Advancing Convenience & Fuel Retailing
NOVEMBER 2026 AI FOR OPERATIONS Using data to drive practical change COMMUTING TRENDS Who is on the road, and when
FROM INSIGHT TO IMPACT The 2026 NACS Show offered retailers concrete ideas for building a better business.
convenience.org
Offers a flexible incentive structure
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Contact your Altria Group Distribution Company Representative to learn more about the Digital Trade Program
Y9 1-
ONTENTS NACS / NOVEMBER 2026 FEATURES
60
30 7 Big Takeaways from the NACS Show
The mighty pickle has been dethroned by protein, and other observations from the 2026 NACS Show.
40 Doing Vapor Right
Return on Education More than 50 Education Sessions offered operators deep insights into today’s best practices and tomorrow’s trends.
This Q&A is brought to you by Reynolds American. Retailer-focused programs and partnerships support responsible vapor sales.
42 The Coolest New
Products of the Year
See the top 10 products that NACS Show attendees wanted to get more information about.
50 A to Z and in Between
The NACS Show Expo provided endless options and inspiration.
72 Familiar Meets Fresh
The 2026 NACS Show showcased evolving flavor trends, from new twists on old favorites to bold new up-and-comers.
Erica Aitken Photography - cover and this page
80 The Kitchen Chronicles
Foodservice equipment and packaging suppliers offer triedand-true products and the latest innovations.
88 Q+A: Atlantis
Management Group
A family-first culture and a relentless focus on relationships have fueled AMG’s growth in the Northeast.
100 The American Commute: 2026 Edition
Hybrid work has changed when, where and how convenience retailers capture the commuter customer.
110 Practical Perks of AI
Retailers find that AI shines when it comes to the nuts and bolts of operations.
120 The Fourth Wave of Convenience
Looking back can help when it comes to predicting how the fourth wave of convenience will transform retail.
STAY CONNECTED WITH NACS @nacsonline facebook.com/nacsonline instragram.com/nacs_online linkedin.com/company/nacs
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.
ONTENTS NACS / NOVEMBER 2026 DEPARTMENTS 06
From the Editor
08
NACS News
20
Convenience Cares
22
Inside Washington At the 2026 NACS Show, two CEOs explained how being engaged in advocacy can help retailers run profitable businesses.
138 Fuels and Energy 142 Gas Station Gourmet 144 Category Close-Up Frozen dispensed beverages remain relevant with new promotions and functional ingredients.
152 By the Numbers
IT’S A FACT
The percentage of convenience stores selling frozen dispensed beverages in 2025. CATEGORY CLOSE-UP PAGE 144
PLEASE RECYCLE THIS MAGAZINE 2 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
The presence of an article in our magazine should not be permitted to constitute an expression of the association’s view.
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/ NOVEMBER 2026 EDITORIAL
NACS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jeff Lenard VP of NACS Media & Strategic Communications (703) 518-4272 jlenard@convenience.org
CHAIR: Lonnie McQuirter, 36 Lyn Refuel Station
Ben Nussbaum Publisher & Editor-in-Chief (703) 518-4248 bnussbaum@convenience.org Michelle Cassidy Managing Editor mcassidy@convenience.org Austin Fuller Senior Writer afuller@convenience.org Lauren Shanesy Senior Editor lshanesy@convenience.org Noelle Riddle Editor/Writer nriddle@convenience.org Chrissy Blasinsky Digital & Content Strategist cblasinsky@convenience.org CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Al Hebert, Steve Holtz, Pat Pape
DESIGN Ji Ho Creative Director jho@convenience.org Lisa M. Zilka Senior Graphic Designer lzilka@convenience.org David Marvin Graphic Designer dmarvin@convenience.org
ADVERTISING Alison Wong Director, Advertising Sales & Media Operations (703) 518-4265 awong@convenience.org Jennifer Leidich National Advertising Manager/ Northeast (703) 518-4276 jleidich@convenience.org
COME TOGETHER. DO MORE. Join us at conveniencecares.org
Ted Asprooth National Sales Manager/ Midwest, West (703) 518-4277 tasprooth@convenience.org
PUBLISHING Logan Dion Digital Media and Ad Trafficker (703) 864-3600 ldion@convenience.org Advertising production: production@convenience.org
