <a href="https://www.fmi.org/fresh-forward">FreshForward</a> conference, to be held in Minneapolis August 18 to 20.</p> <p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/industry-topics/fresh-foods" class="button-secondary">FMI Fresh Foods Resources</a> </p>

Read full article on FMI



Menus

Some of the main menus of the template are now set via the template parameters saving you having to set up menu modules for each menu. From this section you can choose what menus you would like connected with these pre assigned menu areas of the template.

Copyright Information

Enter the copyright information that will appear in the footer area of your template.

Supporting West Virginia Communities

OMEGA members play a vital role in West Virginia, supporting communities through substantial tax contributions and a wide-reaching presence across the state. With over 55% of the population living in border counties, our members are dedicated to serving both local and regional needs. Beyond business, we’re proud to give back, having contributed over $3.1 million to children’s charities since 2003, reflecting our commitment to making a positive difference.

community frontpage

encova 2020 omega
OMEGA Members Receive a 3.4% discount

federated Ins web graphic 2