NACS Magazine June 2025 by NACS Magazine

QUICK QSR LESSONS Innovation is critical for fresh menus

ILLICIT INDUSTRY Inside the illegal vape market

DIRECTION DATA TURNING INTO

Insights from the 2025 NACS State of the Industry Summit guide retailers through uncertainty

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ONTENTS

FEATURES

Fueling Local Communities

This article is brought to by Cenex.

Cenex helps retailers stand out by supporting local community needs.

Sluggish Start, Strong Finish

How did the industry perform in 2024?

58 Inside the Store

Key categories continue to shift, with foodservice and OTP in growth mode.

Keeping Up With the Fast-Moving Fuels Market

From how tariffs could impact gas margins to electric vehicle charging data, here’s a look at the current state of fuels.

78 Approaches to M&A

Majors Management and Yesway have each found success through different acquisition strategies.

4 Ways to Be on the Forefront of AI

Retailers can start using generative AI today to get things done better, faster and more efficiently.

90 The Foodservice Playbook

Value, variety, innovation and the overall customer experience are top of mind.

Targeting the GLP-1 Shopper

Attracting these consumers—and their households—means supporting their shopping mission.

104 Coast to Coast

Data from the six NACS regions offers insights into local trends and opportunities.

6 Big Takeaways From the NACS SOI Summit

Despite uncertainty, retailers can take steps to position their business for success in 2025.

110

Master Your Merchandise

Unlock strategies for building baskets, driving sales and connecting with customers.

118 Bringing New Life to Old Equipment

This Q&A is brought to you by Marmon Renew. Remanufacturing beverage dispensers and foodservice equipment offers significant cost savings and environmental sustainability.

120 Culture and Connections

The annual NACS HR Forum links industry peers and offers best practices.

126

Honoring Hometown Heroes

High’s convenience stores turned the NACS Foundation 24/7 Day into a celebration of those who work tirelessly to keep neighborhoods safe.

130

High Quality, Low Prices

This Q&A is brought to you by Xcaliber International.

Fourth-tier cigarettes are a backbar bright spot, but what’s next for the industry?

Subscribe to NACS Daily—an indispensable “quick read” of industry headlines and legislative and regulatory news, along with knowledge and resources from NACS, delivered to your inbox every weekday. Subscribe at www.convenience.org/NACSdaily

Inside Washington From tariffs to potential food regulations, retailers have a lot to navigate in the year ahead.

Gourmet

Category Close-Up Despite inflationary headwinds, the candy category still provides attractive margins and basket-building opportunities. 144 By the Numbers

EDITORIAL

Jeff Lenard VP of NACS Media & Strategic Communications (703) 518-4272 jlenard@convenience.org

Ben Nussbaum Publisher & Editor-in-Chief (703) 518-4248 bnussbaum@convenience.org

Leah Ash Editor/Writer lash@convenience.org

Lauren Shanesy Editor/Writer lshanesy@convenience.org

Noelle Riddle Editor/Writer nriddle@convenience.org

Chrissy Blasinsky Digital & Content Strategist cblasinsky@convenience.org

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Terri Allan, Amanda Baltazar, Sarah Hamaker, Al Hebert, Steve Holtz, Emma Tainter

DESIGN

Ji Ho Creative Director jho@convenience.org

Erika Freber Art Director efreber@convenience.org

ADVERTISING

Stacey Dodge Advertising Director/ Southeast (703) 518-4211 sdodge@convenience.org

Jennifer Nichols Leidich National Advertising Manager/Northeast (703) 518-4276 jleidich@convenience.org

Ted Asprooth National Sales Manager/ Midwest, West (703) 518-4277 tasprooth@convenience.org

PUBLISHING

Nancy Pappas Marketing Director (703) 518-4290 npappas@convenience.org

Logan Dion Digital Media and Ad Trafficker (703) 864-3600 ldion@convenience.org

NACS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIR: Brian Hannasch Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

TREASURER: Annie Gauthier, CFO/Co-CEO, St. Romain Oil Co. LLC

OFFICERS: Chris Bambury, Bambury Inc.; Varish Goyal, Loop Neighborhood Markets; Lonnie McQuirter, 36 Lyn Refuel Station; Charles McIlvaine, Coen Markets Inc.; Tony Miller, Retail Delek US

GENERAL COUNSEL: Doug Kantor, NACS

MEMBERS: Lisa Blalock, BP North America Inc.; Tom Brennan, Casey’s; Andrew Clyde, Murphy USA; Brian Donaldson, Maxol Limited; Terry Gallagher, Gasamat Oil Corp./Smoker Friendly; Erin Graziosi, Robinson Oil Corporation; Raymond Huff HJB Convenience Corp.

NACS SUPPLIER BOARD

SUPPLIER BOARD CHAIR: Vito Maurici, McLane Co. Inc.

CHAIR-ELECT: Bryan Morrow, Chobani & La Colombe

VICE CHAIRS: Mike Gilroy, Mars Wrigley; Jim Hughes, GALLO; Kevin LeMoyne, The Coca-Cola Co.

MEMBERS: Tony Battaglia; Ryan Calong, Pabst Brewing Co.; Jerry Cutler, InComm Payments; Jack Dickinson, Dover Fueling Solutions; Matt Domingo, Reynolds; Mark Falconi, Greenridge Naturals; Ramona Giderof, Diageo Beer; Danielle Holloway, Altria Group Distribution Co.; Kevin Kraft, Tropicana Brands; Jay Nelson,

dba Russell’s; Mark Jordan Refuel Operating Co.; Brian McCarthy, Blarney Castle Oil Co.; Natalie Morhaus, RaceTrac Inc.; Jigar Patel, Fastime; Robert Razowsky, Rmarts LLC; Stanley Reynolds, 7-Eleven Inc.; Kristin Seabrook, Global Partners LP; Travis Sheetz, Sheetz Inc.; Babir Sultan, Fav Trip; Doug Yawberry, Weigel’s Stores Inc.; Scott Zietlow, Kwik Trip Inc.

PAST CHAIRS: Victor Paterno, Philippine Seven Corp.; Don Rhoads, The Convenience Group LLC.

SUPPLIER BOARD

REPRESENTATIVES: Vito Maurici, McLane Co. Inc.; Brian Morrow, Chobani & La Colombe

Excel Tire Gauge LLC; Jordan Nicgorski, JUUL Labs; Nick Paich, TriggerPoint Media; Sarah Vilim, Keurig Dr Pepper; Derek Zahajko, CAF Inc.

GENERAL COUNSEL: Doug Kantor, NACS

STAFF LIAISON: Bob Hughes, NACS

RETAIL BOARD REPRESENTATIVES: Tom Brennan, Casey’s; Scott Hartman, Rutter’s; Kevin Smartt, TXB

PAST CHAIRS: David Charles, Cash Depot; Brent Cotten, The Hershey Co.; Kevin Farley

NACS Magazine (ISSN 1939-4780) is published monthly by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), Alexandria, Virginia, USA.

Subscriptions are included in the dues paid by NACS member companies. Subscriptions are also available to qualified recipients. The publisher reserves the right to limit the number of free subscriptions and to set related qualifications criteria.

Subscription requests: nacsmagazine@convenience.org

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NACS Magazine, 1600 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314-2792 USA.

Wildhorse Cigarettes

•

UP FRONT FROM THE EDITOR

NACS CEO and President Henry Armour identified six big themes at the 2025 NACS State of the Industry Summit.

Big Themes From the NACS State of the Industry Summit

Ben Nussbaum Editor-in-Chief

It’s a tradition that NACS President and CEO Henry Armour is the final speaker at the NACS State of the Industry Summit. He takes the stage and synthesizes everything he’s heard during the event. His “What We Saw and Heard” presentation is consistently one of the highest rated sessions at the SOI Summit—as well as other NACS events—year after year.

Here are the six big themes of the event, in Armour’s view:

1. Resilience isn’t about looking in the rearview mirror and seeing what you’ve weathered; it’s a core part of business strategy going forward. And resilience has two faces: Being prepared to overcome external shocks and being prepared to take advantage of unexpected opportunities.

2. Convenience is a nimble, agile industry and the muscle memory from managing supply chains during the pandemic will help the industry navigate issues like tariffs.

3. No channel can move as quickly on trends than ours, particularly when it comes to those operators who have a culture that allows a quick response.

4. Foodservice can offset the declines in cigarette sales and fuel volume. Not all companies will excel at foodservice at

a high level, but beverages are still a differentiator. “The breadth and depth of our beverage offer is second to none. The number one reason customers visit convenience stores is for immediate refreshment, so keep focusing on this moving forward,” Armour said.

5. The basics of retail execution matter a great deal, and it’s vital that this industry offers “friendly faces who brighten someone’s day” when they visit their local c-store. “People often get distracted by the bright, shiny objects and forget the importance of a quick, clean, easy and hassle-free shopping experience.”

6. Smart investments in developing and retaining staff is money well spent. “At the end of the day, the top-performing companies in the c-store industry have a clear commonality: They focus on their people.”

Our coverage of the event starts on page 32, with in-depth coverage of the latest data and what it means as well as key insights from the many experts who took the stage. Look for even more SOI coverage in our July issue. What did you think of the NACS State of the Industry Summit this year? Let me know at bnussbaum@convenience.org.

Owning the Overnight Shift

“I just love hearing customers’ stories [at work]—there’s no shortage of great ones from those passing through,” said Bryce Johnson, overnight shift lead at Love’s.

“My mom also works here at Love’s! I actually convinced her to come to the hiring event. We worked on the same shift before I moved to overnights.”

Before working at Love’s, Bryce Johnson had a variety of jobs—a warehouse worker, retail positions at Walmart and Target and several jobs in security. He never stayed at a job longer than six months.

Now he’s an overnight shift lead at a Love’s in Morris, Illinois, outside of Chicago, where he has worked since November 2022.

He spoke with NACS about:

WHY HE LOVES WORKING IN CONVENIENCE

To me, it’s all about taking pride and ownership in my store and working with my team to ensure it is up to Love’s standards 24/7. And it’s the sense of camaraderie with the customers,

Celebrating the people who make our industry great.

especially our regulars, that I find so fulfilling. I genuinely do feel like I’m seeing my friends when they come in every morning.

WHAT HE LOVES ABOUT WORKING THE OVERNIGHT SHIFT

My team is such a close-knit group, so I love making sure they have what they need to succeed. A lot of what we do overnight, in addition to being there for our customers, is to get the store ready for the next day, so we handle a lot of cleaning, detailing and making sure everything looks great. I feel really proud when management comes in the next morning and remarks about how great the store looks.

A MEMORABLE MOMENT AT LOVE’S

I still remember one of my first overnights as a shift lead. A contractor came into the store and asked me for the manager. For half a second I was thinking “Oh yeah, let me go get them,” but then I remembered “Oh wait, that’s me, I’m the manager on overnights!”

WHY HE WOULD ENCOURAGE SOMEONE TO WORK IN CONVENIENCE

There are so many opportunities to build a fulfilling career if you put in the work and are open to learning something new. When I came to Love’s, I didn’t see this as a lasting career. Six months in, when my general manager asked me to be a shift lead, I was shocked. I think I told my GM “Are you for real right now?” It caught me off guard that anyone could see me as promotable.

through one-timepasswords or biometric selﬁe checks.

NACS State of the Industry Report Is Available to Purchase

Success in the convenience industry requires knowledge and insights— knowing where you should invest and how to harness data to deliver targeted, personalized offerings and customer experiences.

The NACS State of the Industry (SOI) Report® is the industry’s leading tool for improving your business. For more than 50 years, the convenience and fuel retailing industry has relied on the SOI Report as a benchmarking tool with the most comprehensive collection of data and trends in critical categories, including financials, store operations, merchandising, foodservice, fuels and more. The report of 2024 data is available for purchase beginning June 15.

Next year, submit your data to the NACS State of the Industry Survey and receive a complimentary license of the 2026 NACS State of the Industry Report and one complimentary registration to the annual NACS State of the Industry Summit. Please contact Chris Rapanick at crapanick@convenience.org for more information.

The SOI Report will help you:

• Understand the industry big picture with data and analysis on economic, market and shopper dynamics.

• Maximize effectiveness and profitability with access to aggregate financial, operational and category data from more than 30,000 convenience stores across the United States.

• Benchmark against top performers in the industry and determine key drivers to their success.

In the report, you’ll find:

• Valuable consumer insights about the convenience shopper from the NACS Convenience Voices program.

• Comprehensive regional performance data.

• An industry overview with critical findings and actionable recommendations from veteran industry analysts.

• Data visualizations giving you the insights you need at a glance with

compelling charts, graphs and tables that illustrate key trends and patterns.

• A deep dive into category and subcategory performance data across a broad spectrum, including fuels, grocery, tobacco, foodservice and more.

• The NACS/NIQ Convenience Store Census. Developed by NIQ TDLinx, the premier source of retail/onpremise channel information and endorsed by NACS, the Convenience Store Census offers universally accepted counts and classifications of businesses in the convenience and fuel retailing channel.

Upon purchase of a digital license, you will receive access to the report through a DRM-secured PDF through your convenience.org login profile. Discounts are available for purchasing multiple licenses. Purchase your copy of the State of the Industry Report at convenience.org/SOIReport or contact Chris Rapanick, managing director of NACS Research, at crapanick@ convenience.org .

Calendar of Events

2025

JULY

NACS Financial Leadership Program at Wharton

July 13-18 | The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

NACS Marketing Leadership Program at Kellogg

July 20-25 | Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

AUGUST

NACS Executive Leadership Program at Cornell

August 03-07 | Dyson School, Cornell University Ithaca, New York

OCTOBER

NACS Show

October 14-17 | McCormick Place Convention Center Chicago, Illinois

Get More SOI Insights With a Data Archive Subscription

NACS offers members a subscription to its NACS State of the Industry Data Archive, which puts 10 years’ worth of convenience fuel and retailing industry data from over 27,000 convenience stores at your fingertips.

Retailers can quickly view historical data and gain immediate year-over-year industry perspective, including quartile rankings by store, operating profit and chain size with weighted average based on the annual NACS NIQ/TDLinx Store Census. Other features of the archive include viewing inside sales, gross profits and gross margin

percentage across all years at the category level as well as fuel sales volume in gallons, price per gallon and margin in cents per gallon by fuel grade.

The State of the Industry Data Archive is available for purchase by NACS members only.

Want to know more? Schedule a demonstration of the SOI Data Archive with Chris Rapanick, managing director of NACS Research, by emailing him at crapanick@convenience.org.

Fine Tune Your Financial Skills

“In today’s world of intense competition, rising costs, labor shortages and digital disruption, financial acumen is more critical than ever before,” said David Wessels, adjunct professor at the Wharton School and leader of the NACS Financial Leadership Executive Education Program.

The Financial Leadership program, which will take place July 13-18, 2025, at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, is designed for convenience and fuel retailing professionals who want to elevate their financial acumen, enhance their organizational impact and drive success through financially strategic leadership.

“As an HR professional, I was very pleased to see a blend of attendees including operators and financial professionals. I appreciated the blended approach to learning, including instructor-lead discussions and group learning. The dynamics of the groups and understanding how peers think about scenarios only deepens the learning,” said Sherri Hart, VP of total rewards at Casey’s General Stores and a program alum. “The presenters were

clearly experts in their field and were able to challenge the group to think differently about business planning and the use of analytics in decision making. Attending definitely increased my retail business acumen as well as helped me think about questions I should be asking when getting data.”

The NACS Financial Leadership Program at Wharton empowers convenience leaders to:

• Develop strategic skills within the framework of financial leadership.

• Build strong partnerships with key stakeholders.

• Transition from information provider to strategic partner.

• Gain an understanding of emerging trends in finance.

• Apply financial insights that drive profitability and long-term growth.

“Our course is designed to fine tune your strategic thinking and elevate your financial skills so that you can navigate these challenges effectively. Our week together will feature some of Wharton’s very best instructors, known for their deep expertise and styles of innovative teaching,” Wessels said.

Attendees apply the principles and tools they’ve learned to a fictional convenience store business to “gain a deeper understanding and truly internalize the material. This simulation will prepare you to tackle similar issues in your own business, ensuring that you’re ready to lead effectively when you return home,” added Wessels.

For more information, visit convenience. org/FLP or contact NACS education program manager Brandi Mauro at bmauro@ convenience.org.

UP FRONT NACS NEWS

Member News

RETAILERS

Pilot Company appointed Kari Irons as vice president of brand, bringing her extensive retail-marketing expertise to lead the next phase of Pilot’s brand evolution.

“Guided by our purpose of showing people they matter at every turn, Pilot is dedicated to creating meaningful connections with our guests that go beyond the pump. Leveraging Kari’s extensive retail-marketing expertise, we will continue to create exceptional experiences that fill up, fuel up and lift up all the journey makers out here on the road with Pilot.”

Parker’s Kitchen hired Darrin Samaha as vice president of marketing. In his new role, Samaha develops and executes the overall marketing strategy for Parker’s Kitchen, driving brand awareness, customer engagement, loyalty and growth through digital marketing, promotions, merchandising and customer experience optimization. Samaha brings more than 20 years of marketing, brand and advertising experience to his new position.

Onvo hired Stephanie Mihal, CPA, as its chief financial officer. Mihal has 20 years of experience as a CPA with McGrail Merkel Quinn & Associates. There, she honed her public accounting skills and sharpened both her technical and soft skills.

Kwik Trip promoted Ben Wilson to director of foodservice. Wilson previously has spent 25 years in other roles with the retailer across its food safety and general operations teams.

Derek Gaskins joined BP as head of guest experience. In his new role, he leads teams for merchandising and buying, fresh food and proprietary beverage and store design, and development for BP, as well as Thorntons, TravelCenters of America, Amoco, Ampm and Arco c-stores. Gaskins was formerly Yesway’s chief marketing officer. Gaskins joined Yesway seven years ago as senior vice president of merchandising and procurement before becoming CMO.

EG Group, parent company of EG America, named Russell Colaco as its new CEO. Russell Colaco joined EG Group as CFO in June 2024 bringing extensive U.S. and international experience, both in the wider consumer retail sector and investment banking. Reflecting the growing importance of non-U.K. markets for the Group, Russell will be primarily based in the United States, EG Group’s single largest market.

SUPPLIERS

The Hershey Company named Tiffany Menyhart chief customer officer. With 30 years of sales and CPG experience, including 15 years in confection, Menyhart will lead Hershey’s U.S. confection sales team to advance the company’s vision of becoming a leading snacking powerhouse. Joining from Kraft Heinz, Menyhart has a proven record of driving profitable growth, creating transformational change and elevating relationships with retail partners.

Nestlé appointed Josh Morton as head of corporate communications for Nestlé Zone Americas. Morton is responsible for leading strategic communications across North America. He will oversee corporate messaging, media relations, crisis communications, executive positioning, digital storytelling and internal engagement across diverse markets that account for nearly half of Nestlé’s $100 billion in sales.

Kari Irons

Josh Morton

Tiffany Menyhart

Darrin Samaha

UP FRONT NACS NEWS

New Members

NACS welcomes the following companies that joined the Association in March 2025. NACS membership is company-wide, so we encourage employees of member companies to create a username by visiting convenience.org/create-login. All members receive access to the NACS Online Membership directory and the latest industry news, information and resources. For more information about NACS membership, visit convenience.org/membership

NACS HUNTER CLUB

BRONZE

MPACT Beverage Company Cypress, TX www.mpactbeverage.com

Throne Sport Coffee www.sportcoffee.com

AllOver Media Minneapolis, MN www.allovermedia.com

Amos Sweets Inc. Las Vegas, NV www.amossweets.com

Perdue Farms Salisbury, MD www.perdue.com

RETAILERS

FASTIME Daphne, AL

Good2Go Stores LLC

Idaho Falls, ID www.good2gostores.com

Horizon Retailers Association Smyrna, GA www.hraga.com

M.G. Oil Company Inc. dba Corner Pantry Rapid City, SD Prince Oil Philadelphia, MS www.princeoil.com

Southern Sandoval Investments dba Tamaya Ventures Bernalillo, NM

SUPPLIERS

5 Generation Bakers LLC McKees Rocks, PA www.jennyleeswirlbread.com

Alvarez and Marsal New York, NY www.alvarezandmarsal.com

Andersen’s Crazy Candy Farmington, UT www.crazycandyfun.com

Better Life Foods Inc City of Industry, CA

Beverage Equipment Repair LLC Cape Coral, FL

CB Brands LLC King of Prussia, PA www.boozibles.com

Custom Made Inventory St. Petersburg, FL www.cmi.com

Dade Coolers Miami, FL www.dadecoolers.com

DeIorio Foods Inc. Utica, NY www.deiorios.com

Elements Supply LLC Bensenville, IL

Frey-Moss Structures Inc. Conyers, GA www.frey-moss.com

Garvey Products Inc. West Chester, OH www.garveyproducts.com

Genpak Charlotte, NC www.genpak.com

Gerrit J Verburg Co Fenton, MI www.gerritjverburg.com

Go & Fun International Ltd Handaq Qormi, Malta www.goandfun.mt

Good Times USA LLC Tampa, FL www.goodtimestobacco.com

Highly Crafted Inc Davie, FL www.drinkamigos.com

Ionna Durham, NC

Jane Foods Inc. Lagrange, GA www.cornflakecandy.com

Just Ingredients Orem, UT www.justingredients.us

Kickballz Los Angeles, CA www.kickballz.com

LM Nutra Kenosha, WI www.rebelenergygummy.com

Lockwood Mfg. Co. Livonia, MI www.lockwood-mfg.com

MBC Companies McDonald, TN www.mbccompanies.com

Neuro Las Vegas, NV

New Brew Los Angeles, CA www.drinknewbrew.com

Newport Bakers Costa Mesa, CA www.newportbakers.com

Niche Bakers USA Corp Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Partron ESL Co Plano, TX

n Increased facings from 70 to 90, a 29% increase*.

n Automatically billboards and faces product.

n Reduces losses from bag hook tearout.

n Cuts over 1 hour/day labor for restocking.

n Allows rear restocking and proper date rotation.

n Dramatically increases sales in the same space.

n Adjusts to accommodate various package widths.

