Walmart Continues to Broaden Foodservice Offerings With New Partnership
Walmart is again diversifying its foodservice offerings as it partners with Knuckies Hoagies to bring the company’s sandwich shops to stores across six states. Atlanta-based Knuckies Hoagies has signed 14 leases with Walmart, expanding its presence in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Texas.
According to Knuckie’s, the economics offered by Walmart are exceptional, including a built-in customer base and prime locations. The company further said that franchisees can expect a high demand for the hoagies.
"We are using Knuckies Hoagies as our way of always 'Striving to make a difference: One Hoagie, One Guest, One Community at a time!' This mission is at the core of everything we do at Knuckies Franchise Company, and we are excited to extend our reach to even more communities through this incredible partnership with Walmart," said Todd Broaderick, founder and CEO of the sandwich company.
Walmart has been steadily expanding its foodservice offerings through new restaurant partnerships. Last month, the retailer partnered with Mr Gatti's Pizza to bring the Texas-based pizza chain to 92 retail stores across Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kentucky, with the locations offering pizzas, wings, salads and sandwiches.
Earlier in the year, Walmart partnered with Wonder, which runs 10 food halls throughout New York City and New Jersey, to bring the delivery-first concept to several of its stores. Some of the restaurants include Limesalt, Yasas, Alanza Pizza, Tejas, Wing Trip, Burger Baby, Fred’s Meat & Bread, and Room for Dessert.
Last year, Walmart teamed with the Uncle Sharkii Poke Bar chain to offer a variety of Hawaiian-inspired fresh seafood dishes and other items. The retailer also opened its first location with Food Geeks Eatery, a Black-owned, family-run in-store restaurant that offers comfort food fare.
Each week, approximately 255 million customers and members visit Walmart's more than 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries. With fiscal year 2024 revenue of $648 billion, the retailer employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named Walmart one of its Retailers of the Century.
