Walgreens Is Unleashing a Food Truck Tour on America

Behold the new "Up Market: Fresh" food truck from none other than Walgreens, the nation's largest drugstore chain. Roaming the country offering samples of juice, smoothies, frozen yogurt and coffee, the truck is part of a new Walgreens campaign to highlight the fresh food that the chain supposedly offers in its newish Well Experience stores. These reformatted stores first opened as a pilot program in the Chicago area earlier this year, and now it seems they're now spreading across the country with the Up Market: Fresh there to greet them.

According to a press release, the 40-foot truck is "embarking on a mobile tasting tour providing samples of its innovative fresh food and refreshments" — a tour which appears to have kicked off in Los Angeles last week and is now moving on to assault the good people of Phoenix with Raspberry Dream smoothies and Go Green juices. This is, of course, just the latest example of corporations getting on the hip food truck train, from Nutella to Applebee's and beyond. Anyway, where will the Walgreens trucks go next? It's unclear, but the truck's Twitter account suggests it "may be in your town soon."

Walgreens Takes Its Fresh Food Offerings on the Road for Mobile Tasting Tour

Launches the "Up Market: Fresh" Experience:
A Mobile Bus Serving Free Samples of Select Up Market Items

DEERFIELD, Ill., Nov 26, 2012 -- Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (Nasdaq: WAG) is embarking on a mobile tasting tour providing samples of its innovative fresh food and refreshments to Los Angelenos where they work, live and play. The Walgreens "Up Market: Fresh" experience will be brought to consumers via a custom-made, 40 foot bus and will visit various Los Angeles locations between now and Dec. 5. The "Up Market: Fresh" bus' daily location and featured sample menu items are shared via Twitter @upmarketfresh.

"Several innovations are making Walgreens the first choice for health and daily living throughout neighborhoods nationwide. Our fresh food offerings provide customers with easier access to a greater selection of fresh foods and beverages," said Joe Magnacca, president of daily living products and solutions for Walgreens. "The 'Up Market: Fresh' experience is a unique way to showcase our commitment to help people get, stay and live well."
Free tastings include:

• Juices -- Samples of nutritious, fresh-made juices made from a combination of fresh fruits and vegetables. "Go Green" is a featured juice and is a blend of cucumber, kale, celery, green apple and lemon. One hundred percent natural orange juice will also be sampled.

• Smoothie -- The featured smoothie will be Raspberry Dream, which is blended fresh from raspberries, strawberries, bananas and apple cider.

• Frozen Yogurt -- Two premium, low-fat frozen yogurts will be sampled - Triple Chocolate and Tahitian Vanilla - alongside a selection of eight toppings.

• Café -- Visitors can receive free samples of a selection of coffees brewed using the same fresh roasts and barista quality techniques showcased at Walgreens.

Walgreens "Up Market: Fresh" experience will provide free tastes to Los Angeles residents and visitors to commemorate the grand opening of its latest "flagship" store which is also its 8,000th location. The flagship store will feature an extensive collection of innovative offerings, products and service unexpected from a drugstore. It is located at Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, and will open Dec. 1.

· Walgreens Takes Its Fresh Food Offerings on the Road for Mobile Tasting Tour [Walgreens]
· Walgreens Fresh Food Truck News [Phoenix New Times]
· All Food Truck Coverage on Eater [-E-]