UP FRONT NACS NEWS

PBI Sales Hicksville, NY www.pbisales.com

Performance Display & Millwork Grimes, IA www.performancedisplay.com

PrepWizard Knoxville, TN

RadiusAI Inc. Tempe, AZ www.radius.ai

Redefine Nutrition Alpharetta, GA www.finaflex.com

Scoot Frozen Lemonade Clinton, NC www.heyscoot.com

SPG International LLC Atlanta, GA www.spgusa.com

Taylor Policy Group Inc Hyannis, MA

The Clearly Food and Beverage Company LLC Pittsburgh, PA www.clearlycanadian.com

The Howard Company Brookfield, WI www.howardcompany.com

The Lagunitas Brewing Co Petaluma, CA

ThinkLP New York, NY www.thinklp.com

Uptime Energy Inc. Van Nuys, CA www.uptimeenergy.com

Vivunt Pharma OTC Medicines Miramar, FL www.vivunt.live

VusionGroup Chicago, IL www.vusion.com

Wayvee Analytics New York, NY www.wayvee.com

Wild Fox Foods Modesto, CA www.wildfoxfoods.com

Willow Ridge Global Louisville, KY

Wilshe Enterprises LLC Line Lexington, PA

WizCommerce Washington, D.C.

Twice Daily Installs Naloxone Vending Machine

Offering the medication free of charge in an easy-toaccess way has the potential to save multiple lives.

Nashville-based convenience store Twice Daily, in collaboration with Fund Recovery, installed the city’s first-ever naloxone vending machine available at a convenience store. “This groundbreaking initiative … makes life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication accessible to the community 24/7, free of charge.”

“As a Nashville-based, locally owned business, we understand our responsibility to address the urgent needs of our community,” said Dawn Boulanger, vice president of marketing at Tri Star Energy, parent company of Twice Daily. “This initiative goes beyond traditional convenience store offerings—it’s about leveraging our location and accessibility to provide potentially life-saving resources to our guests and neighbors. We’re proud

to be at the forefront of this innovative approach to combating the opioid epidemic in Middle Tennessee.”

Fund Recovery supports people struggling with mental health or substance misuse who cannot afford help otherwise. Naloxone is an inhaled medication used to reverse an opioid overdose while it’s happening. Naloxone vending machines, which provide the medications for free, can help people access doses quickly and reduce someone’s risk of dying from an opioid overdose since the medication should be taken immediately.

“The hope is that providing naloxone in a convenient way at no cost will encourage all people, whether they personally use substances or not, to carry the life-saving drug,” the retailer said.

Every year, the convenience retail industry dedicates billions of dollars to advancing the futures of individuals and families in our communities. The NACS Foundation unifies and builds on NACS members’ charitable efforts to amplify their work in communities across America and to share these powerful stories. Learn more at www.conveniencecares.org

1 NOURIA CONTINUES ENMARKET CHARITY TRADITION

The 2025 Enmarket Charity Classic raised about $264,228 for local charities. The funds will go to Make-A-Wish Georgia and the Two Hundred Club of the Coastal Empire. Since its inception in 2020, the event has raised over $1.25 million.

Nouria Energy signed a definitive agreement to acquire Enmarket in October 2024. Nouria said that it is “excited to continue the tradition of the Enmarket Charity Classic and ensure its ongoing success.”

2 CASEY’S DONATES $900,000 TO SCHOOLS

Through the Cash for Classrooms program, Casey’s General Stores awarded $900,000 in grants to 80 public and private schools across 17 states.

The retailer’s annual Cash for Classrooms program provides grants of up to $50,000 to each school to support physical improvements to school buildings and playgrounds, requests for books and educational materials and community engagement and extracurricular activities.

3 RACETRAC SPONSORS LOCAL CHARITY EVENT

RaceTrac was the presenting sponsor of Camp Sunshine’s first-ever Sunshine Spectacular, an event “dedicated to bringing joy and support to children with cancer and their families.”

“Camp Sunshine is a non-profit organization that provides yearround recreational, educational and support programs for children with cancer and their families. Over the years, RaceTrac has helped raise more than $1.4 million to support Camp Sunshine, and this event is another meaningful way to make a difference,” the retailer said.

4 NITTANY MINITMART

DONATES $20,000 FOR

MUSIC THERAPY

After hosting a round-up program at the end of 2024, Pennsylvaniabased Nittany MinitMart donated $20,615 to Angelina’s Song, a nonprofit dedicated to providing music therapy to children in hospitals. “Employees and customers came together to raise funds for Angelina’s Song, a Williamsport-based organization founded in honor of Angelina, a young girl whose battle with cancer inspired her family to create an organization that would bring the joy and comfort of music to children across the country,” said Nittany MinitMart.

5 MAVERIK DONATES TO OKLAHOMA WILDFIRE RELIEF

Following the powerful storms and wildfires that caused devastation across the Midwest and South, Maverik donated $15,000 to the American Red Cross of Oklahoma’s Tulsa chapter. The donation directly supports the Red Cross in providing critical resources, including shelter, food and emergency supplies to individuals and families in need of assistance.

6 STINKER STORES PROVIDES 172,000 MEALS TO LOCAL FOOD BANK

Idaho-based convenience retailer Stinker Stores raised $57,500 in its latest Stomp Out Hunger campaign, which will help provide 172,000 meals to The Idaho Foodbank.

“Stinker strives to be a bright spot in our communities,” said Steve Cook, district manager. “The Stomp Out Hunger campaign has been a fantastic pathway to help make that possible.”

Insights From the NACS SOI Summit: New Public Policy Trends

From tariffs to potential food regulations, retailers have a lot to navigate in the year ahead.

BY DOUG KANTOR

At the 2025 NACS State of the Industry Summit, I had the unique opportunity to be a part of a panel discussing some of the most relevant new policy trends and how those are affecting the industry. The conversation certainly gave me more to consider.

I was joined by Brad Clarkin, vice president of production operations at Kwik Trip, and Eric Hildenbrand, senior vice president, chief strategy officer for McLane Company. Clarkin oversees Kwik Trip’s sweets bakery, bread and bun bakery, dairy and commissary divisions. With two decades at Kwik Trip, he has dealt with everything from advanced technologies and automation systems to ensuring efficient production processes that support Kwik Trip’s extensive network of 850 convenience stores.

Hildenbrand leads McLane’s enterprise strategy, strategic execution and government relations teams, ensuring McLane continues to grow and innovate in a competitive market. He joined McLane in 2013, and his previous roles include chief transformation officer and general counsel.

With the two of them guiding things, we dove into how the Make American Healthy Again movement is impacting policy. One of the issues to consider is ingredients. The two pointed out that some ingredients might get banned given the current discussions in Washington. Seed oils and some dyes are the focus of attention at the time of this article. Clarkin, in fact, has heard from customers on both sides of such issues—some are complaining about the presence of certain additives needed to stabilize products on the shelves, while others are complaining about the lack of stabilizers leading the product ingredients to separate. Obviously, that presents a no-win situation.

They both noted that there could be restrictions with respect to the foods that can be sold through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Many retailers participate in SNAP and provide a service to customers in need who use the program. But doing that could get harder. A number of states are asking

Doug Kantor, NACS general counsel, moderated a panel at the NACS State of the Industry Summit on government policy trends.

The difficulty with SNAP restrictions won’t necessarily come from a loss of sales, but from the complexity of implementing those restrictions.

the U.S. Department of Agriculture to waive its requirements so that those states can experiment with restricting the types of foods people can buy with SNAP. The most common targets of such restrictions are sodas and candy.

The difficulty with restrictions won’t necessarily come from a loss of sales, but from the complexity of implementing those restrictions. With so many different products on the market, how can you know which ones are allowed and which ones aren’t? It might seem easy to figure out what is candy and what isn’t, but what is the line between a candy bar and a protein bar (especially when Snickers, for example, has products in both categories)? Clarkin and Hildenbrand

walked through some of the factors stores might need to consider regarding their customer base and how difficult it is to remain in the program. SNAP revenue can vary quite a bit from one store location to the next.

Clarkin and Hildenbrand also touched on changing customer preferences in the market, including those resulting from the use of GLP1 medications. There are already demands for more protein-rich products in some markets as a result. In spite of those changes, Clarkin made sure to promise that the greattasting cookies at Kwik Trip would not be going away.

The panel also discussed one of the most talked about policy changes for

Brad Clarkin, vice president of production operations at Kwik Trip (left), Eric Hildenbrand, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at McLane Company (middle), and NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor (right)

INSIDE WASHINGTON

the year—tariffs. With a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs hitting just the day before the panel, no one could be certain exactly where those tariff levels would land for different countries and products. Regardless, they are likely to have an impact on a large number of products that convenience stores sell. For example, Hildenbrand pointed out that even if a specific food product is not subject to a tariff, the packaging for that product may well have a tariff and that will impact the cost structure for getting it into the store.

There was general agreement, at least at the time, that the fact that products covered by the United StatesMexico-Canada trade agreement were not hit by tariffs was helpful. With a large volume of oil, gasoline, diesel fuel and some renewable fuels coming from those countries, the reprieve should be helpful in avoiding upward pricing pressure at the pump. But, the longevity of those exceptions as well as others was not certain.

Even if a specific food product is not subject to a tariff, the packaging for that product may well have a tariff.

As a manufacturer of many food products sold in its store, Clarkin talked about the evaluations Kwik Trip was doing to determine where it gets different ingredients and other products used in making food and, therefore, how different tariff decisions might impact the business. There were

also questions about where different costs would hit in the supply chain as products get imported into the United States.

In spite of the uncertainty overall, the panel did think that elevated tariffs on products from China were likely to remain for some time. The concerns about China and its practices on the international stage are extensive (and bipartisan). The number of materials and products coming from China, however, is huge. The impacts of long-term elevated tariffs could be felt throughout many parts of the business.

One question that policymakers have discussed, and the panel grappled with as well, is whether that could lead to changes or diversification in where some products are made or sourced. While it’s tempting to conclude that businesses will relocate, the uncertainty around tariff policy makes that a more complicated question. The panel agreed that there was hesitation to make investments in changing many parts of the supply chain when tariff policies could change unexpectedly and undermine the rationale for making those investments.

Given the extensiveness of McLane’s supply arrangements, Hildenbrand noted how diligently the company needs to work and communicate with

customers throughout the supply chain to ensure these changes don’t disrupt commercial relationships. By the same token, Clarkin noted the importance of customer relationships and the need to communicate clearly with them. No one in the supply chain or customers in the store like to be hit with unexpected price increases that are not justified. That puts a burden on business owners to be transparent about the realities they face as tariff policies impact different aspects of their operations.

Overall, the discussion provided great insight into everything from high-level strategies to on-the-ground execution that come up as these policies relating to food and tariffs impact the market. With the changing landscape that convenience store owners face right now, it was helpful to get the perspectives of experienced hands about how to navigate things.

That, of course, is the central mission of the NACS State of the Industry Summit—providing members of the industry with the insights they need to understand what is happening in the market, what is coming their way and how to deal with it. I was happy to be a part of it and walked away a lot smarter regarding all of those topics. I hope those who joined us were able to get that value as well.

Adobe/Henryk

Guziak

NACSPAC Donors

NACSPAC was created in 1979 by NACS as the entity through which the association can legally contribute funds to political candidates supportive of our industry’s issues. For more information about NACSPAC and how political action committees (PACs) work, go to www.convenience.org/nacspac. NACSPAC donors who made contributions in April 2025 are:

Hal Adams Cadena Comercial OXXO S.A. de C.V.

Carlton Austin The Coca-Cola Company

Thomas Bachrodt HJB Convenience Corp. dba Russell’s Convenience

John Benson Alvarez and Marsal

Grant Bleecher TruAge

Kathleen Byrd Home Market Foods

Tyler Cameron Rovertown

Dave Charles Jr. Cash Depot

Max Clark PAR Retail

Mandy Coffey Alvarez and Marsal

Lucia Crater Chomps

Jack Dickinson Dover Fueling Solutions

Mike Gilroy Mars Wrigley

Adam Grzybek BIC Corporation

Matt Hagquist Chestnut Market

Edward Holmes Holmes Oil Company Inc.

Mark Hopkins J & M Distributors Inc.

Sam Johnson J & M Distributors Inc.

Sam Jonas nData Services LLC

Jeromy Jones Oberto Snacks Inc.

Nancy Jones Stinker Stores

Sharan Kalva C-StoreMaster

Jake Kiser PAR Retail

Scott Klepper Pace-O-Matic

Aaron Littlefield Littlefield Oil Company

Jerry Marfut Pace-O-Matic

Kevin Martello Keurig Dr Pepper

James McNutt Midwest Petroleum Company

Drew Mize PDI Technologies

Kelly Naudain Altria Group Distribution Company

Jason Noll Capital One Bank

Erik Ogren Patron Points

Pam Parma Taiga Data Inc.

JP Patel FASTIME

Giulio Petraccaro Schaerer

Michael Quinn Pinnacle Financial Partners

Lisa Rountree TruAge

Ashley Scheele Alvarez and Marsal

Alyssa Snyr Imperial Trading Company - S. Abraham & Sons Inc

Saurabh Swarup Liquid Barcodes Inc.

Gray Taylor Conexxus

Matt Taylor Anheuser-Busch LLC

April VanApeldorn NACS

Mike Vanderwagen Weigel’s Stores Inc.

Filippo Vitale Altria Group Distribution Company

Heather Webb Patron Points

Chris Welcelean CORD Financial Services LLC

Kathy Williams The Coca-Cola Company

Kim Wolfe Island Energy Services LLC

Les Wooley Excel Tire Gauge

Erica Worrell Imperial Trading Company - S. Abraham & Sons Inc.

Name of company: Crescent Market

Date founded: 2017 # of stores: 1

Website: www.facebook.com/ CrescentMarketatSnoqualmie

Waterfall Merch + Local Art + Smiles

Crescent Market has found its formula for success.

BY SARAH HAMAKER

Not many convenience stores start life as tobacco shops, but that’s the backstory of Crescent Market in Snoqualmie, Washington. “In 2011, it was a less than 2,000-square-foot store selling mostly tobacco products and liquor,” said John Willson, director of retail operations. Six years later, the store reopened with a 5,500-square-foot building and fuel pumps. “We saw there was a growth opportunity for us in fuel and food, so we expanded and renamed it Crescent Market,” he said.

Today the store serves the local community as well as the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe. “We also draw tourists exploring Snoqualmie Falls due to our location right off Interstate 90,” said Mary Lou Patterson, interim CEO of Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel, which is adjacent to the Crescent Market. The locally famous

Crescent Market stocks c-store staples while embracing a hyperlocal approach.

waterfall attracts more than a million visitors each year.

The mix of locals and tourists played a large part in how the tribe stocks the store and interacts with the community.

HIGHLIGHTING TRIBAL ARTISTS

Part of what makes Crescent Market unique is its focus on tribal artists. “We rotate the art of six Snoqualmie artists through our store every couple of months because we want to support our tribal artists,” Willson said. The store stocks tribal jewelry and beadwork as well as postcards, shirts, cozy blankets and other artwork.

The program has been popular with both the artists and customers. “We offer something for everybody, and by alternating our tribal artists, we give customers a reason to keep stopping by,” Willson said.

Beyond the artwork, the store also developed its own brand of clothing, Apparel 268, which is the height in feet Snoqualmie Falls. T-shirts, hats, beanies and other clothing have the Apparel 268 branding. “Apparel 268 merchandise has been good for our convenience store, drawing in customers and promoting the falls,” he said.

Crescent Market has fresh foodservice, although it has scaled back its offering. “Given the location and the community served, plus sharing close proximity with the casino, having a fresh food offering in the convenience store wasn’t as important,” Patterson said.

In addition, Crescent Market boasts more than 400 square feet of beer, wine and spirits. “Unique to Washington state, we have a liquor license, which not many gas stations have, so we can offer a wider selection of alcohol,” he said.

Rounding out the food and beverages is the store’s salty and healthy snack lines. “We have a robust selection of sweet and salty trail mix, pretzels, protein bars and many options with zero sugar,” he said. “With a large patron base of hikers, we needed to make sure we had what they like on hand.”

A WARM WELCOME

The biggest task for the Crescent Market team isn’t selling items—it’s connecting with customers. “Our staff understands how to make our customers smile,” Patterson said.

“My manager taught me to set high expectations, to be consistent and to always follow up—that sounds cliché, but it translates to employees giving our guests a great experience,” Willson said. To achieve those expectations, he taps into NACS educational resources as well as partnering with the casino on its training programs.

BRIGHT IDEAS

John Wilson, director of retail operations at Crescent Market has one word of advice for his fellow c-store operators: adapt. “What’s unique today might not be unique tomorrow,” he said.

For example, he’s constantly looking for new ways to train employees to engage with customers. “This year, we’re in the process of using avatar training to elevate the guest experience through our team,” he said.

Patterson credits Crescent’s low employee turnover to the training. “That, in turn, builds on the customer experience because with continuity of staff, they get to know regular customers by name,” Patterson said. The store also runs promotions to generate interest, such as free gas giveaways, and hosts an annual customer appreciation day each July. “Our mission is to provide a frustrationfree experience for our customers, and so we celebrate them on the anniversary of the store’s opening, July 18, each year,” Willson said. The event, which draws more than 2,200 people, has fuel and grocery giveaways, raffles for gift cards and barbecue food.

For Patterson and Willson, the best return on their investment into staff and customers comes when a guest tells a friend about their experience. “Word of mouth is always the best advertising,“ Patterson said.

Instead, the store carries freshmade sandwiches and yogurts in its grab-and-go section. “We also focus on beverages,” Willson said. For instance, its enhanced coffee bar has 10 different flavors and an extensive condiment section with a variety of milks, including nondairy options. NACS Ideas 2 Go showcases how retailers today are operating the convenience store of tomorrow. To see videos of the c-stores we profiled in 2024 and earlier, go to www.convenience.org/Ideas2Go

Sarah Hamaker is a freelance writer, NACS Magazine contributor and award-winning romantic suspense author based in Fairfax, Virginia. Visit her online at sarahhamakerfiction.com.

Apparel 268 merchandise plays off the height of a nearby waterfall that is a local tourist attraction.

FUELING LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Cenex® helps retailers stand out by supporting local community needs.

In an evolving industry where it is increasingly difficult to get customers to turn left, branding with a partner that embraces individuality and local ties is key to increasing loyalty with community members. Cenex®, the energy brand of CHS Inc., has partnered with retailers for over five decades to improve the communities it serves. Today, the Cenex brand is present in over 1,000 communities across 19 states.

“Local businesses offer something that others can’t: personal connections, exceptional service and community-focused experiences,” said Erin Wroge, senior director, energy marketing for CHS Inc., “Because they’re part of the same community they serve, retailers understand their customers on a deeper level, which creates authentic, personalized experiences that meet local needs.”

Cenex provides retailers with innovative programs and the flexibility to tailor store

Sioux Valley Co-op in Harrisburg, South Dakota, has become a pillar within the community after utilizing the LIFT program to address community needs.

Beyond the in-store experience, focusing on ‘local’ encourages retailers to partner with local artists, vendors and contractors.

operations to address unique community needs. “All of our stores are locally owned and operated, and we give every store owner the freedom to customize their store,” Wroge said. “It is so critical for us to understand our business owners’ point of view, because they know their community the best. We see ourselves as a partner and support system that allows them to optimize their stores for their communities.”

COMMUNITY FOCUSED SUPPORT

Store updates can take a great deal of financial and staffing resources. The Cenex LIFT program seeks to transform convenience stores through lighting, image and facilities upgrades. Through the Cenex LIFT program, CHS Inc. offers low-interest financing for qualifying interior and exterior improvements, aimed at enhancing customer experience. To date, CHS Inc. has paid nearly $8 million in interest on behalf of retailers to support store enhancements.

Sioux Valley Co-op in Harrisburg, South Dakota, recognized that its rapidly growing town had limited options for food. Utilizing the LIFT program, the team incorporated several food choices in its store, including Godfathers Pizza,

Caribou Coffee and Flyboy Donuts. This location has now become a pillar within the community, and its new enhancements speak to the community’s needs.

In Harwood, North Dakota, Petro Serve USA knew that the lack of a grocery store in the city was an obstacle for residents, requiring them to venture outside of town to get the items they needed. Petro Serve USA utilized the LIFT program to add a wide variety of food choices and upgrade both the interior and exterior of the location at the same time. Improvements included built-in LED lighting, an assortment of refrigerated products, a walk-around deli counter and the Café USA. Additional interior upgrades included expanded bathrooms, an improved seating area for customers to meet with neighbors and new showers to accommodate truckers passing through town.

“Whether it’s hot food stations, comfortable dining areas or inviting store designs, creating a welcoming, community-centered atmosphere builds customer loyalty and fuels long-term success,” Wroge said. “Beyond the in-store experience, focusing on ‘local’

Erin Wroge, Senior Director, Energy Marketing for CHS Inc.

About Cenex

Cenex® is a brand of CHS Inc., a diversified company with over five decades of experience meeting retailers’ needs. With a heritage rich in innovation and a deep connection to the industries it serves, Cenex works hard to build top-performing energy solutions retailers can count on. Its expansive portfolio makes Cenex a strategic partner, offering turnkey, endto-end solutions for retailers.

Benefits of adopting the Cenex brand include:

The backing of America’s largest cooperative refiner.

A dedicated account manager to help you stay on top of the latest industry news and trends.

A team of product experts, retail consultants and brand marketing professionals.

Competitive re-imaging rebates and yearly volume incentives based on gasoline sales.

Image enhancement programs to ensure the Cenex brand image always appears fresh and eye-catching to encourage repeat business.

Marketing funding to promote your brand and encourage repeat business.

Flexible conversion policies and full-service branding programs to support your business.

A robust media plan that includes television, radio, social media and more.

Creating a welcoming, community-centered atmosphere builds customer loyalty and fuels long-term success.

encourages retailers to partner with local artists, vendors and contractors. These are important partnerships that fuel the local economy, support small businesses and strengthen the very communities retailers call home.”

A STRONG BRAND BACKING

Cenex also aids retailers by providing robust retail and marketing support.

For instance, every retailer can access professionally crafted advertising materials that are fully customizable. This allows each store to tailor them with their unique products and services, ensuring the local community remains the focal point.

“Retailers can use the templates with their own brand and imaging to create professional pieces on their own,” Wroge said. “We fund a very robust media plan that has television, radio and social media campaigns. So, whatever we design for the local markets is going to piggyback off those corporately placed messages.”

THE COMPETITIVE EDGE

In the competitive convenience store space, every decision a retailer makes matters. That’s why choosing a fuel brand partner who supports and understands your local community is crucial to stand out from competitors.

“Cenex was born out of agriculture and is rooted in supporting the communities where we work and live. That translates to the brand and the retail space, as well,” Wroge said. “Cenex partners with the retailer to give them the tools and resources that they need, fill expertise gaps to help them elevate their business and support them in making a meaningful impact at their stores for their community. We offer competitive programs that allow retailers to enter and stay in the game and capture maximum share of their local market.”

Petro Serve USA used the LIFT program for a wide variety of interior and exterior upgrades, including increased food choices, expanded bathrooms and an improved seating area for customers to meet with neighbors.