TREASURER: Varish Goyal, Loop Neighborhood Markets OFFICERS: Chris Bambury, Bambury Inc.; Tom Brennan, Casey’s; Brian Donaldson, Maxol Limited; Charles McIlvaine, Maverik Inc.; Natalie Morhaus, RaceTrac Inc.; Travis Sheetz, Sheetz Inc. GENERAL COUNSEL: Doug Kantor, NACS MEMBERS: Lisa Blalock, BP North America Inc.; Andrew Clyde, Murphy USA; Tony El-Nemr, Nouria Energy Corp.; Terry Gallagher, Gasamat Oil Corp./Smoker Friendly; Erin Graziosi, Robinson Oil Corp.; Raymond Huff, HJB Convenience Corp. (dba Russell’s); Mark Jordan, Refuel Operating Co.; Parker Lipscomb, Lipscomb Oil Co.; Thomas Love, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores; Rich Makin, Wawa Inc.; Brian McCarthy, Blarney Castle Oil Co.; Andrew Mitchell, Toot’n Totum Food Stores LLC; Jigar Patel, Fastime; Stanley Reynolds, 7-Eleven Inc.; Kristin Seabrook, Global Partners LP; Christian Stein, Center Independent Oil Stores LLC; Doug Yawberry, Weigel’s Stores Inc.; Scott Zietlow, Kwik Trip Inc. PAST CHAIRS: Annie Gauthier, St. Romain Oil Co. LLC (dba Y-Not Stop); Don Rhoads, The Convenience Group LLC SUPPLIER BOARD REPRESENTATIVES: Kevin LeMoyne, The CocaCola Co.; Mike Gilroy, Mars Snacking
NACS SUPPLIER BOARD SUPPLIER BOARD CHAIR: Kevin LeMoyne, The Coca-Cola Co. CHAIR-ELECT: Mike Gilroy, Mars Snacking VICE CHAIRS: Danielle Holloway, Altria Group Distribution Co.; Matt Domingo, Reynolds; Kevin Kraft, Olipop MEMBERS: Tony Battaglia, PMI U.S.; Ryan Calong, Tropicana Brands; Jerry Cutler, InComm Payments; Ramona Giderof, Diageo Beer; Jeff Harrison, Rovertown; Jay Nelson, Excel Tire Gauge LLC; Jordan Nicgorski, JUUL Labs; Erik Ogren, Patron Points Inc.; Diane Striegel, Lifeway Foods Inc.; Nick Paich, TriggerPoint Media; Bria Troy, PepsiCo Inc.; Melissa Vonder Haar, iSEE Store Innovations LLC; Jason Zagaria, Primo Brands; Derek Zahajko, CAF Inc. GENERAL COUNSEL: Doug Kantor, NACS STAFF LIAISON: Bob Hughes, NACS RETAIL BOARD REPRESENTATIVES: Brad Haga, Casey’s; Kevin Smartt, TXB PAST CHAIRS: Vito Maurici, McLane Co. Inc.; David Charles, Cash Depot; Bryan Morrow, Chobani & La Colombe
Subscriptions and customer service: nacsmagazine@convenience.org 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. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: NACS Magazine 1600 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314-2792 USA. Contents © 2026 by the National Association of Convenience Stores. Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria VA and additional mailing offices.
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FROM THE EDITOR
Better Every Year
A picture from day three of the NACS Show Expo, wh ere it’s cool to be a Nerd.
6 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
Of course, of the 56 Education Sessions this year, I was only able to sit in on three in their entirety and caught bits of five others. That’s the thing about the NACS Show—if you could clone yourself, you still wouldn’t get to half of what you want to see. One goal of this issue is to give people who attended a taste of what they missed, and to provide the highlights for people who couldn’t make it. Be sure to check out convenience.org/NScoverage for even more NACS Show content. It’s never too early to plan ahead. We’re in Atlanta next year, October 5-8. See you there. Ben Nussbaum Editor-in-Chief, NACS Media
NACS staff
T
he daily miracle—that’s a long-standing term in the newspaper world to describe how the paper gets to the printer each and every single night, even when, inevitably, it seems like deadlines will be missed and sheets of paper left blank. Chaos resolves to order just in time. The NACS Show is our version of the yearly miracle. Except, incredibly, there’s no chaos. The team at NACS, with our partners, works incredibly hard year-round to make sure that the 1,000-plus exhibitors and 20,000-plus attendees have a smooth experience from start to finish. I thought this year’s NACS Show was exceptional. Education Sessions, in particular, found a new level with high attendance and great reports about the content and presentations.
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2026 NACS SHOW SNAPSHOT
The Winning Numbers
Next yea NACS Sh r's ow be in Atla will nta, Georgia, October 5 2027. See -8, you there!
230
25,572 attendees
—the second-highest attendance at a NACS Show ever!
the average number of attendees per Education Session There were
56 sessions throughout the week.
Attendees came from
73 countries.
5 retailers with winning ideas featured in Ideas 2 Go videos.
3 first responders (and 1 canine officer
not in attendance) were honored on the General Session stage as the NACS Foundation’s 2026 First Responders of the Year.
1,090 exhibitors
showcased products at the Expo, including 173 in the New Exhibitor Area.
2 friends and former SNL colleagues,
Lindsay Shookus and Jason Sudeikis, took the stage for a laugh-filled conversation at Wednesday’s General Session.
8 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
342 products in the Cool New Products Preview Room were scanned over 9,000 times. (See page 42 for more details on the topscanned Cool New Products!)
95K lbs 94,906 pounds of food was recovered by more than 76 volunteers and donated to local charities in Las Vegas.
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NACS NEWS
NACS Announces New Strategic Plan ‘Advancing Convenience 2030’ will guide activities and initiatives for NACS over the next five years.
