The quality of fuel at our gas stations has become roughly the same, and the choice of gas station is increasingly dictated by secondary factors. This includes convenient location, loyalty programs, quality coffee, and a variety of hot dogs – the most popular snacks at gas stations. Therefore, today the networks that do not offer a fast-food menu and a coffee drink card can be counted on one hand. These are either one-day companies preparing for resale, or outright discounters. Even the conservative ANP has turned its face to the market, realizing that it is losing customers precisely because of the weak range of related products. Meanwhile, its more agile rivals are taking a significant audience away from roadside catering due to fixed prices, high quality standards, and minimal service time.
Out of a dozen popular gas station chains, today only Marshal does not offer its customers hot dogs. Faced with difficulties in their preparation and sale, one of the oldest networks in Ukraine decided this year to completely exclude this item from its menu.
In the laboratory
Specialists from the capital's "Institute of Consumer Expertise" purchased hot dogs and coffee from ten popular gas station chains and sent samples to the state laboratory "Ukrmetrteststandart" and two tasting commissions.
First of all, the main ingredient of a hot dog - the sausage (frankfurter) - was checked. It must be only of the highest grade, that is, according to DSTU, it must not contain starch. And in none of the nine samples were traces of it found. Another standard limits the mass fraction of moisture in such products to a maximum of 75%. And again, all samples fit within the norm, and with a noticeable margin.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL INDICATORS OF HOT DOGS
But one thing is to find a reliable and responsible supplier of ingredients, and another is to build a sensible logistics algorithm plus learn to store semi-finished products in compliance with all sanitary and hygienic standards. In particular, sausages should not contain bacteria of the coliform group and mesophilic aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms. Fortunately, microbiologists found no traces of coliforms or excess of QMAFAnM in the products.
MICROBIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
But one thing is standards, and quite another is taste. Finding an original and at the same time organic taste with such a tiny number of ingredients (bun, sausage, seasonings) is not possible for everyone. This was confirmed by the next examination, which involved not only professional tasters but also "people's" testers - ordinary motorists. Both groups rated the taste of "hot dogs" on a 10-point scale. The highest scores were received by products from two networks at once – BRSM NAFTA and KLO.
By the way, the BRSM NAFTA network also became the champion in terms of offers – as many as ten types against 3-5 positions for others. And the hot dog from KLO was noted for its very tasty buns.
For the hot dog from Glusco, the testers noted a dry, unappetizing bun and a lack of sauces. For Shell, the insufficient amount of sauces was aggravated by their quality.
The weakest result is from SOCAR, which has previously received complaints about the bland taste and quality of buns. This time, points were reduced because the sausage is not grilled but heated in a microwave oven, which seriously affects the taste and juiciness of the product. At ANP, the sausage in the finished hot dog turned out to be completely cold – and this at the highest price. So the human factor still plays an important role even in fast food.
TASTING ASSESSMENT (Hot dogs)
Coffee wars.
Even faster than hot dogs, the sale of coffee drinks is growing at gas stations – for some networks they have increased 3-4 times over the past year. The use of premium coffee machines, high-quality Arabica varieties, and exclusively natural milk has led to the fact that a coffee break at gas stations is becoming a daily ritual for motorists. The most popular coffee drinks among drivers remain "espresso" and "americano". Even the economical ANP, following the example of BRSM NAFTA, splurged on WMF machines costing as much as a new car. OKKO, the traditional coffee leader, prefers equally expensive German Melitta coffee machines, while Shell, SOCAR, and WOG prefer Swiss Franke. Therefore, it is not surprising that gas stations are taking customers away from catering not only on the periphery but also within the city, becoming serious competitors to cafes and coffee shops.
As with hot dogs, the tasting process involved not only professional tasters but also "people's" testers. Both "espresso" and "americano" received very high scores. With the exception of the Marshal network (outdated coffee machines, bitter Arabica), almost all samples were of high quality. The maximum 20 points were earned by the same BRSM NAFTA, OKKO, KLO, WOG, and SOCAR.
TASTING ASSESSMENT (Coffee, average score for both drinks)
Results
The results of the examination cannot but please – the quality, recipe, and assortment at Ukrainian gas stations are growing year by year. Moreover, several networks are going neck-and-neck, and there is no clear leader today, which OKKO was for a long time. Now the Galicians are joined by BRSM NAFTA and KLO.
BRSM got into the top positions thanks to a partnership with the largest Ukrainian roaster Gemini Espresso - the company provides the network with freshly roasted coffee and automatic WMF coffee machines, which, without the help of specially trained personnel, prepare high-quality coffee.
But ANP, UPG, AMIC, and especially Marshal have something to improve. It is also worth noting that most operators buy sausages for hot dogs from one company – "Premier Food", which owns the Mr.Grill brand, the national leader in the segment of comprehensive catering systems. As the examination showed, the ingredients supplied by this company are of very high quality, which indicates the correct production technology and well-established logistics. By the way, Premier Food has its own certified production and makes sausages from high-quality raw materials, natural meat, and spices.
Andriy Babenko.
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