6 6

BIG TAKEAWAYS

From the NACS State of the Industry Summit

Despite the uncertainty, retailers can take steps to position their business for success in 2025.

BY JEFF LENARD

While the word of the year in 2023 and 2024 was “inflation,” the word of the year in 2025 is “uncertainty,” said Charlie McIlvaine, the chairman and CEO of Coen Markets and a NACS executive committee member, kicking off the 2025 NACS State of the Industry Summit.

The event took place in early April as the stock markets were roiled by the introduction of—and modifications to—tariffs.

“Unfortunately, a lot of my speaker notes are a week old,” joked Mark Daniels, Yesway’s chief strategy officer. “Everything I say now could be wrong in a couple of hours,” OPIS Chief Oil Analyst Denton Cinquegrana quipped.

The bar is really low to execute the most important transaction there is: The relationship between the sales associate and the customer.

—Henry Armour, President and CEO, NACS

11 ONE

THING IS CERTAIN: UNCERTAINTY

“It’s a great time to have a crystal ball,” said Brad Clarkin, VP of production operations at Kwik Trip.

“Over the next 12 months, anything can happen—both good and bad,” noted McIlvaine.

On the regulatory front, some things seem probable. The “Make America Healthy Again” initiative will likely lead to some ingredient restrictions and dye and flavor bans. The question is which items are banned—and how long a lead time will be in place so the supply chain can manage change.

The supply chain could face an even larger disruption in the form of tariffs.

“The supply chain is dialed in for what it knows—and consumers are largely predictable in their behavior,” said Clarkin. But sudden changes can lead to immediate shortages that takes months to resolve. Just look back five years ago during the start of the pandemic when everyone wanted to buy a four-pack of toilet paper at the same time. Supply-chain shortages across the board lead to spikes in the cost of goods and helped push up inflation several years later, he noted.

Economic uncertainty may also cause some companies to hold onto capital to be fiscally conservative, and some capital investments may get delayed. Another possible outcome: Uncertainty may spur continued mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity. “Money is looking for a flight to certainty in periods of uncertainly. And that could accelerate M&A activity,” said Yesway’s Daniels, especially in the convenience channel, which continues to be attractive to companies looking to grow or expand their portfolios.

Speakers agreed that tariffs are here to stay in some form or another, especially because once they are enacted they are hard to unwind.

“I think resilience is part of a strategy going forward. … How do you absorb external shocks and take advantage of opportunities?” said NACS President and CEO Henry Armour.

Foodservice sales in convenience stores now account for 28.7% of instore sales and 39.6% of in-store profit dollars, a huge increase from two decades ago when foodservice accounted for only 11.9% of in-store sales.

At the end of the day, uncertainty may not be bad for convenience retailers. The industry saw that during the pandemic. People need fuel, hot coffee and affordable food, and that’s what convenience stores sell, noted Yesway’s Daniels.

“During times of uncertainty, we do well,” said Daniels.

2 DIVERSIFY YOUR REVENUE BASE

Over the past decade, both real and anticipated decreases in demand for key categories has forced convenience retailers to examine their offers. Tobacco sales continue to decline, but some OTP products have seen strong sales.

Meanwhile, predictions for the demise of the gas station—usually by someone who had a competing product or interest—are premature. Fuel demand in 2024 was up by 0.8%, and it remains to be seen how much electric vehicle sales will grow—if at all—as they have become politicized by both parties.

2

Fuel demand will likely decline over the coming years, but it will primarily be because of increased fuel efficiency with newer cars, not a switchover to EVs, which have accounted for only about 2% of new car sales over the past 12 years, according to Transportation Energy Institute research.

Meanwhile, another c-store staple—lottery—is facing challenges from legal sports betting. C-store lottery commissions declined 7.3% in 2024. It’s increasingly tough to compete against the thrill of betting on your phone— anytime and anywhere.

None of this change, both current and anticipated, means that c-stores need to reinvent themselves. “Instead of walking away from our traditional Cokes and smokes model, let’s refine it,” said McIlvaine.

That means looking for new opportunities to attract customers to solve their problems. The industry’s evolution overseas can offer inspiration: See “Big

Varish Goyal, CEO at Loop Neighborhood Markets

Ideas From Convenience Summit Asia” in the May 2025 issue of NACS Magazine for some examples, including how Japanese c-stores have evolved their ATMs to be more than just places to get quick cash.

Services like car washes can deliver strong revenue dollars. Despite increased competition from specialty chains like Mister Car Wash and apps like Spiffy and Washos that provide at-home car washing, c-store car wash programs developed solid sales. Retailers could take a page from the unlimited wash subscriptions from standalone operators that draw repeat customers to their location, said Varish Goyal, CEO of Loop Neighborhood Markets.

There is also the opportunity to expand general merchandise sales. Younger consumers are far more likely to seek out c-stores for phone chargers and groceries. (See “Need. Something. Easy. Close.” in the April 2025 issue of NACS Magazine.)

But most of all, diversifying revenue means offering more prepared food.

3 FOODSERVICE SHOWS NO SIGN OF SLOWING DOWN

3Foodservice sales in convenience stores now account for 28.7% of in-store sales and 39.6% of in-store profit dollars, a huge increase from two decades ago when foodservice accounted for only 11.9% of in-store sales.

Prepared food is the largest component (68.4%) of the broader foodservice category that includes commissary (8.8%) and hot, cold and frozen beverages (a combine 22.8). It’s also seeing strong sales growth, with a strong 43% increase over the past four years.

But that doesn’t mean that foodservice, specially prepared food, is easy.

“There’s a whole lot of opportunity in foodservice and a whole lot of challenge,” said Andrew Baill, Wawa’s senior manager of customer insights and strategy.

For one, the cost of shrink needs to be carefully managed. Food spoilage has increased 42% over the past three years. “This is one of the reasons that people stay out of foodservice,” said Loop’s Goyal.

[GLP-1 users] have one big meal a day and then they snack. And who’s the best at offering snacks?

—Eric Hildenbrand, Chief Strategy Officer, McLane Company

FINDING NEW IDEAS ... 2 GO

NACS staff hits the road every year to find great ideas to share with retailers, whether through store tours at the NACS Convenience Summits in Asia and Europe or via the video program Ideas 2 Go that debuts at the NACS Show. That increasingly means finding

Also, QSRs are pulling pages from the c-store playbook. Some, like Krispy Kreme, are offering more limited time offers to bring excitement to their locations.

And fast feeders are increasingly acting more like c-stores. “QSRs are unquestionably trying to be more convenient,” said Baill.

While c-store foodservice numbers have grown, not all consumers are sold on it. Consumers perception of c-store food is a challenge. Only 18% of consumers say c-stores are as capable of offering fresh, quality foodservice as QSRs.

Worse, even hungry customers already inside c-stores don’t necessarily purchase foodservice there; 28.7% of customers go to a QSR within 30 minutes of shopping in a c-store.

Despite the challenges, foodservice done well can deliver strong sales and profits. The average c-store in the NACS CSX Benchmarking Database has foodservice sales that exceed the average Subway and top foodservice decile performers have foodservice sales that surpass those of a typical Taco Bell.

“Whatever you do, do it really well and consumers will notice and keep shopping with you,” said Wawa’s Baill.

You heard it here first; call them ‘mission managers,’ not ‘category managers’ … and focus on what consumers are looking for, not how you stock items.

—Jenna Freese, Director of Strategy, Numerator

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

Sure, there is a lot of uncertainty and we live in divided political times. But there are still some things that (as of mid-April) are very good news for retailers and suppliers, noted Charlie McIlvaine:

1. We have a continued, strong labor market, with unemployment hovering around 4.0%.

2. There is continued strong productivity growth across the country, and it’s accelerating with the use of AI.

3. There is a possible fiscal stimulus with tax cuts (one of the top issues discussed at the NACS Day on the Hill in March).

4. There could be interest rate cuts that free up capital.

And while gas prices are a bright spot for consumers, down 6.5% last year, they could spike significantly in New England and the Midwest if tariffs are enacted on Canadian petroleum products, said OPIS’ Cinquegrana.

Retailers that acknowledge consumers’ current and potentially future financial pain are best positioned to capture consumers’ shrinking spending dollars.

Retailers also can communicate a value message to consumers who may not be facing severe economic stress. For example, Walmart and Dollar General have both had success in appealing to a higher-income customer base.

“It’s about the social cues. It’s all about what your customers value,” said Costagli. “You have to know what your guest wants.”

More than half (53.3%) of beer customers looked for promotions, said Wawa’s Baill. Meanwhile, OTP customers are more likely to be in a loyalty program.

In-store excitement also can draw in customers, especially around salty snacks and candy, the two categories that have experienced the steepest price increases.

“This [center store] is the best area of the store to try something new and build that basket,” said Baill. “This section is all about impulse,” with more than one third of all salty snacks (34.6%) bought on impulse, he said.

Most of all, find out what your customers want by listening to them.

“Everyone good in innovation has a real good understanding of the customer,” said John Benson, senior director at Alvarez & Marsal.

Finally, think of your stores as a refuge in an often-chaotic world. Execute on the basics and you can grow sales. “Refocus on doing the nuts and bolts well. A clean store, friendly people and machines that work” can go a long way, stressed NACS’ Armour.

5 WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS DON’T MEAN LESS SHOPPING

The numbers are staggering: One in six households has a family member who is on or has tried GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Trulicity or Wegovy. Eight million weekly convenience store customers are currently on a GLP-1 drug, said Jenna Freese, director of strategy at Numerator. And if consumers follow through on their intentions, demand could double, she said.

GLP-1 users don’t just change their own behavior; they also shape the eating habits of everyone in the family, whether at home or on the road.

“We’re already seeing a meaningful change in eating behavior; there has been a 9% reduction in early morning trips,” Freese noted.

But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t opportunities for convenience stores.

“[GLP-1 users] have one big meal a day and then they snack. And who’s the best at offering snacks?” asked McLane’s Hildenbrand. “Us.”

These snackers also are looking for items that fit their diets, seeking out better-for-you items that are high in protein and low in sugar. “They’re not

eating less—but with more intent,” said Freese. “This is a shopper on a mission; they are looking for foods that work harder” and have functional properties.

The Technology Solutions Center at the SOI Summit allowed cutting-edge exhibitors to connect directly with hundreds of convenience retail leaders interested in identifying solutions to meet their business goals. The following companies exhibited at the Center in 2024.

• Arity

• Cash Depot

• Conexxus

• Crisp

• Disruptive Technologies

• Fintech

• Ignite Retail Technology

• InStore.ai

• NRS – National Retail Solutions

• OPIS

• Paragon Praxis

• PriceEasy

• Rovertown

• RTO – Ready Training Online

• Taiga

• Testo

• Xenia Platform.io

Interested in exhibiting next year? Contact Chris Wise at cwise@convenience.org

There could be opportunities for retailers to add food high in protein in the grab-and-go and center store areas. But better-for-you items shouldn’t only be targeted to those on weight-loss drugs: 39% of QSR customers say they want healthier items, according to NIQ’s Costagli.

Talk about health without saying “diet,” suggested Freese. And for those who are on weight-loss drugs, market and merchandise food by how it helps someone accomplish goals. Focus on their mission.

“You heard it here first; call [your category managers] ‘mission managers’ … and focus on what consumers are looking for, not how you stock items,” said Freese.

6 THE DIFFERENCE IS—AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE— YOUR PEOPLE

So, how can convenience retailers best face the opportunities and challenges before them? It starts with their people, just like it always has.

“The guest experience is at the cornerstone of everything we do,” said NIQ’s Costagli.

NACS’ Armour agreed: “[Top decile performers] are the ones that pay the most attention to people.”

Those who don’t focus on their people can also find it affects the bottom line. Store-level turnover cost the average store $31,500 per year and cumulatively costs the industry more than $4.8 billion, said Loop’s Goyal.

The challenges of the past five years, starting with the pandemic, also play a role. Many retail companies have deemphasized front-line employees, replacing their most valuable commodity—the personal touch—with self-checkout or other options, whether or not they are embraced by customers. “People forget the value of a satisfactory experience,” said Armour.

The good news is that the decline in customer service across all of retail presents a massive opportunity.

“The bar is really low to execute the most important transaction there is: The relationship between the sales associate and the customer,” said Armour.

Jeff Lenard is the vice president of NACS media and strategic communications. He can be reached at jlenard@convenience.org.

SLUGGISH START, STRONG FINISH

How did the industry overall perform in 2024? It depends on which half of the year you look at.

BY CHRISSY BLASINSKY

When a doctor sounds the alarm that something is not OK, the patient tends to listen. So when Varish Goyal, the CEO of Loop Neighborhood Markets, a NACS executive committee member and a medical doctor, gave a diagnosis on the U.S. c-store industry a year ago, it was an attention-grabber.

When he took the stage last year, his prescription to NACS State of the Industry Summit attendees was to “tighten your belts, fight for every sales dollar and cut expenses.” Otherwise, the year was going to be really tough.

And he was correct. At the time fuel gallons were down … inside sales were down … foodservice wasn’t growing … expenses were up … transactions were down.

Thankfully, as 2024 progressed, a cure for what was ailing the industry kicked in and better results arrived by July and August.

Goyal returned to the stage this year at the NACS SOI Summit to recap the convenience retail industry’s operational, financial and performance metrics in 2024. “Q3 brought improvements and Q4 was significantly better than expected,” he said.

2024 PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW

Goyal’s diagnosis last year suggested that the industry’s 21-year streak of record inside sales would end. Turns, out he was happily incorrect.

“We’re a resilient industry, and the second half of last year was amazing and total inside sales grew 2.4% to continue our streak, which is now 22 years,” he said.

Industry-wide, however, total sales were down 2.3% in 2024—a second year of decline—but like 2023, the decline was due to the 5.7% decrease in fuel sales, driven by the 6.5% decrease in the average fuel price ($3.55 per gallon in 2023 vs. $3.32 in 2024).

“I can’t think of any other industry that could see a $70 billion decline in revenue and still remain profitable,” said Goyal in reference to the decline in fuel sales, which dipped from $859.8 billion in 2023 to $837.4 billion in 2024.

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed that fuel consumption in Q1 2024 was below 2023 levels, although the gap closed toward the middle

Industry Topline Results 2015 to 2024

Varish Goyal, CEO of Loop Neighborhood Markets and NACS executive committee member

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EIA Fuel Forecast

of the year and the final result was a slight increase in 2024 compared to 2023. Diesel consumption remained volatile and below 2023 and 2022 levels.

For the current year and 2026, the EIA forecast for both gas and diesel price and demand shows marginal short-term growth in fuel consumption.

“If this holds up, what we see is that in 2025 fuel prices remain steady, but we’re going to see a positive bump in fuel demand. In 2026, both gas and diesel prices are expected to decline, but diesel consumption is showing a little bump in improvement,” explained Goyal.

Fuel margins also held strong in 2024, with the average margin growing by 4.6% to 43.5 cents per gallon. “It never dipped below 30 cents a gallon,” said Goyal, noting that 40 cents may be the new average fuel margin moving forward.

INDUSTRY WATCHOUTS

Historically, within the c-store industry when fuel prices and transactions go down, so do credit card fees.

“That’s not what we saw in 2024—our credit card fees were higher by $400 million, even though we had a decline in fuel prices and pump transactions,” said Goyal, adding that consumers are using cash less frequently both on the forecourt and inside the store, resulting in cards being used for 80.8% of transactions in c-stores.

Direct store operating expense (DSOE) growth slowed in 2024, but DSOE was still up $9.8 billion to $159.9 billion.

Through a per store, per month lens, repairs and maintenance within DSOE was up 10.2% in 2024, a signal that good help is hard to find. “It is becoming harder to find good contractors to do the work, and it’s also becoming harder to find materials at a good price,” said Goyal.

In 2024, facility expenses grew at a rate “more than double the entire category of direct store operating expenses,” with depreciation and amortization having a significant impact—a 13% increase in 2024, or $13,661 per store per month.

The largest expense within DSOE, wages and benefits, showed improvement in its rate of growth. “Wage growth has finally slowed to a single digit rate, which is a positive sign that our labor market may be starting to improve,” said Goyal. He cautioned, however, that a 3.4% increase in wages still equates to a $1,331 per store, per month increase within that expense.

The costs associated with health insurance and other benefits, such as referral bonuses or tenure bonuses, also increased double digit rates in 2024. “This has been the case since 2020, and I think it will likely remain as efforts to recruit and retain employees continues to be a focus for our companies,” said Goyal.

Goyal called out foodservice spoilage, which has increased by 42% over the last three years. As the industry continues to double down on foodservice, this is an expense to keep an eye on.

Source: NACS CSX Convenience Benchmarking Database

The year-over-year decline in pump transactions

2024 KEY IN-STORE PERFORMANCE METRICS

Taking a look at in-store performance, Goyal noted that 1.2% growth in inside transactions “is a signal that things may have changed and our industry is back to growth mode. … Not only did inside counts grow year over year, but we’re seeing them move to the upside against 2020 through 2022.”

On the forecourt, per store, per month pump transactions were down -1.4% due to lower average gas prices for the year compared to 2023. Combined with inside transactions, total transactions were up 0.5% per store, per month in 2024. “So even though we saw a decline in pump transactions, inside growth more than compensated for that, which is great news for the industry,” said Goyal.

Labor continues to be a top industry concern, and more retailers are increasing compensation in 2024 as a way to both hire and retain employees. “If we compare back to 2020, personnel expenses increased over 39%” in that time period, said Goyal.

Employees were more productive in 2024, indicated by 3.3% per store, per month growth in inside gross profit per labor hour—that’s the positive. The negative, however, was the growth in wages and benefits: “This expense as a percent

DSOE Growth Slowed in 2024

of gross profit dollars also marginally increased—a result of faster growth in personnel expenses versus growth in total gross profit,” he said.

Wrapping up labor metrics, there was mixed news regarding turnover—and its associated cost. “Our industry is spending $4 .8 billion due to turnover,” said Goyal, which he said was likely a conservative number.

The year-over-year decline in non-manager turnover

In 2024, non-manager turnover declined by 12 points and manager turnover declined by 0.8 points. “This is good news. The labor markets may actually be improving, and we may be getting a respite from this high turnover and tight labor market,” said Goyal.

“Our team leader’s job is difficult. When we find the right person, we need to do whatever we can to keep them,” he added.

BUILDING MORE PROFITABLE BASKETS

Goyal offered several metrics to monitor and measure throughout the year on the path to generating more in-store operating profit.

Focusing on transactions is the “basis of our business,” he said, noting that growing transactions counts is a core strategy.

Basket profitability, which is “a game of pennies,” he said, can be attainable by setting a goal of increasing basket value by just three or four cents per transaction over a given period of time. “It will be easier to understand, and over time you will be able to make an unprofitable basket profitable,” said Goyal.

Employee turnover costs $31,000 per store, per year. Getting a handle on retention is a good first step in reducing expenses and building overall basket profitability. “Then you want to also look at expenses that are controllable,” such as supplies, advertising and promotions.

“If you commit to monitoring these things, your in-store operating profit should begin to improve,” he said.

Chrissy Blasinsky is the digital and content strategist at NACS. She can be reached at cblasinsky@ convenience.org.

Productivity Is Up … and so Are Wages and Benefits

Source: NACS CSX Convenience Benchmarking Database

INSIDE THE STORE

Key categories continue to shift, with foodservice and OTP in growth mode.

BY CHRISSY BLASINSKY

Resilience and reliability are two words we hear a lot in reference to convenience stores. Flexibility and adaptability are key descriptors as well, particularly in the last five years.

In 2024, the U.S. c-store industry experienced its 22nd consecutive year of record inside sales. Foodservice played a key role, delivering strong growth and healthy margins for operators: 39.6% of in-store gross margin dollars in 2024, up from 37.3% in 2023, according to preliminary NACS State of the Industry data for 2024.

Fuels and cigarettes are viable profit generators with high-frequency shoppers, but they have become less reliable. In 2024, total fuels revenues decreased 5.7% to $501.9 billion due to a 6.5% decrease in the average gas price ($3.31 in 2024 versus $3.55 in 2023). Among the top 10 in-store merchandise categories (excluding foodservice), cigarettes was the only category that did not have positive sales and gross profit growth.

When fuel gross profit is stripped from total store operating profit, only the top three deciles are profitable. In other words, 70% of the 2024 NACS State of the Industry survey sample would report negative in-store operating profit.

All that is to say that the business model is changing. C-stores continue to sell an estimated 80% of the fuels sold in the United States, and c-stores are the preferred channel for nicotine consumers. However, more retailers are becoming food-forward. They’ve upped the ante on fresh, quality and safe menu options that rival quick service competitors (more on that later).

Five categories comprise foodservice: prepared food, commissary, and hot, cold and frozen dispensed beverages.

Last year, NACS State of the Industry data for 2023 showed that four of these were in the top 10 in-store sales categories.

In 2024, the foodservice trend accelerated.

Most foodservice sales in convenience stores are from prepared food—and that share has grown significantly in the last five years. In 2024, prepared food accounted for 68.4% of all foodservice sales, up from 63.8% in 2020.

INSIDE THE IN-STORE DATA

Andrew Baill, senior manager of customer insights and strategy at Wawa, delivered key performance metrics for in-store categories during the 2025 NACS State of the Industry Summit.

Breaking Down Foodservice

Andrew Baill, senior manager of customer insights and strategy at Wawa.

Unit Decline Has Accelerated In Many Categories in 2024

YoY Unit Change by Category Candy Salty Snacks Pkg. Bev.

Source: Source: NIQ Total U.S. Convenience, Calendar Year Ending 2022, 2023, 2024

There is one consistent truth across all these categories: People are shopping with us for immediate consumption.

Baill highlighted broad inside merchandise trends. “When you think about the sales and gross margin breakdown in our channel, foodservice is a key contributor. On the merchandise side, six categories make up most of our sales and profit: packaged beverages, cigarettes, other tobacco products, beer, salty snacks and candy,” he said. Along with foodservice, these categories account for almost 90% of inside sales and profits. Although inflation pressures eased in 2024, the top six merchandise categories showed unit declines in 2024. Baill noted that this headwind continued into the first two months of 2025 and is one to watch moving forward.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES: CIGARETTES AND OTP

Both cigarettes and other tobacco products (OTP) have seen significant changes over the past decade—one has experienced a decline in sales and volume, while the other has grown substantially. OTP has nearly caught up to cigarettes in terms of total inside profit contribution: 5.8% versus 6.6%, respectively.

“OTP is almost at the point where it’s eclipsed cigarette margins in our stores today. I think that’s a big deal,” said Baill.