The NACS “Advancing Convenience 2030” strategic plan was approved during the NACS Board of Directors meeting at the 2026 NACS Show. “We are reinvesting in the industry to accelerate its growth and shape its future, and our strategic plan sets out a broad course of action for the next five years,” said NACS President and CEO Frank Gleeson. “I am very excited about our strategic plan, which sets out some very ambitious—but achievable—objectives,” he said. Gleeson said that “Advancing Convenience 2030” was developed with considerable input from NACS retailer and supplier members, NACS staff and NACS elected leaders, especially the NACS Board of Directors and Executive Committee. “This strategic plan sets forth a clear roadmap for NACS to contin-
10 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
ue to reinvest in the industry and to champion, connect and accelerate the global convenience and fuel retailing industry,” said Annie Gauthier, NACS 2025-26 NACS chairman, who is CFO/ Co-CEO at St. Romain Oil Co. LLC, which operates Y-Not Stop convenience stores in Louisiana. The NACS strategy is distilled into five enterprise goals: 1. Expand NACS’ influence as the trusted global voice for convenience and fuel retailing, shaping public policy, strengthening industry coalitions, sharing regulatory intelligence across markets and advancing members’ long-term competitiveness. 2. Grow and deepen retailer engagement and expand supplier growth and access across the United States and priority international markets, through membership, education, advocacy, thought leadership, expanding networking communities and a larger
global ecosystem of year-round, scalable commercial platforms. 3. Make NACS the global convenience industry’s trusted source of data, insights, foresight and leadership development. 4. Build the industry’s innovation and digital ecosystem, creating scalable platforms, standards, data infrastructure and strategic initiatives that connect the global convenience ecosystem, accelerate growth and shape the future of convenience and fuel retailing. 5. Build a modern, globally capable, data-driven, AI-enabled enterprise that improves experiences, strengthens decision-making, streamlines operations and accelerates sustainable growth. “At its heart, we are shifting NACS from being the leading trade association to the platform that powers convenience and fuel retailing. It’s redefining the concept of your association, just like our members have continually redefined their convenience offer to their customers,” said Gleeson.
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NACS NEWS
Lonnie McQuirter Named 2026-27 NACS Chairman Plus, new leaders join NACS retailer and supplier boards. Lonnie McQuirter, director of operations for 36 Lyn Refuel Station, has been named the 2026-27 NACS chairman. He began his term following the NACS Board of Directors meeting on October 6 during the 2026 NACS Show in Las Vegas. As director of operations, McQuirter leads 36 Lyn Refuel Station, an independently owned convenience store in South Minneapolis, Minnesota. Known for its commitment to local engagement and promoting locally made goods, 36 Lyn embodies McQuirter’s passion for building strong ties with the community. The store’s dedication to innovation has earned it three Inc. 5000 honors and a place in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal Fast 50. As NACS chairman, McQuirter also leads the NACS Executive Committee, which provides strategic direction and financial oversight to the association. Executive Committee members are: • Vice Chairman &
12 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
Treasurer, and Vice Chairman, Legislative: Varish Goyal, CEO, Loop Neighborhood Markets (Atherton, California) • Vice Chairman, Retail Engagement: Chris Bambury, President, Bambury Inc. (Sonoma, California) • Vice Chairman, At Large: Tom Brennan, Chief Merchandising Officer, Casey’s General Stores Inc. (Ankeny, Iowa) • Vice Chairman, Research and Technology: Charles McIlvaine, Board Member, Maverik Inc. (Salt Lake City, Utah) • Vice Chairman, At Large: Natalie Morhous, CEO, RaceTrac Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia) • Vice Chairman, At Large: Travis Sheetz, President & CEO, Sheetz Inc. (Altoona, Pennsylvania) • Vice Chairman, At Large: Brian Donaldson, CEO, Maxol Ltd. (Dublin, Ireland) Also serving on the Executive Committee are 2025-26 NACS Chairman Annie Gauthier, CFO/ Co-CEO of St. Romain Oil Company LLC (dba Y-Not
Stop), based in Mansura, Louisiana, and 2022-23 NACS Chairman Don Rhoads, president and CEO of The Convenience Group LLC, based in Vancouver, Washington. In addition, Christian Stein, managing member of Center Independent Oil Stores LLC (Clinton, Pennsylvania), was elected to the NACS Board of Directors. A member-driven organization, NACS is led by a 30-member Board of Directors, which includes three retailers from nonNorth American countries. NEW SUPPLIER BOARD LEADERSHIP On October 6, the NACS Supplier Board also named new leadership and members. Kevin LeMoyne, senior vice president, customer leadership at The Coca-Cola Company, was named the 2026-27 Chairman of the NACS Supplier Board, and Mike Gilroy, VP, trade development and sponsorship, Mars Snacking, was named Chair-elect. Both will also serve as supplier represen-
tatives on the NACS Board of Directors. New Supplier Board Vice Chairmen are: • Danielle Holloway, Senior Director, Industry Engagement, Altria Group Distribution Co. (Richmond, Virginia) • Kevin Kraft, Vice President, Emerging Channels, Olipop (Oakland, California) • Matt Domingo, Senior Director, External Relations, Reynolds (Winston Salem, North Carolina) In addition, four new members were elected to serve on the NACS Supplier Board: • Jeffry Harrison, Co-founder and President, Rovertown (St. Louis, Missouri) • Diane Striegel, Director of Sales, Lifeway Foods Inc. (Boonton, New Jersey) • Erik Ogren, CEO, Patron Points Inc. (Woodbury, Minnesota) • Brad Haga, Senior Vice President, Prepared Food & Dispensed Beverages, Casey’s General Stores Inc. (Ankeny, Iowa)
NACS NEWS
Calendar of Events NOVEMBER NACS Innovation Leadership Program at MIT November 1-6 | MIT Sloan School of Management Cambridge, Massachusetts
OXXO Wins NACS Convenience Store of the Year Award Latin America Travel Center OXXO Gas & OXXO is this year’s winner of the NACS Convenience Store of the Year Award Latin America. Leaders from OXXO Mexico were recognized among their convenience retail peers during the Global Colleagues Reception at the 2026 NACS Show on October 7 in Las Vegas. “Latin America has become a powerhouse of innovation, with retailers continuously raising the bar for the global industry. OXXO Mexico is a prime example, combining scale, customer understanding and innovation to redefine convenience. Their recognition is a testament to both their achievements and the strength of the region,” said Henry Armour, NACS chairman emeritus and CEO international. Located in Majalca, Chihuahua, the store is OXXO Mexico’s first travel center, bringing together its different store formats to create a comprehensive destination for travelers. The travel center has been recognized by the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation of Mexico as a Safe Rest Stop, offering integrated services designed to make every journey safer, more convenient and more comfortable for travelers and freight operators. Travel Center OXXO Gas & OXXO is transforming mobility in Mexico, demonstrating how innovation, public-private collaboration and a strong commitment to safety can create meaningful, lasting impact for travelers and the communities they serve. The NACS Convenience Store of the Year Award Latin America honors flagship stores that break new ground and set new innovative standards for the industry. Previous winners include Lion Place Escobar by FGC Fuels Marketing, Grupo Forte, YPF, Lion Place Cardales, and LiSTO! Castaños.