Where the stars align for cigarettes and OTP is in their ability to drive shopper frequency. NACS Convenience Voices research found that tobacco/nicotine shoppers are more likely to visit a c-store once per day or more. Retailers can capitalize on that frequency to encourage additional purchases, like beverages, to create larger baskets.

The same goes for OTP shoppers, who are also likely to frequent a c-store daily. Many of these shoppers are polyusers, meaning they often also purchase cigarettes.

Source: Convenience Voices

Foodservice Leakage: What QSRs Are Winning C-Store Customers?

WE GOT THIS: BEVERAGES

The cold box is one of the most significant areas of a c-store —a huge differentiator compared to other retail channels. Convenience stores own the packaged beverage space. Together, packaged beverages and beer are responsible for nearly 25% of both inside sales and gross margin in c-stores.

Among the packaged beverages subcategories, energy drinks and carbonated soft drinks combined for more than half (53.8%) of category sales in 2024 at 27.8% and 26.0%, respectively. “Energy has been on a tear for the last four to five years,” said Baill.

Consumer preferences suggest that c-stores are different things to a variety of people who are looking for refreshments. There are notable gender and age purchasing habits, according to NACS Convenience Voices research. Males gravitate to sports and energy drinks, while females over index on water and juice. Gen Z is more likely to purchase flavored sodas, sports drinks and juices, while millennials look for pick-me-ups like sports and energy drinks. Then there’s Gen X—this cohort buys coffee, iced tea and diet soft drinks. Additionally, packaged beverages and foodservice are like peas and carrots—a great pairing for driving bigger baskets with strong margins.

Beer experienced less inflation and unit decline over recent years, including 2024. Premium beer is the No. 1 beer subcategory (31.2% of category sales). Flavored malt beverages, popular and imports were close seconds, with flavored malt representing 16.1% of category sales, popular accounting for 15.4% and imports just behind at 15.2%.

Beer customers are weekly c-store shoppers, and nearly three quarters (74.7%) plan to consume their product of choice within two hours of purchase. Beer shoppers were also the most likely across the top six categories to notice promotions in the store and have a strong affinity towards singles.

IMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR AT CENTER STORE

“The key thing that the center of the store does for us is create impulse. This is the best area of the store to add excitement, to show customers what’s new and help build their basket as they’re shopping our stores,” said Baill, adding that candy and salty snacks have “the strongest innovation year over year.”

Potato chips continue to lead the salty snacks category, followed by other salty snacks, tortilla/corn chips, nuts/ seeds and pretzels. Salty snacks is a high impulse category— most customers (95.2%) will consume their salty snack the day of purchase, and they are likely to buy a packaged beverage and another high-impulse product—candy—on their shopping trip.

“We often hear that younger consumers are replacing meal occasions with snacks. This is a potential area of growth if you’re looking for the new consumer who’s going to be with you for the next 40 to 50 years. Snacking is here to stay,” said Baill.

Chocolate bars/packs lead the candy category in terms of sales (34.3%), followed by bagged or repacked peg candy (24.5%), which is where you’ll find all types of flavors, textures and shapes of gummy candies. Like their center store partner salty snacks, most candy (94.6%) is consumed the day of purchase.

FOOT TRAFFIC IC

WHY OUR CUSTOMERS CHOOSE QSRS

Foodservice leakage refers to customers leaving a convenience store and almost immediately visiting a QSR.

“We’re in the immediate consumption business. The fact that almost 30% of our shoppers are willing to do the most inconvenient thing imaginable and go to a second place [QSR] after coming to our stores is unthinkable. That’s a huge opportunity for us,” said Baill.

Put into context, this translates to $130 billion in lost sales for the convenience retail industry each year.

NACS Convenience Voices found that customers say QSRs are more likely to have the items, variety and quality they’re looking for. Their QSRs of choice specialize in hamburgers.

“[But] I wouldn’t look at this and say that the burger chains are eating our lunch. Burger chains just happen to be super prevalent, super convenient and everywhere,” said Baill.

“QSRs are unquestionably becoming more convenient,” said Baill, noting examples like touchscreen ordering, digital

THE PATH TO PURCHASE

ordering and delivery, as well as the impact of the value wars.

However, convenience stores have competitive advantages that QSRs don’t possess: variety and the ability to accomplish multiple tasks in one shopping trip. “The challenge for us is how do we take those advantages and continue to evolve and build on them,” Baill said.

Baill added that foodservice is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor.

“There are a lot of different paths to success in our space. The one consistent thing is whatever you do, as long as you do it really well, consumers will notice. They’ll keep shopping your stores and will grow your business,” he said.

Chrissy Blasinsky is the digital and content strategist at NACS. She can be reached at cblasinsky@convenience.org.

Whether it’s cigarettes, OTP, beer, packaged beverages, candy or salty snacks, convenience stores deliver immediate consumption items and generate impulse sales that build bigger baskets.

Looking at when customers made their decision to buy products from these categories shows how consumers think and plan their shopping trip.

“Each of these categories plays a different role in building the basket for our stores, but there is one consistent truth across all these categories: People are shopping us for immediate consumption,” said Andrew Baill of Wawa

To find out what consumers think on their path to purchase and inside the store, the NACS Convenience Voices program collects real-time decisions and opinions from c-store shoppers. Learn more by visiting convenience.org/ conveniencevoices or by reaching out to Jayme Gough, NACS director of research and development, at jgough@convenience.org.

OTP and Beer Days before store visit

Salty Snacks and Package Beverages While en route to store Candy In parking lot or inside store

Beep Beep!

When did you make the decision to purchase your item(s)?

Source: NACS Convenience Voices

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KEEPING

UP WITH THE FAST-MOVING FUEL MARKET

From how tariffs could impact gas margins to electric vehicle charging data, here’s a look at the current state of fuels.

he oil markets started 2025 with a lot of moving parts—a new administration that’s the opposite of the previous one, tariffs, world issues in flux (as always) and OPEC+ playing its usual games in the market. Meanwhile, EVs are ramping up adoption and gaining market share faster than chargers are being installed, spurring retailers to consider if now is the right time to capitalize on the growing demand—or if not now, when.

With the fuel market experiencing pressure from all sides that could impact marketplace dynamics, two NACS SOI Summit sessions investigated how retailers can navigate pricing, demand and implementation of both traditional fuel and electric vehicle chargers.

Looking at Traditional Fuels

The “Fuels Deep Dive” session, presented by Denton Cinquegrana, the chief oil analyst, OPIS, lived up to its title. Cinquegrana has been with OPIS since 2001 and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of OPIS’ news and analysis division, providing big-picture views on topics from supply and demand trends to anticipating price moves in the future and covering spot and retail markets in North America.

DROPPING OIL PRICES

April got underway with OPEC boosting its monthly production from 130-140,000 barrels per day to over 400,000 barrels per day. That should cause oil prices to drop, but at the expense of domestic fracking, which requires higher oil prices for profitable production.

“One of [Trump’s] big talking points is ‘drill baby drill’” Cinquegrana said. “Well, we’re kind of doing that, but with prices from around $60 a barrel from WTI and $63.50 or so for Brent, we may not for much longer.

I’ve argued in the past that 30 cents was the new 20 cents. I was wrong. It’s probably 40 cents is the new 20 cents.

—Denton Cinquegrana

You might start to hear about some shut-ins, especially if we stay down in the in the low $60s or even into the $50s.”

Goldman Sachs said it could see WTI in the $40s. Cinquegrana found that disturbing—it’s not because of overproduction, but because demand is not there due to recessionary pressures.

ALGORITHMIC TRADING

While there has been the usual volatility, the wild speculative swings appear to have stabilized. Cinquegrana noted the markets have been relatively “trendless” and technology is a driver.

“Most of the trading today is algorithmic based,” he said. “And that’s why oil has been kind of trendless over the last couple of years. For example, I saw a statistic from JP Morgan saying that about 90% of the stock market trading that happens today is all machine based. So, when you’re on your E-Trade account or your Fidelity account, you’re trading against the machine. Good luck.”

TARIFFS AND THEIR IMPACT ON ENERGY MARKETS

The Trump Administration’s tariffs have certainly been controversial. As Cinquegrana noted, some economists feel it’s a one-time adjustment while others are arguing it’s going to cause a significant spike in inflation or cause the Federal Reserve to not do anything with interest rates. “I think that might be part of Trump’s end game to get interest rates to drop and reduce borrowing costs and transfers in the housing market. Is it a negotiating tactic? It seems like it is. But who knows,” he said.

Cinquegrana did acknowledge that Trump has been “flexible” with North American energy partners, with Mexican and Canadian energy off the table as far as tariffs are concerned. He noted that if the tariffs impacted those energy partners in a serious way the results could be negative for the U.S. energy infrastructure. For example, Canadian sour crude is linked to refineries in the Midwest, Great Lakes and Rockies (with some on the West Coast). Shifting those exports to other buyers would seriously impact U.S. refining.

Most of the trading today is algorithmic based, and that’s why oil has been kind of trendless over the last couple of years.

—Denton Cinquegrana

MARGINS AND VOLUME

One new reality has been a return to strong retail gasoline margins—something that had been lacking for nearly two decades. He noted the U.S. margin for gasoline—gross rack to retail—was almost 40 cents in 2024, up a little bit from 2023.

“I’ve argued in the past that 30 cents was the new 20 cents,” Cinquegrana said. “I was wrong. It’s probably 40 cents is the new 20 cents.”

He also discussed the significant drop in volume from 2019 and offered his insight on what was driving that. “I think there are several things,” he said. “It’s efficiency. Vehicles are so much more efficient than what we drove 10-15 years ago. Also, there’s a little bit of electric vehicle penetration, more so in places like California than, say, Mississippi.”

He noted that telecommuting was still playing a role in demand. Although some companies are pushing to be back in the office five days a week, he believes the hybrid work model is likely here to stay.

“Whether you’re in the office for two or three dayss a week, I think that impacts gasoline demand quite a bit,” Cinquegrana said. “I think the West Coast is where you’ve seen the most gasoline demand destruction over the last four or five years.”

The State of Charging

Electric vehicles have been pushed as not only a viable transportation carbon reduction solution but as the strongly preferred solution under the Biden Administration and by many other governments around the world. While a change in administration has shifted the current focus significantly, the solution has matured and is here to stay, especially in specific markets.

The Transportation Energy Institute’s Charging Analytics Program (CAP) has evaluated millions of charging sessions each month to help retailers better understand EV opportunities. The CAP is a tool that NACS and TEI built to look at charging sessions, chargers and EV deployment throughout the United States to start understanding the charging culture and its dynamics in as nuanced detail as possible.

“The whole purpose is to maximize ROI for our industry,” Karl Doenges, executive director of the CAP, said during his presentation. “We’re really concerned with two things. Utilization rates—the volume of kilowatts that are flowing through a charger—and how many sessions and how

You might pay a price down the road for that lower-cost charger if the demand exceeds its capabilities during the peak hours.

—Karl Doenges

much time someone is spending at the charger. And that gets to how much money you can make on the actual kilowatt margin and how many opportunities you get to convert someone into the store and maximize the basket of goods.”

He also noted that TEI is supporting a voluntary carbon credit program where retailers can monetize the carbon reduction benefits from electrons that are flowing through the charger. The same carbon credit benefits apply to biofuels—everything from E10 to E85. If retailers are generating RINS, then you are generating voluntary carbon credits retailers can monetize.

CAP data analyzes eight million charging sessions at 35,000 sites in the United States. These sites encompass the common retail and hospitality verticals, including convenience stores. This includes not just convenience stores with chargers on site, but those that are within 100 yards of an EV charger.

“We’re representing 63% of all the chargers out there, and it’s growing,” Doenges said. “We’re starting to incorporate data in Canada, and we’re looking at every single plug type

that exists. So, for the first time we’re going to have a very comprehensive data set.”

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

The news has suggested that EV sales are crashing. And, while sales have not been as robust as had been predicted in various circles, it’s not a calamity by any metric.

“We’ve had good growth, but it softened in the first quarter of the year,” Doenges said. “But contrary to the headlines, it’s still growing. On the flip side, 90% [of vehicles] are internal combustion engines or hybrids.”

Geographic adoption patterns play strongly in retail charging opportunities. He noted California, Texas, Florida and New York are the powerhouse states for adoption, followed by Georgia and Arizona. He anticipates the market will see much greater concentration in about 16 states. But even in other locations, there will be pockets where retailers are going to have to develop an EV strategy.

“When you zoom out and you look at a state or region, the penetration really isn’t that much, even in some of the more progressive states,” Doenges said. “But if you zoom in, it’s concentrated in tighter locations. You must pay attention, because it can still affect you. Everything is hyperlocal.”

CHARGER UTILIZATION

There’s a seasonal and daypart impact on charging. Utilization goes up in the wintertime due to the dynamics of electric vehicles and efficiency losses in colder weather. From a weekly perspective, weekends rule—whether it’s a convenience store or any other kind of business. The most popular charging time is 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

WHICH LOCATIONS ARE THE MOST EFFICIENT WITH FAST CHARGING?

“When you look at convenience stores near highway ramps, 71% of all DFCF fast chargers are

located within one mile of a highway ramp, and 73% of convenience store charging was within one mile of a highway ramp,” said Doenges. “Interstates have been seen as an obvious market opportunity and this might confirm that. But could that be skewed because of state grants or incentives supporting those locations?”

Expanding the analysis, the convenience store subset that’s closer to the highway has 140 sessions per month compared to 134 for those further away.

“It’s a difference, but it’s not an enormous difference, which starts to support the thesis that the free market is allocating the chargers in the right areas, and they’re getting that sweet spot because they’re getting similar utilization rates with a similar session count,” Doenges said. “The question is, is this going to change as the industry scales and the demography of EV drivers changes?”

IMPACT OF CHARGER POWER LEVELS

Is there such a thing as a charger that’s too underpowered? There is a significant price difference between a relatively cheap but slow 50–100 kW charger compared to 100-200 kW or the fast but more capital expensive 300 kW and above option.

“If it’s underpowered, you’re flowing less electrons, which means less ability to get electron margins and carbon credits,” Doenges said. “It also means less ability to have that high turnover in session count [which creates more opportunities for in-store sales]. You might pay a price down the road for that lower-cost charger if the demand exceeds its capabilities during the peak hours.”

Keith Reid is a founder and the editor of Fuels Market News. He can be reached at kreid@fmnweb.com.

Headline

Dek dek dek dek

BY AUTHOR NAME

APPROACHES TO M&A

Body intro lead in, body copy

Majors Management and Yesway have each found success through different acquisition strategies.

BY CHRISSY BLASINSKY

Majors Management has been in business for 54 years, but is relatively new to acquiring c-stores. “Building single stores and getting development pipeline stores is slow. … It’s a frustrating process,” said Ben Smith, president of Majors Management.

“There’s a lot of opportunity to grow via acquisition if you have the wherewithal to do that, and we didn’t know that we did,” he said. Majors Management had acquired stores in the early 2000s and as part of the major oil divestitures, “[but] I don’t think any of that experience was relevant to the last seven or eight years of acquisitions that we’ve been in,” Smith said. The executive said that the company changed its own internal DNA by bringing in people from the industry who had consolidation experience.

Yesway, by contrast, was built through acquisitions. It’s powered by Brookwood Financial Partners, a private equity firm that is heavily invested in real estate.

“My role when I joined Brookwood was to find an industry that made sense to invest in coming out of the recession … and we settled on the convenience store industry. It is a remarkable industry that was different in many ways than real estate but fundamentally had real estate at its core,” said Mark Daniels, chief strategy officer at Yesway.

There’s a lot of opportunity to grow via acquisition if you have the wherewithal to do that.

—Ben Smith, Majors Management

“We were looking for an industry that rewarded growth,” he added. “If you buy 10 real estate assets, you can’t sell that as a portfolio at a higher price. In fact, you probably get a little bit of a discount. That’s the opposite of convenience stores.”

The company’s initial strategy of growth by acquisition has shifted to growth by building, and it now focuses on new construction and direct store operations.

OPERATIONAL FOCUS

With growth in mind, Majors Management and Yesway have different operational approaches.

For Majors Management, its diverse expertise, which includes being a fuel wholesaler, “makes us very agile when it comes to acquisitions. We can evaluate the chain and say, ‘We will run this subset

The convenience store industry [is] a remarkable industry that was different ... but fundamentally had real estate at its core.

—Mark Daniels, Yesway

of stores, we will put third-party operators in this subset of stores, or we will sell some of them.’ And that has been fruitful over the last several years,” Smith said.

Yesway has a real estate team, while Majors Management evaluates opportunities for thirdparty operators.

“[Yesway’s] real estate team identifies new assets, works on the construction process and makes sure we can build according to our standard,” said Daniels.

Smith emphasized the importance of visiting every site in person and understanding the market during the acquisition process.

Both companies have learned to be prepared for rejection and to remain opportunistic. Smith said that Majors Management tries to be “rigorously disciplined” in its approach—and that means it ends up turning down a lot of opportunities.

“That’s just part of what you have to do,” he said.

Daniels highlighted the importance of relationships and long-term planning, often winning deals due to Yesway’s reputation for closing and creative structuring.

The cost of capital and ROI are key factors for both companies. Smith said that Majors Management focuses on four-wall EBITDA, and noted that when it comes to more complex acquisitions it’s vital to “educate your internal

stakeholders on what you’re looking for and how it’s different from acquisition to acquisition.”

Daniels said that Yesway aims for a healthy spread over the synergy-adjusted multiple minus their debt.

MARKET OUTLOOK: BRIDGING THE GAP

Both Smith and Daniels are optimistic about the immediate future of acquisitions.

“I think deal flow will continue to be strong in 2025 and be larger than it was in 2024, given the change in the administration and a more favorable Federal Trade Commission,” said Smith. “Some larger transactions that have been discussed recently may increase the number of opportunities available to the acquirers,” he said.

Daniels noted that a lot of groups are interested in transactions, “and we keep seeing ones come out of the woodwork that we didn’t think would be there,” he said. “I think it’s going to keep happening as long as the big guys need to keep growing—they’re going to keep generating synergies to justify the higher multiples.”

Flip to the end of this article to see AI’s attempt at summarizing the NACS State of the Industry AI session.

4 WAYS TO BE ON THE FOREFRONT OF AI

Retailers can start using generative AI today to get things done better, faster and more efficiently.

BY LAUREN SHANESY

If I had asked Steve Lerch, he probably would have told me to write this article using AI. Or at least let it produce the initial draft for me to edit.

So I did. But not the article you’re about to read—this one is written by a human. If you’re curious what the AI version would have looked like, check out that version in the sidebar at the end of this article.

In addition to drafting an article, here’s a non-comprehensive list of other things Lerch says AI can do for you: draft emails, write social media posts, brainstorm marketing campaigns, do competitive analysis of other businesses, suggest ways to improve processes or create more efficiency, or generate guides to teach you something new.

“As technology changes, we’re creating new opportunities for all of us in the way we work and do our daily tasks. But one of the biggest questions is where do you start?” Lerch, president of Story Arc Consulting, said while presenting. “AI is

Using a search engine is like having a plumber send you a letter about how to fix your broken sink. Using AI is like having the plumber stand behind you and watch you fix the sink.

one of the most open ended, flexible technologies in the world that can do so many different things. One of the best things you can do for the industry and for your company is to start getting comfortable with AI on an individual level.”

Lerch presented a handful of ways convenience retailers can start using AI now and integrate it into their businesses to save time, create efficiency and leverage the world’s fastest-growing technology.

“To begin to scratch the surface of the independent things you can do with generative AI today, I break it down into four things it’s really good at—it’s a fantastic tool for brainstorming and developing new ideas; simplifying information and complex data; creating new things from scratch; and improving things you’ve already created,” said Lerch.

BRAINSTORM

We’ve all planned a vacation—and potentially been overwhelmed by crafting the perfect itinerary that checks all of our boxes. Asking AI to plan a trip for you in a specific location is a great example of its basic brainstorming capabilities, Lerch said. By asking ChatGPT “help me plan a vacation to Kapalua Bay in Maui, Hawaii” Lerch got information about where to stay, things to do in the area, dining suggestions,

what to pack, transportation tips for getting around the island and other activity options.

“What AI does so well is go beyond traditional data sets and traditional search engine results. It has an ability to sort of understand human nature and context, and then organizes information for us,” he said. “It doesn’t just give a list of ideas for education but structures them in a logical sense.”

Brainstorming prompts can be applied to any aspect of a job or the convenience business. Lerch suggested prompts such as:

• Uploading your job description and asking for 10 ways to start using AI to make you faster, better, more creative and more efficient at your job.

• Expanding on ideas. If AI returns “do competitor content audits,” you can then ask “who are five competitors I should be auditing?” or “what are other ways we can learn from our competition?”

• Letting AI guide you through brainstorming by having it ask you specific questions and allowing you to provide more detail about what you’re looking for. “AI isn’t a one-way street. The brainstorming can go both ways,” said Lerch.

“AI to me is like having Albert Einstein tied up in your basement. You can ask him what 4 + 4 is and he’ll tell you the answer. But what a waste of Albert Einstein—you’re not asking him the

AI to me is like having Albert Einstein tied up in your basement. You can ask him what 4 + 4 is and he’ll tell you the answer. But what a waste of Albert Einstein— you’re not asking him the right questions.

—Steve Lerch, president of Story Arc Consulting

right questions,” said Lerch. “AI is limited by our creativity and our curiosity. So ask it for more. It has the ability to go far beyond what we expect from traditional machines and produce very human, nuanced ideas.”

SIMPLIFY

Let’s say that you have an ice cream machine in your store that needs to be cleaned. Your employee could ask AI to provide step-by-step instructions for a cleaning, along with do’s and don’ts and other tips, and can be super specific about the make and model information of the machine. You could continue to ask AI to be more specific and elaborate on individual steps or customize the prompt with options like “redo this guide for someone who has never worked with any sort of equipment before.”

“AI is not finding the best available resource that has the closest answer to your question. It creates the protocol. It generates it from scratch. It can give you customized instructions for anything you want to learn built exactly for what you want,” Lerch said. “Using a search engine is like having a plumber send you a letter about how to fix your broken sink. Using AI is like having the plumber stand behind you and watch you fix the sink.”

CREATE

One of the best ways to use generative AI is to, well ... generate. AI can be used to help draft copy for email marketing campaigns, generate social media posts, write press releases or blog posts, draft internal memos, create images and graphics and more.

Lerch said the goal isn’t necessarily to have AI do all the work for you, but to make your life easier and help you do tasks faster. “In seconds, something that I maybe would have obsessed over and taken too long to produce can now be done just like that.”