14 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
NACS Women’s Leadership Program at Yale November 9-13 | Yale School of Management, Yale University New Haven, Connecticut DECEMBER NACS & TEI Future of Mobility Summit December 2-3 | Sheraton Charlotte Hotel Charlotte, North Carolina
2027 FEBRUARY NACS Leadership Forum February 16-18 | Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island Amelia Island, Florida MARCH NACS Day on the Hill March 16-17 | Four Seasons Washington D.C. Washington, D.C. NACS Human Resources Forum March 22-24 | The Ballantyne Charlotte, North Carolina
APRIL NACS State of the Industry Summit April 21-23 | Omni Hotel Fort Worth Fort Worth, Texas MAY NACS Leadership for Success May 10-14 | Hershey Lodge Hershey, Pennsylvania JULY NACS Financial Leadership Program at Wharton July 11-16 | The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NACS Marketing Leadership Program at Kellogg July 18-23 | Kellogg School of Management Northwestern University Evanston, Illinois AUGUST NACS Executive Leadership Program at Cornell August 1-5 | Dyson School, Cornell University Ithaca, New York OCTOBER NACS Show October 5-8 | Georgia World Congress Center Atlanta, Georgia
For a full listing of events and information visit www.convenience.org/events.
NACS NEWS
Member News RETAILERS
SUPPLIERS
Texas Born (TXB) announced that Nate Brazier will join the company as president. Kevin Smartt will continue to serve as owner and CEO. Brazier brings more than a decade of convenience store industry experience, most recently serving as president and CEO of Stinker Stores, where he strengthened operations and expanded the company’s store footprint. In his new role at TXB, Brazier will focus on leading the company’s day-to-day operations. TXB has more than 50 locations spanning 200,000 square feet of property in Texas and Oklahoma, and five additional stores are currently slated for future builds.
Altria Group Inc. announced that Steven W. Presley joined its board of directors on August 27, 2026. Presley will serve as a member of the board’s committees on compensation and talent development, innovation and finance. Presley is chief executive officer of Refresco Benelux B.V., a global independent beverage solutions provider, a position that he has held since August 2025. Presley previously served as executive vice president and CEO Zone Americas at Nestlé S.A., a global food and beverage company, from October 2024 to April 2025, and as executive vice president and CEO Zone North America at Nestlé S.A., from January 2021 to October 2024. Since joining Nestlé USA in 1997, Presley has served in other senior roles, including chief executive officer, chief financial officer and chief transformation officer.
RaceTrac Inc. announced that Jill Pemberton has joined the senior leadership team as chief financial officer. In this role, Pemberton will lead financial strategy and growth for RaceTrac Inc. and its family of brands, including RaceTrac, RaceWay, Energy Dispatch, Gulf and Potbelly. Pemberton joins RaceTrac from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, where she most recently served as chief financial officer for the company’s $20 billion North America region. Pemberton will report directly to CEO Natalie Morhous, and will lead RaceTrac’s accounting, finance, tax and treasury teams. She succeeds Karla Ahlert, who served as RaceTrac’s CFO from 2020 until this year and is now the company’s first chief administrative officer. The new senior leadership role oversees shared services including human resources, supply chain, special projects and procurement.
16 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. announced that Aaron Alt has been appointed to the company’s board of directors. Alt brings deep expertise in finance, capital allocation and business transformation to KDP’s board and will serve on its audit and finance committee. He previously served as chief financial officer of Cardinal Health, where he oversaw the company’s financial and corporate development activities. Prior to joining Cardinal Health, Alt served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Sysco Corporation, and held
senior finance and operational leadership positions at Sally Beauty Holdings and Target Corporation. Conagra Brands Inc. announced the appointment of Amy Held as executive vice president and chief administrative officer, a newly created role designed to streamline key corporate functions. In this position, Held will oversee human resources and corporate communications and will serve as chief of staff, reporting directly to president and chief executive officer John Brase. Held brings more than 25 years of corporate experience spanning corporate strategy, M&A and organizational transformation across consumer goods and professional services. Most recently, she served as chief human resource officer at The Simply Good Foods Company, where she advised the CEO and board on executive succession, compensation, governance and human capital risks and opportunities. Prior to that, Held spent more than a decade at The J.M. Smucker Company, ultimately becoming chief transformation officer. Conagra also announced that Charisse Brock, executive vice president and chief human resources officer, will retire from the company in October after 20 years of service.