In an example, he asked AI to create 12 social media posts for Loop Neighborhood Markets—one for each month of the year that was seasonally relevant and specific to the company’s products and business. It returned drafts like “New year, new goals! Grab a fresh fruit cup or a protein bar from Loop to kickstart your healthy habits,” for January or “August heat got you down? Grab a perfectly chilled Loop Iced Coffee or refreshing iced tea to power through the day,” for the summer.

“It returned 12 options in 15-20 seconds. I could have also improved them by giving it the company website, information about target audience, background on the brand or examples of previous posts,” said Lerch.

An important note to keep in mind: While AI continues to improve every day, it’s also not perfect.

“AI will make mistakes,” said Lerch. Sometimes the same tool that produces something pretty spot on in seconds can also produce a “monstrosity of errors” when you ask it for something different. “But your misses can also be corrected 60 seconds later. These tools are only getting better.”

IMPROVE

An easy task for AI: Give it something and ask it to make it better. “Ask it to refine it. Make it more concise. Make it shorter. Give it a different tone,” suggested Lerch.

“When we think of innovation in AI, we think of it as going above and beyond and doing a lot of extra things. But everything I’ve talked about in this presentation exists today—it’s out there and most of it is free,” said Lerch. “Don’t think of these as things that you can use as a bonus or addition, because if the rest of the folks in this room—your co-workers, your competition—use these things, then you’re not just not gaining, you’re losing by not trying this stuff.”

Lauren Shanesy is a writer and editor at NACS and has worked in business journalism for a decade. She can be reached at lshanesy@ convenience.org.

AND NOW IT’S

I took Lerch’s advice and asked AI to help me write this article. I uploaded the transcript of his presentation into Microsoft Copilot and gave it the following prompt.

—Lauren Shanesy

“Write me a 300-word article based on Steve Lerch’s presentation. Have it focus on the key takeaways of how convenience retailers can start using AI today. Organize it by the four ways Lerch breaks down the uses: Brainstorm, Simplify, Create and Improve.”

AI came up with this article in five seconds—I actually gasped at how fast the article was generated.

The first prompt I’d give Copilot for how to improve this draft would be “give it more personality.”

Specific examples Lerch cited in his presentation are definitely left out here, making the article pretty generic.

Unlocking AI Potential for Convenience Retailers: Key Takeaways from Steve Lerch’s Presentation

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant dream; it’s a powerful tool that convenience retailers can start using today to transform their business practices. Steve Lerch’s recent presentation on AI highlighted four key ways retailers can leverage this technology: brainstorming, simplifying, creating and improving.

Brainstorm

Imagine having a brainstorming partner who never gets tired, never runs out of ideas, and always has a fresh perspective. That’s AI for you. Steve Lerch emphasized how AI tools can generate a plethora of ideas quickly, helping retailers think outside the box and explore new possibilities. For instance, AI can analyze market trends and customer data to suggest innovative product ideas or marketing strategies. By using AI to brainstorm, retailers can uncover insights that might not be apparent through traditional methods and speed up the ideation process.

AI’S TURN

Overall, the article isn’t bad. But there’s definitely something missing. AI is smart, but can it really be as nuanced as a human? I don’t think so—but I may be biased.

Simplify

Let’s face it, data can be overwhelming. But AI is here to simplify things. Steve Lerch highlighted how AI can break down intricate data sets into digestible insights. For example, AI can analyze sales data to identify patterns and trends, providing retailers with clear and actionable information. This simplification process helps retailers make informed decisions without getting bogged down by overwhelming amounts of data. Additionally, AI can automate routine tasks such as inventory management and customer service , freeing up time for retailers to focus on strategic initiatives.

Create

AI-powered tools can assist in generating marketing content, social media posts, and even product descriptions. These tools can ensure that the content is engaging, relevant, and tailored to the target audience.

Steve Lerch highlighted how AI can help retailers maintain a consistent brand voice and produce high-quality content at scale. Moreover, AI can enhance visual strategies by creating compelling graphics and videos that resonate with customers.

Improve

Finally, AI can be used to improve various aspects of a retailer’s operations. From enhancing customer experience to optimizing business processes, AI offers numerous opportunities for improvement. For instance, AI can analyze customer feedback to identify areas for enhancement, ensuring that retailers continuously evolve to meet customer needs. Additionally, AI can optimize pricing strategies, streamline supply chain management, and enhance data security.

I don’t know if any c-store operator would call customer service a mundane or “routine task” to eliminate.

Did you notice how there are no quotes from Lerch in this article?

Other than using the Oxford comma, which NACS Magazine doesn’t use, the draft doesn’t have many typos or errors— unlike the infamous AI-generated images of hands.

THE FOODSERVICE PLAYBOOK

How did the industry overall perform in 2024? It depends on which half of the year you look at.

Value, variety, innovation and the overall customer experience are top of mind.

BY AMANDA BALTAZAR

External forces are driving big changes in how people consume foodservice, said Chris Costagli, vice president, food insights, NIQ, who presented a session on learning from QSRs at the 2025 NACS State of the Industry Summit.

“A lot of consumers are simply not feeling as good about the state of their finances,” Costagli said. “There are a lot of changes coming in. A new administration, changes to the SNAP benefits program, inflation, immigration, healthcare, education, tariffs. There are a lot of things weighing heavily on consumers. … A lot of things are putting pressure on consumers and causing them to make changes.”

And most significantly, he said, “We’re seeing the frequency of dining out declining.”

That said, the demand for foodservice is still strong—people feel a need to eat outside the home. Costagli said that one in five consumers “say they’d be lost without the ability to go out. Dining out is incredibly important for consumers.”

“It’s about being together, it’s about friendship, connection, about social fabric, its spending time with people, it’s a treat, it’s relaxation,” Costagli said.

What does this moment mean for convenience stores? The value equation is paramount.

Often, Costagli said, people think about value in terms of price. But price is not the only component of value.

“There’s value in promotions; there’s value in memories and associations; there’s value in nostalgia. ... There are all sorts of things that drive value for consumers.”

Value could be quality, it could be that a meal is healthy, that a brand is trustworthy, that the food is local, comforting or is something the consumer can’t make at home. At the end of the day, “We want the consumer to perceive the value that we deliver as far outweighing the price they paid,” Costagli said, and value is the total experience that consumers receive in exchange for their money paid.

“We are in a challenging economic period. There’s a lot that shoppers are going through right now,” said Costagli. “It demands that

we have a response that’s really rooted in empathy and understanding. As we think about our consumer base, we have to be more shopper-centric than ever. It’s about changing the paradigm. We don’t sell to consumers anymore; we support consumers, we support the weight loss journey that you’re on, the dietary goals that you have, the need you have to just have a moment of joy. It’s all about supporting consumers today.”

INNOVATION ON THE MENU

Convenience is “playing a bigger and bigger role in foodservice in the U.S. … There’s a tremendous amount of potential here, but we have to fight and win for a share of the stomach within this very hypercompetitive ecosystem,” said John Benson, senior director, Alvarez & Marsal.

Innovation is critical, said Marco Valentini, managing director, Alvarez & Marsal.

More restaurant companies are investing in innovation centers, innovation kitchens, test labs, “as they roll out foodservice innovation, of course, but also even innovating around new equipment and operational changes,” said Benson.

I think the biggest gap in my view is how [c-stores] measure innovation and what they do with that information.

—John Benson

When something goes viral, are you in a position to move quickly, to bring it into your portfolio?

—Chris Costagli

And companies are doing this when they’re much younger, much smaller. Shake Shack, which at first did its testing at its New York headquarters, recently announced that it’s opening a larger innovation and training center to test everything from equipment to formats. “More companies and different channels are making this investment, and they’re making it earlier on, because innovation is becoming a more important part of how they’re competing,” Benson said.

Convenience stores should partner with their suppliers, who can offer lots of innovative ideas, Benson pointed out.

“They’re coming to you with intelligence on what’s happening in the market and what they’re seeing, and they have the capabilities to help you operationalize and execute the ideas that your team comes up with,” he said. “They’re agile, they have good research and development teams of their own.”

Innovation doesn’t show up on the menu in the same way for everyone. Benson pointed to Taco Bell’s strategy, through which “they’re willing to throw a lot of stuff on the

wall and see what sticks.” Meanwhile First Watch, a café chain with more than 500 locations, spends about 18 months developing new menu items. The key in either approach, is to evaluate each item and determine what were the traits to led to its success or failure.

A big mistake many retailers make, he said, is that they innovate a category and then don’t look at it again for the next five years.

LTOS BY GENERATION

Costagli shared that 80% of consumers say LTOs are important on a QSR menu. But there are some generational differences: Gen Z is really interested in seasonal beverages and appetizers; Millennials want seasonal desserts for LTOs; and Boomers are seeking seasonal main courses. “Know what your consumer is looking for. If you over-index with younger consumers, you probably want to look at having some LTOs in your appetizers, your beverage space.”

Offering better-for-you options is also becoming more important, Costagli said, as consumers seek menu items for needs

and GLP-1 friendly. “This is a place to tap into for growth.”

PUSHING AND PULLING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

“Social media is an incredibly powerful tool that we can tap into,” Costagli said.

“It’s extremely influential in the consumer decision-making process. “We have consumers going out and trying products because they saw them on social media or their friends recommended them. We see this exact same trend when it comes to foodservice. Consumers visit foodservice chains because they saw it on social media, because their friends recommended it on social media, because they saw specific menu items on social media.”

Social media, he said, is mostly used to push, to let shoppers know what a c-store is offering. But retailers shouldn’t forget, he added, that it can be used to pull—to find out what consumers want and to pull in that data.

Consumers might be posting the meals they’re interested in, and agile retailers can then take

that information and quickly offer something seasonal or an LTO. “When something goes viral, are you in a position to move quicky, to bring it into your portfolio and have that as part of your offering?” asked Costagli.

THE BAD NEWS AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT

Over the past couple of years, c-store sales have fallen slightly. There are two main reasons, Costagli said. Household penetration fell, meaning fewer households are coming into c-stores, and c-stores lost repeat buyers. Consumers switching to other channels like grocery stores and mass retailers accounted for 79% of this loss, he said. “You’ve lost shoppers and the ones you have retained are coming in less. So we need to bring people in.”

“We have to be thinking about seasonal opportunities, those viral products we can bring to market,” he said. “Think about the whipped coffees that went viral on social media. The cookie croissant mashup. Those are the types of things we can use to drive traffic and bring people back into our stores,” Costagli shared.

Another problem is that the convenience store industry has “an awareness issue.” Costagli pointed out that only 18% of consumers said that they completely agree that c-stores are just as capable of offering fresh, quality, prepared food options as QSRs are.

So what are stores doing to bring shoppers back? Social media, email marketing, in-store promotion, exclusive offerings, bundle deals and flash sales, “can all attract new consumers and retain those we already have,” Costagli said.

The assortment a store offers is also very important. “We need to be the place that has the affordable, essential products just as much as the place that has the indulgent, the sweets, the on-the-go consumption products,” Costagli said.

Amanda Baltazar writes about retail, food and restaurants from an island in the soggy Pacific Northwest. She covers operations, design, marketing and trends for B2B publications.

PACKAGING THAT PERFORMS

INCREASE CONVERSION with appealing entrées and sides

PROTECT QUALITY & FRESHNESS extend shelf-life, increase sell-through

CREATE CONVENIENCE keep shoppers coming back for more

TARGETING THE GLP-1 SHOPPER

Attracting these consumers—and their households—means supporting their shopping mission.

BY LEAH ASH

Around 1 in 6 American households have at least one member using GLP-1 medication, Jenna Freese, director of sales strategy and enablement at Numerator, said during a presentation at the 2025 NACS State of the Industry Summit. That number is expected to grow.

These medications are “not just changing how people eat, but also changing how people are deciding when and where to pull over and make a stop,” said Freese.

So far in 2025, GLP-1 usage has rapidly grown. One in three GLP-1 users started using the medications in the period between January and March. “The timing isn’t random, right? This is post-holiday. This is in line with New Year’s resolutions, a well-studied behavioral trigger when it comes to wellness and health. … The jury’s still out on if that’s something we can expect on a seasonal basis as things become more widespread,” Freese noted.

90% of GLP-1 users live in multiperson households

One thing that’s not changing for GLP-1 users? According to Freese, it’s the need for convenience. What is changing is “what convenience means for them.”

A CHANGING SHOPPING MISSION

“[GLP-1 users aren’t] necessarily eating less, which is phenomenal, right? But they’re eating with more purpose, and that shift in intent is already creating leakage to mass and to grocery where healthier, portion-controlled options are a little bit more available,” Freese said.

GLP-1 households still eat outside the home. McDonald’s, Panera and Chick-fil-A are among the restaurants that are losing trips from these consumers. Meanwhile, Chipotle and Domino’s are gaining trips from GLP-1 users. “And the difference here is not just indulgence, right? Because those banners are not necessarily offering the healthiest food, but they are offering control. They’re offering protein and they’re offering customization,” Freese said. She also noted these QSRs might lend themselves better to portion control—for example, eating a slice or two of pizza and saving the rest of the pie compared to saving half of a hamburger.

“Functional ingredients, family ready meals, [these

You’re not alienating your core shopper. You’re broadening your appeal and closing affinity gaps.

—Jenna Freese, director of sales strategy and enablement at Numerator

restaurants] don’t chase indulgence by any means, but they do balance it, and that’s really the new foodservice scorecard, right? It’s all about balance, especially when we’re talking about households where one person might be a GLP-1 user,” Freese said.

“This is a shopper that’s on a mission, and so it’s important that that messaging is there to let them know that you understand them, you understand their attention and you understand why they’re there,” Freese said. “They’re not spending less, but they are demanding more from what they consume. The hunger might be lower but their expectation for purpose is higher.”

Numerator data shows that GLP-1 users’ c-store trips are down when it comes to more indulgent foods, including RTD coffee, frozen desserts, chips, alcohol and candy. But trips have increased when it comes to options that support their health, such as prebiotic and probiotic soda, performance shakes, yogurt, meat snacks and kombucha.

However, 90% of GLP-1 users live in multiperson households, and multiperson households bring multiple missions into your store. “The more that your offer can meet everyone’s needs at once, the more upside there is,” Freese said.

CAPTURING THIS CUSTOMER

The shift in GLP-1 consumer behavior “challenges us to think differently about assortment, about pack sizes, about placement, even signage. It’s a chance to completely reimagine the convenience set from indulgence first to intention first,” Freese said. She explained that operators shouldn’t prepare for shrinking baskets, but instead aim to reshape or even expand baskets with smarter choices, better formats and new value cues.

The key difference, Freese said, between the c-stores that are resonating with GLP-1 users and those that aren’t comes down to “how quickly a banner can signal that they understand the intentionality of the GLP-1 consumer, the shift in the mission-driven trip, the shift away from sugar and oversized portions and towards control, towards function and feel-good fuel.”

C-stores should offer more high-protein and portion-aware items across both packaged and made-to-order formats. “That could mean expanding your grab-and-go sets to include things like protein bars, egg bites, jerky and low-sugar snacks, while also updating your hot and fresh menus with options like grilled proteins, build-your-own salads, wraps and customizable bowls. That flexibility, customization and portion control is really important,” said Freese.

She also noted that retailers shouldn’t overlook beverages: “Today’s shopper is looking for a lot more than just flavor and caffeine. Consider adding drinks that support hydration, support energy or appetite control. Think things like electrolyte boosters, protein shakes or fiber-enhanced beverages.”

Many of these better-for-you options are already in your stores. The opportunity lies in how you’re presenting them to your customers, Freese said. She suggested retailers build intuitive, clearly merchandised food sets that align with the real-world decisions shoppers are making.

“For choices on the go, maybe these items go together in a ‘light-and-energizing’ section full of

GLP-1 users are:

• Younger: Gen Z and Millennials are still the minority of users, but they’re the fastest growing cohorts, especially when it comes to weight-loss use.

• High income: Most are consumers that can pay out of pocket or have more premium employer-led insurance.

• More likely to live in urban and suburban markets.

Even small upgrades to your food and beverage mix can really make your offer feel more relevant, more intentional and more inclusive.

feel-good options for when someone wants to eat lighter, maybe egg bites, Greek yogurt, fruit, smaller wraps. Then maybe there’s ‘functional fuel.’”

She suggested that operators “use language that focuses on fuel, balance and control. Encourage balanced baskets, not just single, healthy items,” Freese added.

In the short-term, retailers can look into capturing this customer with their menu and product mix. Freese stated that operators can update their assortment and that small changes can go a long way. “Rethink your portion sizes and your pack sizes, and introduce better-for-you options that don’t necessarily sacrifice taste or convenience.”

In the mid-term, Freese said, the focus is on the full household. “GLP-1 users don’t shop in isolation. … Their habits are influencing the rest of their household, and success here means expanding your offer to meet blended missions: fresh portionconscious choices for the GLP-1 consumer, classic favorites for everyone else.”

Leah Ash is a writer and editor at NACS. She can be reached at lash@convenience.org.

“GLP-1s are no longer for a niche audience. It’s really entered the mainstream. They’re more diverse, they’re more digitally savvy, they’re connected and they’re more driven by wellness and appearance than they are by chronic disease alone,” said Jenna Freese.

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COAST TO COAST

Data from the six NACS regions offers insights into local trends and opportunities.

BY LAUREN SHANESY, LEAH ASH, NOELLE RIDDLE

$9.84 the average basket in Region 1

NORTHEAST: REGION 1

The Northeast (Region 1), which extends from Maine to Virginia, saw best-in-class sales and gross profit performance in 2024. Fuel declines for Region 1 followed a similar pattern as the national benchmarks, while total sales were 46.7% higher than the national average.

“Compared to the national average, Region 1 averaged larger stores, higher inside transaction counts, higher basket value and more inside sales per square foot,” said Jayme Gough, director of research and development at NACS.

The Northeast is known for its high inside sales and expansive foodservice programs—13.8% of total sales are attributed to foodservice, compared to the national average of 10.3%. Foodservice also represents 31.2% of total store gross margin, compared to 24.0% for the national sample.

The region saw a 2.6% decrease in total sales, a result of fuel sales down 6.6%, driven by the average selling price drop of 4.5%. Inside sales rose 1.2%, but not enough to offset the decline in fuel.

Though flat year over year, total transactions in Region 1 were 19.0% higher than the national average in 2024.

Direct store operating expenses (DSOE) growth outpaced inside gross profit growth in the Northeast last year. Inside gross profit was up 2.6%, or about $4,300 per store, per month, while DSOE was up 10.6%, or about $14,000 per store, per month.

The average basket value was $9.84, $1.79 higher than the national average of $8.05. Inside operating profit per transaction was 30 cents in 2024, down from 62 cents in 2023, impacted by rising expenses.

“Region 1 saw strong sales and profit figures supported by large expenses, and as expenses continue to grow, we must keep an eye on them,” Gough concluded.

SOUTHEAST: REGION 2

Region 2, which consists of southern states from Florida to Tennessee, saw fuel gallons up year over year while most other regions were flat or down in 2024.

Fuel in Region 2 accounts for a larger part of total sales and margin mix compared to the national sample. Fuel generated 73.8% of total sales mix in Region 2, compared to 65.8% for the national sample, and 48.2% of margin mix compared to 38.3% for the national average.

189,567

fuel gallons sold per store, per month

in Region 2

Fuel sales in the region were 23.2% higher than the national average, despite being down 3.9% year over year. Fuel gross profit grew 4.6% from 2023 to 2024 and was 11.7% higher than the national average.

On the other hand, Region 2 saw a lower sales mix from foodservice, though within the region there has been sales growth.

Region 2 also saw high food spoilage growth over the past two years. Gough suggested this significant increase could be attributed to “growing pains” as food-forward retailers in the region invest heavily in foodservice.

Total inside sales were essentially flat year over year, but foodservice sales in Region 2 grew by a notable 7.3%. Inside gross profit in the Southeast grew 1.8% from 2023 to 2024, a result of double-digit (10.2%) growth in foodservice gross profit year over year.

Other positive takeaways for the region included improving turnover—non-manager turnover decreased from 169.0% to 145.7% in

2024. And while the labor market is “exceptionally difficult” in Region 2, turnover and productivity metrics still showed positive trends, noted Gough.

Inside transactions also grew 1.7% year over year in 2024, and pump transactions were down 3.1%, which netted out to a very slight increase of 0.1% in total transactions.

The Southeast saw an average basket size of $8.78 per transaction per store, per month in 2024, down 17 cents from the year before. After accounting for the cost of goods and other expenses, the profitability of the basket was negative 36 cents of inside operating profit per transaction, which was a 16-cent swing in the wrong direction from the previous year’s negative 20 cents.

Gough emphasized that this calculation does not include fuel and stressed that retailers should not be alarmed by this negative figure when considering the overall store performance. That said, pushing this figure into the positive is a key indicator of the health of the in-store aspect of the business.

MIDWEST: REGION 3

Region 3 mostly mirrors the national sample in terms of sales and gross margin mix, though the region generates more profit mix from the inside of the store compared to the national sample, specifically from merchandise.

Fuel sales, slightly less than the national average, followed the path of the national sample, down as a result of year-to-year selling price decline. Total inside sales, 1.4% higher than the national sample, were flat year to year, the result of a merchandise sales decline offset by foodservice sales growth. Transaction counts in the Midwest were a bright spot. Total transactions increased 1.9% year to year, and saw growth both at the pump (up 3.1%) and inside the store (up 1.6%).

While nominally, the region generates less gross profit compared to the national sample in all areas with the exception of merchandise, the Midwest saw year over year increases in key areas inside the store. Foodservice gross profit increased 2.8% year over year while merchandise increased 1.7%, leading to a total inside gross profit increase of 2.2%.

Region 3 saw growth in direct store operating expenses (DSOE), yet at a slower rate in 2024 compared to previous years. While lower than the national average, total DSOE increased 3.1% year over year. All expense lines increased year over year, with the largest increase in repairs and maintenance (up 9.3%), followed by wages and benefits (up 3.5%) and supplies (up 1.8%).

“Labor costs in Region 3 are higher than the national average across all metrics excluding workers’ compensation,” said Jenna Collard, director of education engagement at NACS. “However, a double-digit increase in worker’s compensation year-overyear significantly contributed to the region’s higher expenses.”

A bright spot: Larger investments in labor expenses may have positively impacted turnover rates, which improved year over year, down 13.1 points to 97.3% for non-managers and 2.6 points to 27.1% for managers.

Despite inside transaction growth in Region 3, basket value declined by 11 cents from $7.25 to $7.14. Coupled with the cost of goods and expense increases year over year, inside operating profit per transaction swung from positive 4 cents in 2023 to negative 7 cents in 2024.

SOUTH CENTRAL: REGION 4

Region 4, centered on Texas and including surrounding states, “outpaced the national average in fuel volumes but faltered a bit on the inside,” said Chris Rapanick, managing director of NACS Research. Total sales in the region declined year over year but were 4.9% higher than the national average ($769,976 compared to $733,897). Fuel sales were also 12.6% higher than the national average and fuel gallons were 21.8% higher. Within the region, fuel gallons increased 1.2% compared to 2023, while total fuel sales declined 7.5% year over year due to a drop in selling price.

“It’s positive that there was improvement in the fuel versus inside sales mix. Fuel was 76.2% of the business in 2022 when gas prices were high, and over the past two years the business has trended back to the inside,” said Rapanick.

Foodservice sales gained ground, increasing from 6.1% of sales in 2023 to 7.1% of sales in 2024, following the national trendline. Region 4 also picked up more merchandise share of the sales mix: 21.8% in 2024 compared to 20.7% in 2023.

Although about one-third of gross profit in the region is from fuel, 42.4% comes from merchandise, higher than the national average of 34.3%. Region 4 lagged behind the national average in foodservice gross profit, but outpaced in other income categories (6.5% compared to 3.4%), with a large portion coming from car washes.

Inside the store, Region 4 does less sales per store, per month compared to the national average, but saw 1.6% improvement year over year, driven wholly by a 7.8% improvement in foodservice sales. However, inside transaction counts declined 6% in Region 4 (down to 33,163 per store, per month).

From 2023 to 2024, total store gross profit was up 1.3%, primarily due to an in-store gross profit increase of 1.8%, a result of strong foodservice gross profit growth of

8.2% increase in foodservice gross profit in Region 4

7.2% increase in prepared food sales in Region 5

8.2%. Other income was up 2%, and fuel and merchandise gross profit were relatively flat with a less than 1% change.

When evaluating the profitability of the basket, which averaged $6.28 in sales, inside operating profit was down 30 cents after subtracting the cost of goods and direct store operating expenses.

“With inside transactions down, but the fuel business up in this region, retailers should zero in on increasing transaction counts. If someone is at the pump, you have an opportunity to convert them inside the store and that profitability is key,” said Rapanick.

The region reported outstanding growth in foodservice as it catches up to the national averages. Overall, the region reported $52,610 foodservice sales per store, per month, trailing the $71,569 national number.

Fuel sales in the region decreased 4.6% despite a 4.6% increase in fuel gallons sold, driven by an 8.8% drop in fuel price. Inside sales increased 5.4% overall, driven by increases in both foodservice (up 7.1%) and merchandise sales (4.7%). Total transactions in the region were also up 3.6% from 2023, a result of strong inside transaction growth of 4.4%.

The region’s total gross profit increased 5.4%. In-store gross profit was a driving force behind the growth with an 8.4% increase year over year, even though the increase in fuel volumes helped fuel gross profit increase 1.0%. Other income was also a highlight, with a 4.1% year-over-year increase in gross profit.

REGION 5: CENTRAL

Stores in the Central region, which spans from Montana to Missouri, showed strength in foodservice and in-store merchandise sales in 2024.

Fuel makes up 64.4% of the region’s sales mix, followed by in-store merchandise at 25.5% and foodservice at 10.1%, which are close to the national average. The region’s margin mix also mostly mirrored the national average.

“In 2024, the Region 5 merchandise gross profit mix was nearly two points higher than the national average because it is less densely populated with people per retail outlet,” said Collard. “Consumers shop their local convenience store for fill-in items before larger shops at bigger retail outlets, which might be further away.”

Basket value for the Central region improved 6 cents year over year, and unlike many other regions saw a decrease in the cost of goods sold. This combined with an increase in other operating income helped the region remain positive and positively grow inside operating profit per transaction. The region increased from 6 cents of inside operating profit per transaction in 2023 to 11 cents in 2024 and was the only region to see an improvement in this metric year over year.

Direct store operating expenses (DSOE) continued to climb in 2024 compared to the national average. “Forward-thinking retailers should strategize to not depend solely on the fuel gross profit dollars to cover operating expenses,” Collard said.

WEST: REGION 6

The West region includes nine states, headlined by California.

The region is known for high fuel volume and a high reliance on fuel, with 81.2% of sales mix being from fuel. Total fuels sales outpaced the national average by 18.1%, with the average selling price of $3.69 11.5% higher than the national average. Additionally, the West saw fuel account for 57.3% of total gross margin.

Fuel sales in the West declined 14.0% from 2023 to 2024, largely driven by the lower average selling price in 2024 (a 10.9% decrease) and a slight decline in fuel gallons sold (a 3.5% decrease). “This is the same kind of phenomenon that we saw with the national averages … If you look at your selling price year over year, $4.14 was the average in 2023 and it was just $3.69 in 2024,” said Rapanick.

Rapanick noted that there is opportunity for retailers to diversify revenue streams using the high fuel margin, which is 55.5% higher in the West than the national average. “If you’re an owner/operator earning an almost 64 cent margin on fuel, I would suggest to you take that money and reinvest it into your business,” he said. “If you have the capacity to do foodservice and you think there’s an opportunity, do it. If you can build a car wash, then do it. Fuel margins aren’t as reliable as they used to be.”

Region 6 averages smaller stores and typically has less inside business. However, the region saw year over year improvements in inside categories. Foodservice sales in the

region increased 13.0% year over year and merchandise sales grew 3.2%, leading to total inside growth of 4.7% year over year.

In-store-store gross profit also improved in 2024, up 3.7% compared to 2023. While the increase was primarily driven by a substantial increase in foodservice gross profit (up 9.5%), merchandise also improved 2.5% year over year.

The West does well in other income, which includes items like lottery, ATM and car wash. The region saw $7,438 per store, per month from other income, which is 21.5% higher than the national average. “[Retailers] should continue to provide services to customers that they can make a money on, and it also helps customers see them as a destination for that type of visit,” Rapanick said.

While smaller than the national average on a per store, per month basis in all lines with the exception of card fees, total DSOE increased 8.4% year over year in Region 6. In fact, two expense lines, repairs and maintenance and supplies, were both up over 20% year to year.

DSOE and facility expense growth also impacted inside operating profit per transaction in the West. While Region 1 has the highest average basket value across the regions ($10.03), a per-transaction increase in expenses pushed the inside operating profit per transaction metric further into the negative, from 70 cents in 2023 to 95 cents in 2024.

14%

decline in fuel sales in Region 6

MASTER MERCHANDISE YOUR

MASTER MERCHANDISE

Unlock strategies for building baskets, driving sales and connecting with customers.

BY LAUREN SHANESY

According to Nathan Arnold, director of marketing at Englefield Oil Company, which operates Duchess convenience stores in Ohio, “The belief over the years has been ‘If you put [a product] out, it will sell.’ There is still that mentality, but we want to make sure we are doing it in a thoughtful, curated way. We aren’t necessarily reducing, we’re just displaying products in a different way that looks more organized.”

If your store has too much merchandise, “It becomes wallpaper to the customer,” said Joe VonderHaar, CEO and founding partner of iSEE Store Innovations, which creates and manufactures display fixtures for convenience retail. “And if you do something that interrupts their trip while they’re picking up their go-to products, it can create friction.”

With limited store footprints, ever-changing product popularity, a consistent stream of new-to-market items and category inventory to manage, employing the right merchandising techniques that strike the balance of engaging customers without overwhelming them can ultimately help build baskets.

“Retailers are looking at merchandising techniques and considering how they can reset displays faster, adapt to seasonal trends and find the right fixtures that allow them to have an optimized amount of product facings so that employees don’t have to stock as often,” said Matt Epps, chief sales officer at Wanzl North America, which produces retail fixtures.

Duchess has a “clean store policy” that eliminates clutter and helps shoppers find products more easily.

SLEEK, STREAMLINED AND SPACE-SAVING

Duchess focuses on what it calls a “clean store policy.”

“That means we try not to place displays on our floor because there’s only so much that a consumer can look at when they enter,” Arnold said. “We’ve created little destinations by using some smaller, foursided gondolas as well as different kinds of laydown platforms where we can merchandise products. It gives the store a cleaner aesthetic and also reduces the consumer being overwhelmed by walking in.”

SKU rationalization, said Epps, is an effective way to make sure retailers aren’t “cramming everything in,” and are keeping open space, cleanliness and a sleek store top of mind. “Instead of having three facings of the same product, they’ve only got one and are making sure it’s updated properly,” he said.

VonderHaar’s advice for keeping the consumer from being overwhelmed? Let the product be the star. “The best merchandising [in terms of fixtures and displays] is never actually seen by the customer, because they see the product. Think about what is between your customer and your product, and there should only be positive interruptions to their trip,” he said. The easiest way for retailers to create positive interruptions is through cross merchandising that co-locates complimentary products to help consumers easily build their basket.

“Convenience store trips are high speed and high frequency,” said VonderHaar. “It’s very hard to motivate a customer to walk to another section of the store for the second half of their two-for-one deal or meal bundle—it’s an extra step for them. But presenting everything to them together makes it easier for them, and the easier you make it, the faster you will build sales.”

While maintaining a clutter-free store is a top consideration for effective merchandising, retailers still need to maximize space and available product within the limited footprint they have.

End caps, undercounter shelving and power panel display fixtures can help retailers capture underused space within their square footage.

The catch-22 in convenience retailing is that you can’t sell what isn’t on your shelves, but adding more shelf space (either up or out) can create an unpleasant experience and cause fewer sales. That’s why suppliers within the space are continuously innovating to find new ways to get more out of every inch allotted to merchandising.

Craig Weiskerger, director of sales and marketing at Trion Industries, a fixture manufacturer for retail stores, said that one of Trion’s products for peg candy and salty snacks can provide 15% to 35% space gain depending on the product. “You’re gaining SKUs in

the same footprint and are able to sell more in the same space. Depending on the product, it can be up to an entire row,” said Weiskerger. “That obviously translates to immediate sales. We’ve seen retailers add more product facings, double up on high sellers, or sometimes it provides them the opportunity to add new products or product combinations.”

Fixtures that are flexible also allow retailers to accommodate a wider variety of products and turn over inventory without having to replace fixtures.

“We’ve seen a lot of packaging sizes shrink over the last two years, especially in the grab-and-go beverage category. A lot of retailers have glides provided by manufacturers or brands, but those are made for a specific product,” said Rich Wildrick, director of engineering at Trion. “If the width of the product changes or gets smaller, retailers are going to have dead space in their coolers.” Trion said its Zip Track Merchandising System is adjustable for 12 different bottle or can widths, “so anything from a real small Red Bull to a bigger 28 oz Gatorade bottle, for example, can fit within that. It’s just a matter of them adjusting it as they change their planograms or SKUs,” Wildrick added.

Elsewhere in the store, the checkout area provides a captive audience. “We are seeing an increase in queuing system review. We have a product that is modular and optimizes the amount of impulse rack space at the register area. It allows

retailers to put a lot of product in a very nice footprint as customers queue up to the register area. We are seeing retailers put a lot of focus on that part of the store,” said Epps.

Duchess always keeps space dedicated to new items, line extensions from brands and seasonal items. “But over the past couple of years, the number of those have decreased, understandably [due to inflation and supply chain issues],” said Arnold. “We have had to pivot a bit. We’ve created planograms that kind of shift throughout the year and identified items to put in those spaces where we can still give the customer something to purchase in the absence of a seasonal display or LTO.”

BEHIND THE BACKBAR

At Duchess, “Tobacco is a topic of conversation every day,” said Arnold. The backbar is constantly evolving, as are regulations, so using the space to effectively merchandise new products and an ever-changing assortment is a continual puzzle for retailers to solve.

One of the challenges Harbor, which specializes in fixtures for tobacco, sees retailers run into is inflexibility in backbar fixtures, which doesn’t accommodate for the frequent need to reset tobacco products. “Some of these older legacy systems work off of two-, three- or four-foot shelves. You can’t accommodate the planograms that [the manufacturers] are now creating,” said Andy Cremer, senior vice president of sales and creative services at Harbor. He said Harbor’s Infinity Fixtures uses one-foot columns. “You can create any length of fixture you want in one-foot increments, and we also have half-inch spacing on the shelves. It gives retailers ultimate flexibility in terms of planograms. Going forward, the amount of resets and new product introductions are going to continue shifting towards more modern oral nicotine products, so having flexibility in your system is really key.”

To capitalize on the backbar space, Duchess has also “introduced some new accessory products, from different lighters to papers, that are being displayed there,” said Arnold.

And even for the non-tobacco customer, the backbar is still a merchandising opportunity for retailers. “That is a captive space for a consumer. While they’re checking out, their eyesight is directly toward the backbar. Whether they are a tobacco consumer or not, they’re going to look back there,” said Arnold. He noted the company is exploring ways to use new technology and digital screens to display messages or marketing at the backbar.

Merchandise destinations throughout the store that showcase products in clean and organized displays at Duchess.

Wanzl’s BakeOff fixture, which can store hot or cold food, bakery items, hot sandwiches and more, is popular in Europe and the U.K. and is increasing its presence in the United States.

LEVERAGING LABOR

When choosing fixtures, Matt Epps, chief sales officer at Wanzl North America, said retailers should consider things like how fast they can be reset and “is there enough product on the fixture to last at least a half-day cycle,” so that employees don’t have to constantly restock it. He noted that “we will likely start seeing a lot more” digital price tags, which save employees the task of updating prices manually.

“Anything that you can do to create more automation and efficiency is a huge win for retail,” said Andy Cremer, senior vice president of sales and creative services at Harbor. He said that for its backbar fixtures, Harbor considers how to make refilling shelves easier during a shift, how to make updates or resets less time consuming and how the process can be reliable and consistent for employees. “Our new adjustable tray, for example, makes it easier to reposition the dividers and the pushers and to load items from the back.”

COMMUNICATING WITH CUSTOMERS

If you want to reach today’s consumers, go digital. “It’s how shoppers want to be communicated with now,” said Cremer. “There is a huge push towards digital products—retail media networks, connected mobile app experiences, digital headers or store screens and digital menu boards—but overall there is a huge opportunity for retailers to create more digital communication.”

Arnold said Duchess has screens throughout all of its stores and is using them for retail media networks and to highlight its own in-store promotions. “But we want to make sure that it doesn’t become white noise to the customer or make people overstimulated. So where they’re located is important.”

Putting digital offers, coupons and loyalty sign-ups at the “point of decision,” or with the product, allows customers to engage with digital features or offers with less friction. “QR codes are wallpaper to many younger customers,” VonderHaar said. “So you need to make it easy for someone and not make them fill something out or click around too much, or it’s not going to happen.” iSEE recently launched iSEE Tap, which allows customer to tap their phone and bring up offers or loyalty sign-ups. It can be used on surfaces like cooler doors, countertops and shelves, and VonderHaar said he has seen many retailers use it at the pump to encourage customers to join loyalty programs or drive trips inside the store.

Customers are also responsive to narratives that help build connection with a brand or a product. Wanzl’s Epps has seen retailers—especially smaller and independent store operators—focus on sourcing local items, whether it be produce, baked goods or other products.

iSEE’s DisplayLoc suction cup technology capitalizes on unused space in the cooler, allowing retailers to attach an additional shelf to the inside of the cooler door. “You’re leveraging about four and a half inches,” said Joe VonderHaar.

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Duchess has expanded its inventory of private-label items and locally made or sourced products. “We’ve seen a big increase in demand for those,” said Arnold. “We are working with Ohio-based manufacturers to create our own private-label items that we sell, and consumers really resonate with that. They understand that by purchasing that item, they’re not only supporting us as a local business in the state, but also other industries in Ohio.”

Duchess has also cultivated its customer innovation program over the past several years, through which it promotes items that benefit charitable organizations. Duchess works primarily with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio and The James Cancer Hospital at Ohio State University. “We’re promoting items that give a portion of the proceeds to those charities. We’re also looking at developing some new and unique items that would be sold directly for those charities,” Arnold said. “Customers feel good about giving back to organizations that are in our backyard, helping people and also getting an item they actually want.”

MULL OVER THESE MERCHANDISING TIPS

When evaluating your merchandising strategy or potential products to implement, here are a few other ideas to keep in mind.

Food for thought: Epps said Wanzl has seen a move towards convenience store foodservice staples such as pizza or hot dogs being presented hot-andready for customers to grab themselves. “There’s been a desire to find fixtures that allow for bulk storage, where the customer can lift the lid, grab their piece out in some wax paper and go. From the customer perspective, this signals to them that the food is fresh or was just cooked,” said Epps.

Staying shoppable without shrink: Loss prevention and shrink reduction are top of mind for

Harbor’s backbar fixture is a marketing and storage solution in one—front-facing graphics display product information and cover storage shelves for product and inventory.

many retailers, who are navigating how to keep stores shoppable while also keeping products safeguarded from theft. “We are seeing a desire for locking cabinets that are low impact but aid in loss prevention,” said Epps. “Everybody wants to lock stuff down, but we know that when you lock something down, you impact sales. So how can we limit that impact?” He said the company has seen success in Europe with its SecureFlex customer-interactive locking cabinets, which customers can unlock themselves through an app without the assistance of an employee.

Trion produces peg hooks with locks or antisweep designs, which Weiskerger said keeps product presented nicely but mitigates theft. “We developed hooks where you can only take off one piece at a time, as well as ones with a lock where you can lock 100% of your product or any percentage of it to keep the product shoppable without needing a store associate to come over and unlock it every time.”

A one (and only) stop shop: Arnold said Duchess has “always taken pride in trying to be first to market with new brands.” It was one of the first brands in Ohio to market Bang Energy drinks several years ago, which Arnold said helped the business learn how to attract new customers or ones that traditionally haven’t shopped at convenience stores. “If we can be first to market with a variety of brands, then we can create a new customer base for us. We’ve really had some great success from that.”

Innovation station: VonderHaar noted that many retailers have an “innovation door” for coolers to merchandise new or emerging beverage products. “This trains customers to know to browse that area if they want to try something new.”

Lauren Shanesy is a writer and editor at NACS and has worked in business journalism for a decade. She can be reached at lshanesy@convenience.org.

While remanufacturing equipment like fountain beverage dispensers, Marmon Renew disassembles them to the component level, where the team performs detailed inspections and replaces individual components.

BRINGING NEW LIFE TO OLD EQUIPMENT

Remanufacturing beverage dispensers and foodservice equipment offers significant cost savings and environmental sustainability.

What trends are you seeing as companies place remanufacturing orders?

Corey Fireison: What I’m seeing from our customers and potential customers is that they are tasked with having a higher percentage of their equipment be remanufactured versus purchasing new. Many have seen their capital budgets reduced, and remanufacturing has been a great alternative to purchasing new equipment.

We’re also seeing an uptick in equipment upgrades. This includes upgrading lighting from fluorescent to LED, and also upgrades for fountain equipment, so going from regular merchandisers to potentially having digital merchandisers, too.

Nate Warden: In terms of specific equipment, I’ve noticed an increase in fountain valves. I’m also seeing an increase in remanufacturing orders for some of the next-gen coffee brewers as well, specifically the bean-to-cup products, as these models and these

One common mistake equipment owners often make is taking a Band-Aid solution to their equipment when really a repair is actually necessary.

Corey Fireison, National Sales Director, Marmon Foodservice Technologies

Manager, Marmon Renew

types of machines have been in the field for several years now. Our customers have a need to ensure that these popular models are in top condition.

Based on Marmon’s expertise in remanufacturing dispensers, what are some of the top mistakes companies make when it comes to caring for these machines in their stores?

Warden: One common mistake equipment owners often make is taking a Band-Aid solution to their equipment when really a repair is actually necessary. When they do this, it could lead to additional costs in having to repeat service calls to address this reoccurring issue.

Fireison: Preventive maintenance is the key to ensuring the equipment functions properly and increases the life of the equipment. Daily maintenance of valves, calibration and scheduling regular preventive maintenance service calls are recommended.

Does the quality of the machine affect the taste of the drink it’s dispensing?

Warden: Absolutely. I think that’s why it’s important to make sure that owners are maintaining the equipment while it is in use. But it’s also just as important to understand when the equipment has reached the need for remanufacturing services.

Fireison: If the machine is not cleaned properly and sanitized on a regular basis, it’s going to affect the quality of that end product. It’s jeopardized at that point. The lack of cleaning and sanitizing can affect the taste, including the syrup and the carbonation on the fountain side.

What does the remanufacturing process look like at Marmon Renew? What can retailers expect?

Warden: At Marmon Renew, we’ve established a very rigorous remanufacturing process that completely transforms the old equipment. The equipment is disassembled to the component level. The equipment is then cleaned and sanitized before cosmetic repairs are carried out. When the equipment reaches the assembly stage, components are further assessed for quality and reliability. Parts are replaced and the equipment is rebuilt using only OEM components.

All equipment is then subject to a full wet test. Functionality is verified. Leak testing is performed and parameters are set to our customer specifications. Finally, the equipment is tested for electrical safety and inspected to ensure that the final touches have been applied and that customer quality standards have been met.

For example, product delivery tubing in fountain dispensers can become stained over time. The product can become pungent based on the types of syrup flavors that are being dispensed in that machine. And it’s not just the end product that can be negatively impacted by poor-quality machines. If we look at equipment like coffee brewers, the boiler tank and heating elements are prone to accumulating lime buildup from the water. This buildup could lead to longer than normal start-up times for the equipment, and excessive run times of the equipment.

Fireison: We also tailor the equipment manufacturing process with the operator. We have the capabilities to upgrade merchandisers—whether it’s for frozen or for fountain equipment, going from an analog merchandiser to a digital merchandiser. If it’s offered by the OEM, we have the capabilities to upgrade that.

Visit MarmonRenew.com to learn more about remanufacturing and contact us at renew@marmonfoodservice.com. This interview is brought

Nate Warden, Operations

Culture& Connections

Join convenience industry professionals at the 2026 NACS Human Resources Forum in Louisville, Kentucky, March 16-18.

Connections

The annual NACS Human Resources Forum links industry peers and offers best practices.

BY JEFF LENARD

While co-workers may get together informally for drinks or other social events to unwind or share problems that they’re trying to solve, that’s not always the case with HR professionals. They are one of the few team members who need to maintain a distance at times, and that can make it tough to talk through work-related challenges.

But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t opportunities for HR professionals to find help with issues that they are facing. The NACS Human Resources Forum was created as a safe place for convenience industry HR professionals to share ideas and insights specific to the unique world of convenience retailing.

Establishing trusted connections, more than anything else, was the reason that a record-setting 126 people were at this year’s HR Forum, which took place March 24-26 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Both first timers and long-time attendees, including several who have attended every Forum for over a decade, said that the opportunity to share during sessions and network—in addition to participating in post-event share groups—is the reason that they attend year after year.