Keep NACS in the know— send your updates to news@convenience.org
NACS NEWS
New Members
NACS welcomes the following companies that joined the Association in July 2026. 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 Joyride joyridesweets.com Austin, TX
SUPPLIERS Blue Sphere Brands Buffalo, NY bluespherebrands.com
Nationwide Fixture Installations Plymouth, MN nfi-usa.com
CED Inc. Fort Worth, TX
Neptune Retail Solutions Jersey City, NJ neptuneretailsolutions.com
CocoLove Las Vegas, NV cocolovewater.com
RETAILERS Acme Truck Stop Orlando, FL
David Protein New York, NY davidprotein.com
Gopuff Philadelphia, PA gopuff.com
DHL Supply Chain Westerville, OH dhl.com
Kary & Smith Inc. Albert Lea, MN
Diversified Foods Metairie, LA diversifiedfoods.com
Kotaco Fuels & Propane Fargo, ND kotacofuels.com PPG Inc.
Galerie Hebron, KY galeriecandy.com
Raymer Oil Company Troutman, NC
Garland Commercial Ranges Mississauga, Ontario, Canada garland-group.com
Retif Oil & Fuel Harvey, LA retif.com
Invisible Technologies San Francisco, CA invisibletech.ai
Russ’s Place Worthing, SD
Kowa Health Care U.S. Torrance, CA livesyncron.com
The French Corner New Orleans, LA Y Store Tower, MN
18 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
Matrix Bottling Group LLC Montebello, CA matrixbottling.com
NO CAP Soda Pop Inc. Corona, CA drinknocapsoda.com One Brother Investments LLC League City, TX tezintel.com Rastelli Foods Group Swedesboro, NJ rastellis.com S&P Global New York, NY spglobal.com Sartori Cheese Plymouth, WI thirdbridge Scottsdale, AZ Tippmann Group Fort Wayne, IN tippmanngroup.com U.S. Bank Cash Management Services Minneapolis, MN Vitamin World USA Beverly Hills, CA
CONVENIENCE CARES
This year’s Run for Research had more than 2,300 participants and raised over $550,000.
RaceTrac’s Annual Run Supports Parkinson’s Research The retailer has helped raise more than $10 million for The Michael J. Fox Foundation since 2011.
T
his year, RaceTrac celebrated 15 years of partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation. On September 26, the retailer hosted its annual Run for Research at The Battery in Atlanta, and 100% of registration fees from the event benefited the foundation, which funds research into Parkinson’s disease. Runners and walkers of all ages and abilities were invited to participate in a 1K or 5K race. Race participants crossed the finish line on the baseball field in Truist Park in Atlanta. An awards ceremony followed. Each year, approximately 90,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, joining more than 1 million Americans currently living with the disorder. The
20 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
cause is deeply personal for RaceTrac: The retailer’s late chairman emeritus Carl Bolch Jr. and his father, company founder Carl Bolch Sr., both lived with Parkinson’s. Their legacies continue to drive RaceTrac’s dedication to the cause, the company said. The retailer has partnered with The Michael J. Fox Foundation since 2011 through initiatives like Coffee for a Cause Week and Run for Research. The two surpassed the $10 million fundraising mark earlier this year. “Our contributions to The Michael J. Fox Foundation wouldn’t be possible without the help of our amazing field and corporate teams who carry out these initiatives, encouraging guest participation, giving personally and joining our annual 5K,” RaceTrac said.
In the Community 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 conveniencecares.org.
LOOP NEIGHBORHOOD MARKETS Loop Neighborhood Markets supported local organization There With Care Bay Area. Loop team members assembled transportation care bags filled with essentials for families supported by the nonprofit. “For the second year, we’re grateful to partner with There With Care Bay Area, an organization dedicated to supporting families navigating a child’s medical crisis. From groceries and baby supplies to gas cards and other everyday essentials, There With Care helps ease some of the day-to-day challenges families face so they can spend more time focused on what matters most—being together and caring for their child,” the retailer said.
MIRABITO CONVENIENCE STORES Mirabito Convenience Stores and its customers raised $60,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention through the Mirabito Cares Round Up Campaign. Held in July across all 120 Mirabito Convenience Store locations in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, the campaign invited customers to round up their in-store purchases at checkout. The total includes the generosity of thousands of Mirabito customers, along with a corporate contribution from Mirabito Cares. The funds will help the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention advance its mission to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide through research, education, advocacy and support for individuals, families and communities.
TOOT’N TOTUM
DASH IN Dash In partnered with food banks in each state it operates to help fight hunger. From September 1 through September 30, every entrée purchased at Dash In helped support the company’s commitment to donate up to $400,000 to local food banks across the MidAtlantic and North Carolina. Local food bank partners included the Capital Area Food Bank, Feed More, Food Bank of Delaware, Maryland Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina. In addition to supporting local food banks, Dash In said it also strives to raise awareness about food insecurity.
Toot’n Totum, in partnership with Valero, announced the return of its Spirit Pumps Program for fall 2026. Beginning Monday, August 10, every gallon of fuel pumped at a school’s designated Spirit Pump will generate a 5-cent donation to that high school, with funds supporting school safety and security initiatives. The donation is funded by Toot’n Totum and Valero; fuel at Spirit Pumps is priced the same as every other pump at the store. The program runs through Sunday, November 22, and spans Toot’n Totum’s full four-state footprint, including Amarillo, Lubbock and communities across the Texas Panhandle, as well as Clayton, New Mexico; Hugoton and Liberal, Kansas; and Boise City, Oklahoma. Participating pumps are wrapped in each school’s colors and branding. Funds go directly to each participating high school, and each school decides how to put its dollars toward safety and security needs on its own campus.
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Why Advocacy Is Good for Business
At the 2026 NACS Show, two CEOs explained how being engaged in advocacy can help retailers run profitable businesses.
C
onvenience industry professionals tend to be the type of folks who understand the value of relationships. Our stores are hubs of the communities that they are in. The stores bustle with the energy of people engaging with one another as they go about their daily business. But our industry also runs on another type of relationship: strategic relationships with political leaders in the communities where we operate. At the 2026 NACS Show, leaders of two major retailers discussed the value of relationships in successfully navigating local, state and federal political systems. Natalie Morhous, CEO of RaceTrac, and Scott Zietlow, president and CEO of Kwik Trip, served as panelists. The session was moderated by Doug Kantor, senior vice president of government relations and general counsel at NACS.
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RELATIONSHIPS MATTER The conversation focused on how proactive involvement and advocacy can help convenience businesses make their voices heard—and why, in the long run, that’s good for business. “Building relationships with political leaders allows us to always have a seat at the table,” said Morhous. “We get to weigh in on important public policy issues that affect our business and
Erica Aitken Photography
BY KATIE CORMIER
customers directly. That ability has saved us headaches, time and money.” The session highlighted how the benefits of political involvement include both obvious benefits and other benefits. For example, engaging with local elected leaders might allow your team to provide direct input when a proposal for zoning changes that affect your stores is announced. Active participation in the process might also help your business in ways that are not as direct. Interacting with your government leaders on an ongoing basis provides additional opportunities to join the conversation about those same zoning issues while they are still taking shape. It allows you to add helpful perspective that means your business and your part of the community are considered from the very start. When decision makers know who the businesses are and the good they are doing in the community, it matters. We want decision makers to care about whether decisions they make affect businesses and how. If they do, it always turns out better in the end than it would have if they didn’t know the operator.
“It’s almost always better to be in the conversation when it starts than to join once the key decisions have already been made,” Morhous told NACS. “It’s not realistic to expect a politician to understand every single one of the concerns that a convenience business has in full detail. So, one of the roles that we can play is that of educator. We can make sure that policymakers see things from our perspective while they are still making their plans, avoiding the headaches and expense of rework on the back end.” WHAT YOUR BUSINESS CAN DO The session touched on how Kwik Trip and RaceTrac’s current political engagement programs work on a dayto-day basis. It also addressed some of the key things that they have done to be effective—or lessons learned from when they were not so effective. Make relationship-building a regular activity. Rather than waiting to engage when there is an issue that might present a challenge, establish relationships with local, state and federal leaders early and maintain regular, courteous contact. “You never
When decision makers know who the businesses are and the good they are doing in the community, it matters. know when you you’re going to need to have a conversation with a legislator or a regulator,” said Zietlow. “Establishing relationships with officials early, and regularly nurturing those relationships, is what has proved to be effective. Also, you never know if the local alderman might wind up in the U.S. Senate someday.” Give as much as you take. The political process is a two-way street. Elected officials make decisions for
Momentum Continues: The Latest Updates on the Fight for the CCCA The NACS government relations team continues to push Congress to address excessive credit card swipe fees, one of the most consequential issues facing the convenience and fuel retailing industry. At the end of this summer, NACS secured three new sponsors in the Senate for the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), with Sens. Angus King (I-ME), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) formally adding their support to the bill. In addition, Rep. Tony Wied (R-WI), a former convenience store operator, added his support. President Trump has publicly expressed his support for reducing swipe fees three times this year, most recently at the Republican Party’s 2026 midterm convention in Dallas. On September 9, in his opening night remarks, the president told the crowd, “We’ll cut out-of-control credit card swipe fees, saving the average family at least $1,200
per year. And we’ll not allow Americans to pay seven to eight times more for those fees than they do in any other country.” Just weeks earlier, on August 3, the president posted on Truth Social in support of CCCA lead sponsor Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS): “Roger is working tirelessly to pass the Credit Card Competition Act, in order to stop the out of control Swipe Fee ripoff!” And on January 13, the president posted that, “Everyone should support great Republican Senator Roger Marshall’s Credit Card Competition Act, in order to stop the out of control Swipe Fee ripoff.” Stay up to date on this issue by following the NACS government relations team on X at @NACSonline and keeping an eye on the NACS advocacy page for this issue: www.convenience.org/ccca.
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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 September 2026 are:
Patrick Abernathy TruAge
Darshan Gad StoreMinder.AI
Wynne Barrett Jera Concepts dba Supplyit
Josh Gondek Casey’s General Stores Inc.
Doug Beech Casey’s General Stores Inc.
Varish Goyal Loop Neighborhood Markets
Michael Deal Moyle Petroleum Company
Mark Griffin Michigan Petroleum Association
Benjamin Englefield Duchess Convenience Stores
Robert Griffith Golden Pantry Food Stores Inc.
their constituents—and they rely on the assistance of those same constituents to further their understanding of the issues. Savvy businesspeople always offer value at the same time as they are making requests. When you provide information and perspectives that public officials could not access without your assistance, you are both helping them and making yourself an invaluable part of the process. Understand strength in numbers. The most effective engagement programs demonstrate how policy changes can affect several members of the community rather than just one business or small group. Policymakers represent their entire constituencies, and the more voices that chime in, the more likely it is that concerns are heard. Get the whole team involved.