The importance of connections doesn’t mean that there wasn’t great advice and analysis shared on stage, because there was. Respecting the safe space of the event, suggestions and observations have been anonymized, whether from the stage or from conversations during networking activities.

Here are some of the high-level ideas that were shared.

“They didn’t tell me there would be this

many people

here,”

noted one pleased first-timer. Let’s set a new record next year when the NACS Human Resources Forum takes place March 16-18 in Louisville, Kentucky.

RECRUITING AND HIRING

Most conversations focused on building and cultivating great teams, which ultimately leads to great customer service. To manage turnover and its costs, attendees shared ideas to reimagine the entire recruiting process.

For years, a main qualification for back-office employees was having a college degree—but does that limit your talent pool? If this requirement is not essential to the job, consider removing it.

Reviewing job requirements should also extend to the length of job descriptions. HR Forum participants reviewed c-store industry job descriptions to improve the language and the likelihood of attracting great candidates. One significant recommendation: Keep job descriptions to two pages or less and focus on what is specific to the job, as opposed to listing tasks that are common to all jobs. (Yes, there was at least one four-page job description submitted for review.)

In developing job descriptions, it’s also important to remove ambiguity. For example, avoid stating that the company has “a comprehensive benefits package” and instead specify what the benefits are. In addition, company jargon and acronyms can creep into job descriptions. At some companies, job descriptions are reviewed by someone outside the department before they are posted. This practice helps minimize internal jargon that may be overlooked.

Also, while the Trump Administration has placed a focus on eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), that doesn’t mean that companies need to significantly alter their procedures—as long as they continue to put a focus on merit-based hiring and promotions. Finally, while recruiters have traditionally been engaged hiring C-suite employees, companies are increasingly using recruiters beyond the C-suite, with the cost of inefficiencies from open positions outweighing the cost of hiring recruiters.

SALARIES AND BENEFITS

Salaries and benefits are always among the most important criteria that employees cite for why they select and stay at companies, which can present challenges in defining salaries and benefits that match expectations and can also vary by demographics.

The growth of pay-transparency laws makes it essential for companies to examine overall salaries. In particular, watch out for the one-off decisions that can take some employees’ salaries out of whack with the rest of the organization. Carefully examine exceptions and why they exist, noted HR Forum speakers.

For frontline workers, one company helped streamline salaries and expectations by developing an online pay calculator that estimated hiring salaries for possible job applicants based on criteria like managerial experience and education. It helps reduce ambiguity by showing candidates exactly why they received a specific offer.

Companies also should examine how they can align on their compensation philosophy. What makes you stand out beyond salary—and what are non-traditional benefits that might be of value to employees? Some highly praised benefits include discounts on dependent care or wellness care packages that can be used to help offset costs associated with gym memberships, exercise equipment, nutrition training or mindfulness programs. Wellness benefits are particularly prized by younger employees.

POLICIES AND TRAINING

Company policies are among the biggest pain points for many employees, usually because they can become institutionalized without regular reviews and updates. “We should never have policies that employees consider stupid. Either change the mindset or change the policy,” noted one HR Forum speaker.

How do these policies come about? Sometimes a policy is put in place because the strongest or loudest team member pushed for it. But is it the best for the business? That’s a question to continually ask when creating new policies.

When policies are needed, think about ways to introduce them differently than a dry e-mail announcement that accompanies an attachment. Look for fun ways to engage employees with otherwise mundane policy updates. One company records and shares short podcasts for HR updates.

Also, invest in training on a regular basis, especially for employees added through acquisitions, who also need to learn about company norms. “We used to hire people off the street and give them better training than the people we acquired [through M&A],” noted one speaker talking about the mistakes they made in earlier acquisitions.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

A common quote today about artificial intelligence is that “you won’t lose your job to AI; you will lose your job to someone who is using AI.” The uses and pitfalls of AI are important to consider as AI use grows in the workplace.

One company uses a recruiting automation program to speed up the hiring process for frontline workers; 85% of applicants were able to schedule interviews within an hour of applying, and the hiring process was reduced from 10 days to three. AI was not making hiring decisions, but it was significantly reducing the time it took to reach that decision.

Chatbots can help simulate human conversations with the basics of who, what, where, when and how—and companies with fewer than 20 locations are using them to interact with customers and potential employees.

Because AI is rapidly evolving, “best practices”

are still under development and are essential for HR professionals to consider. Do you know how AI is being used in your workplace—by whom and how? It’s good to set up policies, both in the HR department and throughout the company, to address allowable uses for data collection and decision making.

C-SUITE STRATEGY

Human resources activities and objectives must be closely aligned with the vision of the CEO, and that’s one of the reasons why CEOs also attend the NACS HR Forum. CEO attendees shared some ideas for how HR professionals can advance their ideas—and career.

How can HR professionals best get CEOs to buy into their initiatives? Speak the language that relates to their backgrounds. If a CEO has a tech background, for instance, use that “language” as you build your pitch. The same applies to finance, marketing and so on. Second, keep in mind overall business objectives. Think about the CEO’s biggest worries and how you can help solve them.

In terms of advocating for your own growth, CEOs said that HR professionals should not assume that they know what your needs are Make a plan for what you want your career to be and communicate it.

How to Respond to Negative Posts

The NACS Human Resources Forum included great presentations focusing on how to elevate employees to enhance your brand. But what should companies do when online postings are critical or inaccurately describing your company’s workplace?

Company reputation websites. The consensus was to not engage with websites that tend to feature more negative comments than positive ones about businesses. “We have a policy of addressing concerns in the moment when they should be addressed. We can’t address things we don’t know about and by the time someone has decided to leave [the company] and post comments, it’s too late to have a productive conversation,” said one attendee. Worse, responding to negative posts could lead an unhappy ex-employee to ramp up attacks.

Should you encourage happy employees to post positive comments to offset the negative ones? Maybe, but it could backfire and compound negative impressions if it feels inauthentic. Instead, be aware what’s there and be able to explain why you aren’t engaging.

Job postings. Some job listing sites like Indeed use their own algorithms to define salary expectations for jobs even if you don’t state them. Attendees suggested monitoring sites for inaccuracies and pulling down postings when appropriate.

Social media. Whether Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok or X, there are opportunities to engage and correct inaccuracies or address negative experiences when it comes to working at your company. Respond quickly—and consider involving communications or marketing to best align messages.

How to Create Authentic Connections

“When the purpose is clear, the mundane becomes meaningful,” according to Kevin Paul Scott, author, speaker and cofounder of the leadership consultancy ADDO.

Scott, a presenter at the NACS Human Resources Forum, wove stories and videos together to show HR professionals how they can help create authentic connections with their employees—much like how public relations and marketing also create connections.

“Culture and marketing are the two sides of the same coin,” he said. While most companies pay a lot of attention to marketing as a way to establish connections with consumers, it’s equally important to use the same techniques with employees to enhance culture.

The data supports this as well. Employees who feel connected to their company’s purpose are three times more likely to be engaged at work. “When you tell stories about what you mean to the community, it creates affinity with employees. Don’t just share these stories with customers,” he said.

“Endearing is enduring,” Scott said. He shared three tips to create an enduring brand:

1. Prioritize the personal. A personal experience goes far beyond a singular customer: It applies to all customers if you want to create unique customer experiences. Scott cited how one airline focuses on that moment of truth when customers enter the aircraft. Flight attendants use the phrase “value me because” when thinking about why customers are on the flight, which could apply to positive, negative or mundane moments—and how they can provide the best customer experience.

2. Cultivate the culture. Show employees the incentive and they will reward you with positive actions, said Scott. “Cared-for people care for people,” he said.

3. Maximize the moment. It’s not practical to allocate sufficient resources to give every customer an experience that will result in a viral social media moment that celebrates the company. But you can create policies that allow employees to proactively create special moments for customers. “Do for one customer what we wish we could do for everyone, and you can create something special,” Scott said.

A Different Type of Conference

My job is not human resources—it’s communications. But let me share two broad generalizations that I’ve seen after attending several NACS Human Resources Forums.

• They mean what they say. It’s interesting to be around people who ask, “How are you doing?” and actually want to hear an answer, even if it’s a long one. If you answer that question with a simple “fine,” you’re at the wrong meeting. They truly are focused on bettering and supporting people—and each other.

• Relentless timekeeping. When they say an HR Forum session is going to start at a certain time, everyone was back in their seats and ready to go without any prodding or reminders. After all, that’s what you’d expect from people who set company policies. It was also because they were eager to take in more content.

—Jeff Lenard

1839 cigarettes are made from the finest flue-cured tobacco to deliver the flavor and value your budgetminded consumers crave. Available in a variety of styles to satisfy every taste.

Honoring

Hometown Heroes

High’s convenience stores turned the NACS Foundation 24/7 Day into a celebration of those who work tirelessly to keep its neighborhoods safe.

Michele Truelove awards a plaque and certificate to one of last year’s High’s Hometown Hero winners.

The NACS Foundation established 24/7 Day in 2019 to recognize first responders and raise money for the American Red Cross. Seven years later, invested retailers are making the annual event a true opportunity to honor hometown heroes, establish themselves as pillars of their communities and build a presence beyond the products they sell.

“24/7 Day unites convenience stores across America in recognizing first responders, medical personnel and American Red Cross volunteers who work around the clock, 24/7, to serve our communities to ensure people don’t face emergencies alone,” said Kevin O’Connell, executive director of the NACS Foundation. “The annual event helps raise awareness and donations for the urgent humanitarian needs of the American Red Cross and spotlights our industry’s important role in supporting local heroes and the communities we serve.”

In 2024, the NACS Foundation had its most participation yet with more than 80 retailers and industry suppliers taking part in the event, accounting for more than 30,000 convenience store locations across the United States. As of April 2025, a record 87 retailers and suppliers are planning to participate this year. The theme for this summer’s event is “We see you, we thank you.” The event takes place every year on July 24.

“Each and every retailer is able to uniquely tailor its offer, given that each community faces crises differently,” said O’Connell. “We have some retailers who deliver warm meals to first responders at their station house, visiting them in the same way those emergency personnel often visit the retailers at their stores. Others take to social media and engage the community in recognizing local heroes or hold in-store celebrations.”

BUILDING MOMENTUM

While many retailers take part by providing free treats, drinks or company swag to the first responders who visit their stores, increasingly, many plan ahead to think of other ways to make the day special for local heroes.

Mid-Atlantic-based High’s, for example, has added new elements to its 24/7 Day celebration each year since first taking part in 2020.

“We’ve had people reach out via our Contact Us form on our website. They’re asking, ‘Are you guys going to do that again this year?’” said Senior Vice President Michele Truelove. As a result, “We’re super excited to get going,” she said in early April.

The First Responder of the Year— for the First Time

This year, the NACS Foundation invites suppliers and retailers across the country to nominate their local hometown heroes for the inaugural First Responder of the Year award.

The First Responder of the Year Award recognizes the unwavering dedication, courage and service of first responders who go above and beyond to protect and support their communities. Presented on behalf of the convenience store industry and the NACS Foundation, this award highlights the shared commitment of responders and suppliers to honor those who serve 24/7.

This year, we will recognize outstanding first responder(s)— especially those who played a critical role in disaster response during Hurricane Helene and the L.A. wildfires—on 24/7 Day (July 24). Through this award, the convenience industry proudly stands behind those who answer the call, ensuring they receive the appreciation they deserve.

Contact Kevin O’Connell, executive director of the NACS Foundation, at koconnell@convenience.org, for more information.

HOP Shops employees delivered a variety of hot foods and cold beverages to local firefighters at their stations in 2024.

During its first three years of 24/7 Day, High’s offered first responders who came into a store in uniform or identified themselves a free cup of coffee or a fountain drink.

We want to scream from the rooftops the entire month of July: High’s honors our Hometown Heroes!

In the small towns where High’s does business, Truelove noted, most store employees already know who the local police or firefighters are. But Truelove’s gut told her they could do more, so she brought her team together to brainstorm ideas.

“All of us agreed that it needed some type of community outreach and that would be really beneficial not just for High’s in general but for 24/7 Day itself,” she said.

The result was Hometown Heroes, a recognition program that “definitely boomed in the process.”

HONORING LOCAL HEROES

High’s Hometown Heroes campaign debuted in 2024, when the company launched a social media campaign to recognize and honor first responders. Using Facebook, Instagram and text messages— and working with templated graphics provided by the NACS Foundation—High’s asked customers and store employees to nominate first responders they felt deserved to be named a hero in their community.

High’s also ran a roundup campaign on 24/7 Day for the American Red Cross.

“We weren’t sure if we would get any nominations for the awards, but we felt sure that we would be able to hit the heartstring on someone out there to recognize just a sampling of hometown heroes that are in the communities that we operate in,” Truelove said. “We got almost 40 nominations last year! ... As they started flowing in, you could

feel the excitement build here in the High’s office. We were excited to collect them.”

Having committed to recognizing 10 heroes, the High’s leadership team reviewed the nominations and chose winners across its 52-store geographic area. Winners were awarded a trophy, swag bag and kind words from a company representative on July 24 (or as close as possible). Every nominee received a certificate commemorating their nomination. Winners, their families and friends were deeply touched, Truelove said. And the effort was just the beginning. High’s shared each winner’s story with the local media and further recognized each winning community member in social media posts using the hashtag #HighsHometownHero. The social media messages reached nearly three times the usual number of views for a High’s post. Positive news coverage further spread the company’s message.

“Watching a post come out weekly for each hometown hero and people sharing or commenting, ‘That’s my mom!’ or ‘That’s my dad!’ was the gift that kept on giving for quite a few weeks,” Truelove said.

O’Connell at the NACS Foundation said the 80 retailers and suppliers who participated in 24/7 Day in 2024 garnered nearly 236 million impressions online and 210 media outlets ran stories about the programs.

PREPARING FOR 2025

With such great results, High’s is eager to ramp up its 24/7 Day and Hometown Hero efforts this year.

“We’re taking it a step further. We’re going to honor more heroes; we’ve committed to 25,” Truelove said. “We also partnered with

our vendors [and challenged them to help us] make it bigger. We want to scream from the rooftops the entire month of July: High’s honors our Hometown Heroes!”

The campaign will include requesting nominations on in-store signage and possibly creating employee uniforms that promote the program.

“We’ve asked, ‘Do you want to sponsor that?’ And the vendors are just super excited to take part in it,” said Truelove.

In addition, High’s is brainstorming ways to raise more money for the American Red Cross, beginning with donating 30 cents from every single-serve bottle of High’s water sold during the entire month of July. It’s all part of the retailer’s goal of connecting with the community.

“We [take part in] a lot of events. We do a lot of fairs. If something is going on down the street, we want to be part of it,” Truelove said. “For us, it’s important to really connect with the communities that we’re in, to be a part of what they’re doing. It’s one of the goals of our mission statement. ... So I am very proud of High’s, of the team and of everything that they did to really jump on [the concept of 24/7 Day] and say, ‘This is important to all of us.’”

O’Connell noted that other retailers are seeing similar opportunities for 24/7 Day, as well. HOP Shops, a 14-store retailer based in Owensboro, Kentucky, “brought the store to local firehouses” in 2024, delivering a variety of hot foods and cold beverages to firefighters.

“This event truly highlighted the strong bond we have with our community and the unwavering commitment of our employees,” said HOP Shops General Manager Kelly Smith. “It’s one of our favorite events now.”

Getting Swaggy With It

In addition to awarding each High’s Hometown Hero with a trophy and certificate of recognition, each winner also received a swag bag full of goodies. Just what goes into those bags? To start, the bag itself is a reuseable High’s-branded cooler bag. In year one of the program, they were filled with:

• Numerous High’s-branded treats

• A $50 High’s gift card

• Coupons for future purchases

Following the success of the campaign in 2024, this year’s swag bags will get juiced up through partnerships with vendors.

“We have a vendor who wants to fund a larger gift card for the Hometown Heroes. Others are providing sample products to include,” said Michele Truelove, senior vice president of High’s. “Having vendors get involved is going to make that more fun for the heroes. ... This year, we really want to highlight our supporters and our vendors.”

It’s that two-way-street nature of the event that makes it great, according to O’Connell. “We’re not only recognizing first responders and doing something good for the community, but the next level that we’re unlocking is employee engagement and morale building for your company,” he said.

Truelove added: “It’s really about getting out there and saying, ‘High’s sees you, and we want to be a part of your community.’ I think for a lot of businesses, convenience stores, or any retail, that’s a struggle for everyone: How do you find your place inside that community?”

“We’re super excited to host Hometown Heroes again this year,” she continued. “The buzz is already going around here.”

Steve Holtz is a veteran c-store journalist with more than 20 years in the industry. He is currently president of Holtz Media Consulting and host of the Convenience Weekly podcast on Spotify. Reach him at Steve@HoltzMC.com.

How to Participate

This July 24 will herald the seventh annual 24/7 Day, recognizing local police, firefighters, medical personnel, American Red Cross volunteers and others who work tirelessly to keep neighborhoods and residents safe.

The annual event helps raise awareness and donations for the urgent humanitarian needs of the American Red Cross and spotlights the c-store industry’s important role in supporting local heroes and the communities they serve.

To learn more or get involved, contact Kevin O’Connell, executive director of the NACS Foundation, at koconnell@convenience.org.

HIGH QUALITY, LOW PRICES

Fourth-tier cigarettes are a backbar bright spot, but what’s next for the subcategory?

Fourth-tier cigarettes are growing in a shrinking category. What’s the reason for that from your perspective?

Joe Nicolaus: In a word? Price. We’re seeing customers rapidly shift toward cheaper cigarette options. We all felt inflation rates hit multidecade highs in 2022–2023, raising the cost of essentials like gas, groceries and housing. While the rate of inflation has relaxed, prices on those things haven’t changed much. We saw large-scale downtrading to fourth-tier brands in 2023—sales jumped nearly 36% year over year, while premium brands witnessed a roughly 4% decline. There’s no getting around the fact that customers are prioritizing affordability above all.

Another interesting note is that the available data suggests that once a customer switches to an affordable brand, they stick with it. As NACS Magazine reported last December, even as inflation has started to cool off, most retailers reported no reversal in downtrading—customers keep buying lower-tier cigarettes even after seeing some relief at the gas pump. Once smokers switch to a cheaper brand, they realize they’re getting much better value for their hard-earned cash and keep listening to what their wallets are telling them.

Within the Xcaliber portfolio, are you seeing any interesting trends?

Nicolaus: I think we’re seeing a seismic shift in customer perceptions of cheaper brands. In our discussions with retailers at the store level, they’re telling us that the typical

“In our discussions with retailers at the store level, they’re telling us that the typical smoker today is less influenced by social status or image and more by saving money or outright financial necessity.”

smoker today is less influenced by social status or image and more by saving money or outright financial necessity. The old idea of premium brands as a status symbol is fading rapidly, especially as smoking itself has become just one of many ways to consume nicotine.

The social incentive for smokers to stick with high-priced, “aspirational” brands is eroding in this era of internet-savvy frugality. We’ve even seen customers taking pride in finding the cheapest high-quality brand—it’s like discovering a hidden gem. Modern customers are online, swapping tips about which store has the lowest prices or which discount brand “is actually pretty good for the price.” This organic sharing of information has helped our fourth-tier brands gain followings well beyond traditional advertising. And for us, it’s passive, organic adoption.

What can retailers expect to see from fourth-tier cigarettes in the next couple of years?

Nicolaus: One of the core tenants of our company is that we don’t want to tell retailers how to run their businesses. Having said that, if a retailer is seeking my advice about the future of the cigarette category, I’d tell them, “You simply can’t ignore the writing on the wall or you risk falling behind to the store down the street.”

A Goldman Sachs survey in 2024 found that, by and large, convenience retailers plan to reduce space for higher-priced premium packs and boost space for deep discounts because higher prices are driving demand to fourth-tier products. In that same survey, 40% of retailers reported customers switching from premium to fourth-tier cigarettes—a higher rate than those switching to e-cigarettes (24%) or nicotine pouches (17%). The study also found that retailers are seeing margin profiles for deep discount brands improving rapidly. Fourth-tier cigarettes not only led in sales growth but also saw gross profit margins nearly double year over year in 2023 vs. 2022.

Xcaliber has invested in in its own manufacturing facilities. How does that benefit retailers?

Dr. Jesse Phillips: Investing in our own manufacturing facilities has been a part of our vertical integration strategy. With our own ISO-certified laboratory and tobacco-processing plant, we have both more control over our products and the ability to consistently offer high-quality cigarettes for a lower price. We have also significantly enhanced our agility in product development and innovation.

Through our facilities, we can do testing more readily, more consistently, and it allows us to monitor our product, just to ensure that we keep everything at the highest quality. In the past, testing was cost-prohibitive, so we had to rely on the tobacco providers to tell us that the product they sent us met our standards. Now we’re able to test the moment tobacco comes in.

You mentioned building an ISO-certified laboratory. What does that mean?

Phillips: ISO 17025 is an international standard that analytical testing labs are held to in order to ensure that the data that comes out of those labs can be fully trusted. We built a standalone facility and went through an extensive certification process that required rigorous development of internal testing protocols, staff training and infrastructure upgrades.

What does the addition of tobacco-processing mean for Xcaliber and retailers who sell Xcaliber products?

Phillips: The recent development of Xcaliber’s tobacco-processing plant further strengthens this integrated approach. Having our own tobacco-processing capabilities means greater oversight of raw material quality and consistency, from leaf selection to finished product. For retailers, this translates to a reliable supply of highquality cigarettes that consistently meet consumer expectations.

Dr. Jesse Phillips, Senior Director of Research and Development, Xcaliber International

Joe Nicolaus, National Sales Manager, Xcaliber International

Cool New Products Guide

This advertorial-style guide of services and packaging appears monthly and is an information-packed tour of ideas and approaches that can change how consumers view your store or choose your brand. It spotlights the newest thinking in convenience and fuel retailing and gives you an advance look at ways of staying in front of industry trends. Products are categorized the same way we organize the Cool New Products Preview Room at the NACS Show each year in October— New Design, New to the Industry, New Flavors, Health & Wellness, Green (EcoFriendly), New Services and New Technology Products are considered “new” this year if they’ve been introduced since October 2024. The products featured here also can be seen in the Cool New Products Discovery Center at www.convenience.org/coolnewproducts .

Apter Industries Inc

Silverback Odor Eliminator

Long-Lasting Freshness Anywhere You Need It

Silverback Odor Eliminator comes in a convenient 8oz bottle, perfect for cars, carpets, and upholstery. It neutralizes odors like grease, sweat, and fast food, leaving behind a clean black teakwood scent. More than just a personal-use spray, Silverback is also ideal for convenience store maintenance. Use it in restrooms, trash cans, drains, and even gas island trash receptacles to eliminate odors and deter flies and bees.