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Brad Haga Casey’s General Stores Inc. Matthew Hanson Black Buffalo Inc. Christopher Hartman Rutter’s Holdings Inc. Danielle Holloway Altria Group Distribution Company Stephanie Hoppe Casey’s General Stores Inc.
Relationship building does not have to be limited to the c-suite. Store managers and employees at all levels can just as easily—and authentically—share a company’s priorities with elected leaders and community members. Anyone from your organization can participate with the help of a few simple talking points. It is worth reminding the team that getting involved is easy. Get involved with multiple community organizations. Community groups are a great forum for making positive contributions to the communities where you operate, and they are also a helpful way to get to know other business owners who may share similar concerns. Of course, the NACS government relations team is here to support our members and the industry in building
Raymond Huff HJB Convenience Corp. dba Russell’s Convenience AJ Jha Tustin Arco David Jordan Jordan Oil Co. Inc. Joseph Juliano United Pacific Paul Kern Invenco By GVR Kevin Kraft OLIPOP
those relationships, and we are always open to discussing your priorities. Kantor made it clear that building relationships is a strategy that any operator can and should employ. “For the people who excel in this business, part of the basic fabric of their business is creating relationships with community leaders,” he said. “They know that being involved in their communities has more return on investment than just about anything else they do.” That is why, as both Morhous and Zietlow shared, businesses that prioritize those relationships always seem to come out ahead in the end. Katie Cormier is the NACS director of political engagement. She can be reached at kcormier@ convenience.org.
Myra Kressner Kressner Strategy Group
Andrew Mitchell Toot’n Totum Food Stores LLC
Chip Lavigne Lavigne Oil Company
Gilbert D. Moyle Moyle Petroleum Company
Leyton Lavigne Lavigne Oil Company Wolfgang Manz PWM Electronic Price Signs Inc. Vito Maurici McLane Company Inc. Stephen McKinley Urban Value Corner Store Kendra Meyer Casey’s General Stores Inc. Joshua Milazzo Lard Oil Company Inc.
Matt Nelson Excel Tire Gauge LLC Andy Owen NACS Corey Paluch Moyle Petroleum Company Nick Peal NACS David Quisberg S&D Quisberg LLC Jason Read Wawa Inc.
Paul Reid Reid Petroleum LLC
Eva Strasburger StrasGlobal
Lesley Saitta W. Capra Consulting Group
Roy Strasburger StrasGlobal
Enrique Sales Abierto Networks, LLC
Mike Streams W. Capra Consulting Group
Jerry Sears FASTIME
Diane Striegel Lifeway Foods Inc.
Kay Segal Business Accelerator Team
Michael Sullivan Joey Op Co.
Keith Slater Family Express Corporation Martin Smith Elmer Smith Oil Co. dba Domino C-Stores Wes Stone Ultimate Sales and Services
Nan Thomae Casey’s General Stores Inc. Riley Tubbs CAF Outdoor Cleaning Scott Zietlow Kwik Trip Inc.
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stores serve nearly every American each year, and employ nearly 3 million people, so our collective advocation tells the best story to those in the White House and Congress, on both sides of the aisle.
Chris Hartman Vice President of Fuels, Marketing and Development, Rutter’s
What do you enjoy most about being in the convenience and fuel industry? Since I grew up in the industry and have attended NACS events since I was 10 years old, I would have to say my favorite thing is the connectedness. While we may have different operating ideas, and many times compete with each other, convenience stores have a much closer bond than those in other retail industries. What motivates you to stay involved in NACS political engagement efforts? Speaking as one voice gives convenience stores much more strength at the federal level than going at it alone. Convenience
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What do you wish policymakers understood about our industry? Policymakers should understand that our industry knows the American public better than any other retail segment. Because we serve nearly all Americans each year with products they need, we have a great understanding of how the current economic conditions are affecting their wallets every day. Our knowledge and advice
April Henry
ADVOCATE SPOTLIGHT
What would you say to a NACS member who thinks their voice won’t make a difference in the political and legislative process? The only way your voice doesn’t make a difference is if you don’t try to be heard. Working with legislators isn’t a quick or one-off process, but an ongoing effort to continually educate them, so that the best solution is put forward for passage.
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could be better heeded to improve policy because we touch so many critical economic segments including energy, food and development.
During NACS Day on the Hill, retailers meet with lawmakers to discuss issues affecting the convenience industry. From left to right: Nicholas Ruffner (Sheetz), Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Chris Hartman (Rutter’s), Harman Aulakh (Onvo).
In August 2026, Chris Hartman welcomed Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) to a Rutter’s location in Hallam, Pennsylvania. During a tour of the store, they discussed federal issues affecting the convenience industry.
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What federal legislative or regulatory issues keep you up at night (with respect to the convenience store industry)? Currently, the biggest concern that affects us and our customers would be the potential increase in interest rates. Inflation has eroded a lot of spending power, and increasing rates would hurt the largest part of our customer base, the low- to middle-income American, more than other segments. Additionally, it would lead to slower growth for convenience store companies as borrowing costs increase. That will hurt construction contractors, food companies and job growth. What c-store product could you not live without? Bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich with a hashbrown patty on top.