Place Silverback at your checkout in a 3-shelf display to drive impulse sales. It’s also available for private label, giving you a high-demand product with your brand’s name on it. Whether on the road or in-store, Silverback delivers long-lasting freshness wherever it’s needed.

Contact Apter Industries to learn more: Phone: 1-800-441-7146, Email: info@apterindustries.com

C. Cretors and Company

High Roller Hot Dog Grill

Cretors introduces an easy-to-clean roller grill for perfect presentation!

The revolutionary High Roller Hot Dog Grill’s patented tip-up roller rack offers unobstructed access to the entire stainless-steel cooking surface, making cleanup quick and easy. The roller grill rack features removable roller sleeves that are dishwasher and sink safe for thorough cleaning, providing a cleaner and more appetizing product presentation. Accommodating a wide variety of products, including hot dogs, corn dogs, taquitos, grilled wraps, sausages, and more, it provides fresh and diverse options for customers. Save time and boost sales! Contact Shelly Olesen at 847.616.6901 or visit www.cretors.com.

One Lemonade

The Hard Lemonade category is a 20+MM case category dominated by malt-based, and consumers are seeking more premium options. Lucky One Vodka Lemonade is made with real vodka, real lemonade, is non-carbonated and 100 calories. In partnership with the brand’s Co-founder, beloved rescue dog, and Fur-fluencer @FamousMissPeaches, we are on a mission to help dogs find their forever home via the “Our Pack Gives Back” initiative. In partnership with Lifeline Animal Project and Best Friends Animal Society, we will be donating $1M dollars at the end of the Summer. Available in Variety 8-pack and individual flavor 4-packs.

Lucky

GALLO

Monster Energy Company

Bang Any Means Orange

Taste the Hype with Bang’s Latest Flavor Drop

Get ready to take your taste buds to the next level with Bang Any Means Orange. This new flavor packs a punch with tangy citrus flavors and energizing benefits that are undeniably bold and unmistakably Bang. With 300 MG of caffeine, zero calories, B vitamins, and essential amino acids, this drink will fuel your day with refreshing flavor and essential nutrients to keep you on top of your game. Visit bangenergy.com for more delicious details!

Stone Gate Foods

Tater Kegs

THE TATER THAT’S GREATER

Tater Kegs are shredded potato mixed with delicious flavors. All the best parts of a baked potato in the perfect handheld package. From the freezer, to the fryer, to the customer. Serve them in a variety of different ways and in many different applications. Great for to-go. Tater Kegs have a hold time of up to 4 hours under heat lamps. With all the uncertainties in the world today we should be able to be certain that our food always has great flavor, and Tater Kegs provide that comfort in every bite!

Tater Keg flavors include Bacon Cheddar Chive, Cheese Bomb, Bacon Jalapeno, Buffalo Chicken, Crab Feast, Chorizo Burrito, Breakfast Skillet & The Reuben. Request samples today at www.taterkegs.com!

Anchor Packaging

MicroRaves® MenuMate™ Microwave-Safe Packaging

Create Convenience that Converts

Pair the MenuMate™ lid with a 3.25oz cup to protect fresh-made quality and create convenient meal solutions that engage and convert more customers. The MenuMate™ lid fits all 16, 24, and 32 oz MicroRaves® one- and two-comp bases. Microwave-safe, eligible for recycling, made in the USA. Get FREE SAMPLES at www.anchorpackaging.com

NACS Research

NACS State of the Industry Report®

The Playbook for Profitability

Get the most comprehensive performance and financial insights in the industry. The NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2024 Data delivers trusted data, in-depth analysis, and key trends to help convenience and fuel retailers and suppliers benchmark operations, plan with confidence, and stay profitable in an ever-changing market.

Scan the QR code today to purchase your digital license. Updated report available June 15th, 2025.

Welch’s® Juicefuls® Fusions™ PIM Brands, Inc.

NEW Welch’s® Juicefuls® Fusions™

NEW Welch’s® Juicefuls® Fusions™ are a new kind of snack, delivering a taste adventure where two delicious & unexpected fruits come together in every bite - one flavor on the chewy fruit snack outside and another flavor in the juicy center. Experience the FUSION in every bite!™

Chef Mike Douresseaux brought a unique Louisiana menu to Fort Worth, Texas, including catfish po’boys, shrimp and grits and chicken and waffles.

Right Stop, Right Time

BY AL HEBERT

When people see a crowd there’s a natural curiosity:

“What’s happening?” The Chef’s Corner in Fort Worth, Texas, drew crowds to the Chevron station on East Berry St. to try Chef Mike Douresseaux’s food, which went viral through TikTok and the old-fashioned way, word of mouth.

It all happened by accident. On his way to a job interview, Douresseaux stopped at a Chevron station to grab something to drink. “I had my chef coat on and people began to ask me about food and what I did. I met Tony, the owner.”

The interview he was headed to that day was for a job that turned out to not be a good fit. But Douresseaux kept the Chevron station in mind. “Tony took me back to the kitchen. It needed a hood, gas grill and gas lines,” Douresseaux said, adding, “I had $45,000 in the bank. I prayed about it, put it in faith and asked God for guidance. I talked to Tony and he agreed to let me build it out.”

After six months, The Chef’s Corner opened on April 1, 2024.

Douresseaux has been in the food business for more than four decades. “I did a little bit of everything. I worked

A quick beverage break led to an unexpected opportunity.

at the Four Seasons. I worked in hotels for about 10 years. I went back to school and became a dietary manager and did that for 15 years.”

A SLOW START

The Chef’s Corner started out serving breakfast, but business was slow. After a month, Douresseaux “flipped the script and started doing lunch and dinner.”

He started offering shrimp and catfish po’boys, shrimp and grits and chicken and waffles.

“Boom! The community started coming in. People brought their friends,”

he recalled. The response was overwhelming. Word spread fast.

“I did a pecan praline sauce over a Belgian waffle with a Cajun chicken breast. It had a little bit of heat. I used a vanilla bean cream with a caramel praline. It was unique. Customers wanted the waffle and they wanted yams with it. Before I knew it, I was famous for chicken and waffles. People were coming in and getting four or five at one time,” he said.

He kept prices reasonable. “I made corn roasted grits with shrimp. I used my jambalaya sauce and laid it on the grits with a Cajun cream sauce. I put 10 jumbo shrimp on it, all for $15,” Douresseaux said.

“I was feeding 300 people a day. People from TikTok started coming in. You’ll see videos of the store filled with long lines. I was serving stuff with a Louisiana flair that they couldn’t get anywhere else.”

AN OVERWHELMING PHENOMENON

Sometimes success comes with stress. “I was working 15 hours a day, six days a week and I’m in a gas station. The mayor came in. Journalists started coming in. The police chief came in and the next thing I know I have lots of police officers coming in. I had days where I made $4,000 a day. I started popping up all over TikTok. It was rush, rush, rush,” he said. “I needed more space. My customers would pack in. It was hard on the store.”

Douresseaux explained, “I had a bell at the door. It would go ding dong. You’d hear four ding dongs in a minute, then five—it was stressful. When I’d hear the bell go off, I’d drop five waffles and I’d ask the cook to drop five steaks.

“My food was cheap and customers wanted to try a lot of things,” Douresseaux said. One customer would go out the door with three or four meals. At times, he could have 30 customers buy 100 meals.

As the lines grew, Douresseaux bought pagers to alert customers that their order was ready. “I outgrew the store. Even though I was using the

pagers there were so many cars in the parking lot. The owner of the station said you’re doing too much business to be in a gas station.”

In March 2025, Douresseaux used his c-store success to open a freestanding restaurant.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CUSTOMERS

“The beautiful thing is introducing people to this food,” Douresseaux said.

“Customers will come in and want to talk. I talked to kids who wanted to get into a culinary program. Some had trouble with the law. I talked to customers about God. Through food that is spicy and zesty, the opportunity to have conversations is created. If you break bread with people, you have a chance to have conversations and impact lives.”

Douresseaux offered a seafood gumbo with blue crab, snow crab, crawfish tails, shrimp, andouille and chicken. “The base was roux made with

butter, okra and chicken stock. I used dehydrated shrimp in the base. I’d make the base, let it sit for a day, then come back and add the other ingredients.”

The gumbo was a top seller, but also a conversation starter. “One customer brought his wife and kids. Then, he brought me his gumbo so I could try it. He wanted to know how I made my gumbo. This actually happened a few times,” he said.

Even though he now has a restaurant, he wants to continue to offer his food in c-stores. “I’ve had other gas station owners that want me to come in. I’ve decided to use the restaurant as a hub and a base. If I prep the food in the restaurant, I can open up food programs in multiple convenience stores. All I’ll need is staff to serve it,” he said.

Al Hebert is the Gas Station Gourmet, showcasing America’s hidden culinary treasures. Find him at www.GasStationGourmet.com.

CATEGORY CLOSE-UP CANDY

Sweets Stay Steady

Despite inflationary headwinds, the candy category still provides attractive margins and basket-building opportunities.

BY TERRI ALLAN

3.9%

The year-over-year increase in candy sales per store, per month.

Source: NACS State of the Industry Report ® of 2024 Preliminary Data

As a top 10 in-store category for the channel—and one with strong margins—candy continues to enjoy support from retailers and marketers alike, many of whom express optimism that good growth will soon return.

At the NACS State of the Industry Summit in April, the NACS research team unveiled that in 2024, candy dollar sales per store, per month were $9,136, a 3.9% increase year over year, and margins were 51.06%, generating a 4.2% increase in gross profits. The category contributed 3.5% to in-store sales.

“Convenience stores play an integral role among today’s consumers because they’re accessible and fast,” remarked Jim Dodge, vice president of convenience at Mars Wrigley. “For the category, it’s a place for brands to meet consumers where they are, especially with the rise of snacking on the go.” Indeed, according to Dodge, when it comes to treating themselves, one in three shoppers seek a snack as part of their convenience trip.

“Trips into stores continue to be the main challenge to the channel,” explained Nik Culver, category management director, c-store, emerging and alternative channels at the Hershey Co. While trips to the pump were relatively stable through early March, “trips into the store have yet to rebound,” he noted. “Trips and volume in-store have been largely the result of a more pressured low-income consumer who we’ve seen shift to other channels.”

Confectionary sales across all outlets topped $54 billion in 2024, with chocolate accounting for 52% of sales, the National Confectioners Association recently reported. C-stores are indeed a major outlet—representing 16.9% of all candy sales, according to data from NIQ.

INFLATION WOES

With soaring ingredient costs, candy prices at retail have been on the rise. “Cocoa costs hit a record high in March 2024 due to global supply shortages and other factors,” explained Emma Tainter, research analyst at NACS, adding that prices for chocolate treats aren’t likely to come down anytime soon.

“The days of entering a c-store or travel plaza and mindlessly filling your arms with items, not caring of the price, has become a thing of the past with the rise in inflation and the consumer being more budget conscious,” remarked Maria Ottone, category manager at Onvo, with locations in Pennsylvania and New York. Ben Blouin, manager at Cummings Market in Kennebunk, Maine, said his customers have noticed the price hikes, with 8- to 10-ounce shareable bags of the treats reaching upwards of $6. While candy sales are lackluster at his store, Blouin noted that the segment “is doing better than some other categories.”

Candy marketers maintain that the category’s current challenges can be overcome with the right tactics. “As economic pressures persist, consumers are gravitating toward smaller, more afford-

Source: NACS State of the Industry 2024 Preliminary Data

CATEGORY CLOSE-UP CANDY

Candy Sales Per Store, Per Month

$10,000

$9,000

$8,000

$7,000

$6,000

Source: Preliminary 2024 NACS State of the Industry Data

The Power of CSX Data

CSX, the engine behind category metrics and NACS State of the Industry data, provides current and customizable tools for financial and operational reporting and analysis in the convenience industry. Retailers can measure their company by any of the myriad metrics generated via our live database. Contact Chris Rapanick at (703) 518–4253 or crapanick@convenience. org for a complimentary executive walkthrough.

able pack sizes,” remarked Michael Scalera, senior marketing director at PIM Brands, “ensuring that they can still enjoy their favorite brands without exceeding their budgets. For brands in the confectionery and snacking space, the opportunity lies in striking the right balance between innovation, value and accessibility, ‘while continuing to deliver the indulgence that consumers crave.” PIM Brands is expanding its value offerings to include five new changemakers, Scalera said.

Virtually all candy subcategories recorded growth in 2023, and that trend continued in 2024 but at a smaller rate, Tainter said. Culver pointed out that while sales of chocolate—the top candy subcategory in c-stores—turned in a compound annual growth rate of 8% from 2020 to 2024, there’s been “some slight slippage.” Nevertheless, “Value at both ends of the spectrum continues to deliver,” the Hershey executive said, “with super king bars up 15% to start the year and a resurgence of standard bars in accounts activating promotions.”

Some chocolate marketers point to opportunity in trading shoppers up.

“In the U.S., we’re seeing customer purchasing behaviors shift from mainstream chocolate to premium products,” said a spokesperson for Lindt & Sprügli, producer of Lindor truffles.

“Our goal is to create a premium brand block at all major c-store retailers to give customers options and to grow the category.” At PIM Brands, Scalera said

Gen Z and millennial consumers seek bold, innovative flavors and unique sensory experiences.

that its Toggi Fine European Wafers brand is gaining traction and that the company is enhancing this brand’s presence in c-stores this year with a new shipper program.

Non-chocolate and pegged candy, meanwhile, generally appear to be performing better than chocolate. Tainter points to rising demand for products like gummies and private label offerings. Mondelez International, marketer of Sour Patch Kids, is benefitting. According to Grace Howard, senior brand manager, the company gained share in c-store non-chocolate candy sales last year. New products like Sour Patch Kids Glow Ups and Fruits Mix will help non-chocolate subcategory sales in the channel to continue to grow, she said. “As the leading gummy

Get Into the Holiday Mode

Focused merchandising of candy during key seasons brings sweet rewards.

According to the National Confectioners Association, four holiday seasons accounted for a whopping 62% of all candy sales in 2024. The four seasons—Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and the winter holidays—are popular occasions for candy gift giving, as well as indulgent reward periods for individual consumers.

“Shoppers are tuned into the seasons and want to participate in fun ways, including through impulse purchases on the go,” said Jim Dodge, vice president of convenience at Mars Wrigley. “As seasons are extending, consumers are celebrating with activities and rituals, and they plan and shop for these occasions well in advance.” To meet demand for holiday-themed treats, Mars releases new flavors across its brands, releases innovative shapes and packaging that signify the season and reintroduces popular seasonals products, like Snickers trees.

Some c-stores have found opportunity to further promote candy sales during key seasons. 7-Eleven, for example, offered up sweet treats like Starburst, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Snickers for just $1 each for the week before Halloween last year, while earlier in 2025, participating stores featured 7-Select Sour Valentine Gummi Hearts. Onvo, meanwhile, uses its app, loyalty emails, and social media to promote candy during certain holidays, according to Ottone, as well as special promos that group seasonal candy together.

“I usually sell out of the holiday candy,” remarked DeAnn Tracy, owner of Tank-N-Tummy in Cleveland, Oklahoma. In fact, just a few days after Ash Wednesday this year, the store was already out of Cadbury Eggs and almost completely sold out of all Easter candy. “Holiday candy is very important to our overall

candy sales,” the retailer said. “People really like products like the Reese’s Easter egg and Christmas tree because they say they contain more peanut butter than the year-round version.”

But other c-store operators are a bit more hesitant to aggressively promote holiday candy. Super Quik stores in Kentucky and Ohio keeps it simple and puts up vendor displays of the holiday treats, Rex Lawless, marketing director, said, although for certain holidays, the chain runs decorating contests among its stores, with displays that often feature the LTO candy. Similarly, Cummings’ Market in Maine does little to promote holiday-themed candy, said manager Ben Blouin. “I don’t want to get stuck having Easter candy lying around after Easter,” he explained.

Marketers and others encourage convenience retailers to at least consider the opportunity that a targeted focus on the category during key holidays can have on building larger baskets, whether that’s features on single-serve candy bars for Halloween or gift packages for Christmas and Valentine’s Day. According to Emma Tainter, research analyst at NACS, the availability of competitively priced candy during key holidays could help c-stores steal share from other trade channels. And that’s the ultimate in sweet revenge.

CATEGORY CLOSE-UP CANDY

consumers seek bold, innovative flavors and unique sensory experiences,” the marketer noted.

Sour candy is the biggest trend that we’re seeing.

Those demographic and flavor trends are greatly impacting the pegged candy sector, according to c-store operators. Pegged and non-chocolate candy—dominated by gummies—performed well at Onvo last year, Ottone said, as they “offer more novelty and flavor profiles than chocolate bars.” Pegged candy also grew at Super Quik, with six stores in Kentucky and Ohio, Rex Lawless, marketing director, noted. He pointed to customer movement away from single-serve packs and toward larger standup packs that provide a greater value.

and basket-building moments occur naturally.” For the last few years, Mars Wrigley’s Transaction Zone Team, acting as retail design consultants, has worked with retailers to “turn the front end into a competitive advantage,” he noted.

candy brand, we remain committed to delivering exciting experiences and unexpected twists,” Howard added. Following a pandemic-era dive, sales of both gum and mints in c-stores continue to rise, both Culver and Dodge noted. “With the resurgence of people returning to the office and an increase in consumers seeking travel experiences, they’re turning to gum to freshen breath,” Mars Wrigley’s Dodge explained.

TRENDY TREATS

The candy category has always been influenced by overall consumer, culinary and even pop-culture trends. Tainter points to flavors like apricot, pistachio, yuzu, cotton candy, ginger and pear as trendy of late, while “combos, such as sweet and spicy, sweet and sour and sour and spicy” are also the rage. “Sour candy is the biggest trend that we’re seeing,” reported DeAnn Tracy, owner of Tank-N-Tummy in Cleveland, Oklahoma. “Pickle-flavored candies are also hot.” Scalera said that customer demographics play a big role in candy trends. “Gen Z and millennial

Perhaps the hottest trend in candy in the past year has been freeze-dried offerings. Mars Wrigley launched Skittles Pop’d last year to appeal to Gen Z’s love for fruity, sour and texture, and Hershey recently introduced Jolly Rancher Freeze Dried. Ottone credits the freeze-dried trend for contributing to category unit and dollar sales growth at Onvo last year. “Freezedried candy came in with a bang,” agreed Blouin from Cummings Market. But by early 2025, interest had fallen off a bit, he noted.

SURPRISE AND DELIGHT

Onvo worked with vendors last year “to secure strong promotional deals to provide value for our customers,” Ottone said. “These promos, along with supporting signage and several suggestive-selling contests, helped drive our candy sales in 2024.” Super Quik, meanwhile, runs an everyday buy two, get one offer on candy bars. “Deals like that help consumers during these inflationary times,” Lawless said.

Front-end merchandising is particularly important for the category as, according to NACS Convenience Voices survey, 22.4% of impulse purchases are candy. “Impulse products rarely make it onto shopping lists,” remarked Dodge. “When the front end is designed well, the experience becomes invisible: Shoppers flow smoothly, operations run seamlessly

Other candy marketers point to cross-merchandising opportunities to build category sales. “Cross-category promotions, such as discounted bundle offers on candy and beverages, create enticing purchase opportunities,” shared Howard. Candy bundles with foodservice are another option, Culver added. Scalera suggests seasonal and thematic displays to create excitement and draw attention to new or limitedtime offerings. “These tactics enhance the shopping experience, drive incremental sales and increase overall profitability for convenience stores,” the PIM Brands executive said.

Indeed, new products are the lifeblood of the candy category. “Innovation is important,” Tank-N-Tummy’s Tracy remarked. “I put whatever’s new on the counter, and that often leads to impulse sales.” New candy products are designed to reach core consumers and attract new ones, Dodge explained, pointing to recent introductions from Mars Wrigley that include Snickers Pecan and M&M’s Peanut Butter & Jelly. The new offerings meet consumers’ needs for new flavors and fun experiences from trusted brands, he explained.

There’s no question that with higher prices for consumers, retailers will need to work harder to drive candy sales. But marketers reiterate that the immediate-consumption desire that c-stores fulfill is a good match for the impulsivity of candy consumers. “The candy category delivers surprise and delight to c-store shoppers,” Mars Wrigley’s Dodge said, “and it motivates consumers to put one more item in their basket.”

Terri Allan is a New Jersey-based freelance writer, specializing in consumer products and retail channels. She can be reached at terri4beer@aol.com.

ADVERTISER INDEX

Thank you to these advertisers who have demonstrated their support of the convenience and fuel retailing industry by investing in NACS Magazine. Contact Information

ADD Systems 18 www.addsys.com

Altria Group Distribution Company Inside Front Cover AGDCTradeRelations@Altria.com www.altria.com www.tobaccoissues.com

Anchor Packaging

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Apter Industries, Inc.

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BIC Corporation

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Black Buffalo Inc.

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The Boston Beer Company

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C. Cretors & Company 133 (847) 616-6900 (800) 228-1885 www.cretors.com

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Cash Depot

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Cheyenne International, LLC 83 (704) 937-7200 www.cheyenneintl.com

CHS Inc. (Cenex) Front Cover-Note, 31 www.cenex.com/chsinc/about-chs

Cool New Products Guide 132-135 www.convenience.org/Media/NACS-Magazine/Cool-New-Products

FasTrax POS LLC 9 www.fastraxpos.com

FIJI Water 15 www.fijiwater.com

GALLO 133 www.gallo.com

Good Times USA LLC

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Goya Foods, Inc.

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Grabba Leaf LLC 19 www.grabbaleaf.com

ITG Brands

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Johnsonville Sausage Co

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Kretek International

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Krispy Krunchy Foods, LLC

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Liggett Vector Brands LLC

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Wrigley

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McLane Company, Inc

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Mike’s Hot Honey

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King International Inc.

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Premier Manufacturing

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Products US, Inc

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Stone Gate Foods

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Structural Concepts Corporation

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Global Spirits

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Trion Industries

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The Vita Coco Company

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BY THE NUMBERS

It’s All About Immediate Consumption

80.5% of packaged beverage shoppers will consume their purchase immediately or within the hour.

35.4% of candy shoppers purchased something on impulse.

37.4% of packed beverage shoppers also purchase prepared food.

90% For the top six merchandise categories (cigarettes, OTP, beer, packaged beverages, candy and salty snacks), 90% of purchases will be consumed the same day.

Data from NACS 2024 Convenience Voices survey. For more information, on Convenience Voices, contact Jayme Gough, director of research and development, at jgough@convenience.org.

SALTY SNACKS

of all salty snack purchases will be consumed within two hours of purchase.

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