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7 BIG Takeaways from the
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See You in Atlanta Next year ’s NACS Show will be in Atlanta, Georgia, October 5-8, 2027.
The mighty pickle has been dethroned. BY JEFF LENARD
A
fter two years of seemingly being everywhere on the NACS Show Expo floor, the pickle has been overtaken by another “P” word, protein. At this year’s NACS Show, it felt like you couldn’t turn around without seeing a booth that featured protein in some way. There were still a lot of pickle-flavored products on the Expo floor—including new ones like a pickle slushie, a Chamoy pickle gummy and a spicy dill pickle sausage (all were delicious, by the way!)— but the predominant theme was protein, protein, protein. Only one thing was in more booths— energy, not specifically related to the category, but related to overall excitement. The NACS Show was simply pulsing with energy, whether at receptions and networking events, the packed General Sessions and Education Sessions or on the Expo floor. Here are a few of the big trends seen and heard by the 25,572 attendees at this year’s NACS Show.
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1.
PROTEIN FLEXES ITS MUSCLES Fitness and active-life consumers have long embraced protein-packed products, and now so has the rest of the population. One reason is likely the increased use of GLP-1 medications for weight loss. NACS President and CEO Frank Gleeson noted in the October 8 General Session that one in seven Americans has tried a GLP-1. People on the medication often replace meals with snacks and gravitate towards foods high in protein. “But that isn’t necessarily a huge headwind. After all, we are the channel that is known for snacks. And a quick walk through the Expo floor will show you how many options are there for you to discover,” said Gleeson. For protein-enhanced snacks, there were donuts, energy bars, popcorn, sour candy, gummies, cookies, tortilla chips, pretzels, wafers and pudding. To wash it down, there was water, kefir, soda or coffee with extra protein. And if protein was still lacking, there were also protein-rich syrups that could be squirted into a beverage for an extra boost.
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Even traditional protein-laden products jumped into the protein craze. Many cheese, jerky, peanut butter and egg products touted new packaging that hyped the protein that these products always had. While meal-replacement was likely a leading reason for the emphasis on protein, renewed interest in wellness was another driver behind the growth.
2.
GOOD FOR YOU IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS In 2019, the nonprofit Partnership for a Healthier America named NACS its Partner of the Year because the industry had embraced offering betterfor-you items in c-stores. The momentum stalled a year later when the pandemic hit and disrupted distribution channels, especially for fresh items. Consumers’ interest shifted from healthy options to just protecting their health. The NACS Show Expo showed that interest in wellness is back in a big way. That interest was on display through, of course, protein-enhanced
How a Newspaper Article Led to a Pay-It-Forward Moment After gas prices began to rise in March following the start of hostilities with Iran, the Minnesota Star Tribune wrote an article about the impact of high gas prices. The article focused on 2026-27 NACS Chairman Lonnie McQuirter’s 36 Lyn Refuel Station. It moved one reader to action. McQuirter shared what happened next in his October 7 General Session speech, including an excerpt from the letter the customer sent to 36 Lyn. We thought it was worth republishing the letter in full here: “A few short days after [the conflict with Iran began], the local paper, the Star Tribune, featured an article about Lonnie, at 36 Lyn Refuel Station. What impressed me was Lonnie’s concern and generosity for his customers. His story moved me to help him as he helped others. So, I visited the convenience store one morning and spoke with [store manager] Josie, explaining that after paying my bills, I had some extra money that I’d like to share with customers at Lonnie’s store. I mentioned that I was motivated by the article about him. I asked Josie if she would choose five people that she felt might need some help with their fuel bill, or perhaps just a little extra money. I’d written some brief words on little sheets of paper to each of the five, wishing them a good day, mentioning that they mattered, and that someone was thinking of them. My hope was to try and ease some of their worries, should they have any. Josie loved the idea and even had small colorful envelopes that she numbered for my notes and contributions. Watching her interact with each customer who came inside the store reaffirmed that there is goodness in the world. Josie is a pure angel! I’ve returned as often as I can with my little notes (and funds), and each time, my heart fills with appreciation for the goodwill expressed by Josie, Lonnie and the staff. Each customer interaction with them, however brief, seems to be so personable ... with so much graciousness and kindness. It is truly remarkable! It is this dignity and acknowledgment of other people from the folks at 36 Lyn that keeps inspiring me! And the best part???? Last week Josie texted me to say that one of the previous ‘recipients’ of my notes has now ‘blessed’ someone in the same way.
Erica Aitken Photography; NACS
I believe we can all have a positive impact on the lives of others. I’m so fortunate to have stumbled across the newspaper article that led me to meet Josie and Lonnie!”
Examples of the notes that the 36 Lyn team gives to customers.
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4.
3.
USE YOUR NOODLES Asian c-stores are renowned for their robust selection of heat-and-eat noodle offerings, from ramen to udon. In the United States, ramen has also grown in popularity—and it was unavoidable at the NACS Show Expo. Traditional ramen purveyors were on the floor, and ramen was trending in chip form. Kraft Mac and Cheese cheesy ramen noodles are set to launch in early 2027. The noodles are the brand’s first new product in 20 years and garnered considerable attention at the NACS Show—both with the national media and as the top-scanned product in the Cool New Products Preview Room.
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5.
NIC AT NACS When e-cigarettes were introduced less than a decade ago, it seemed like the two main options for smokers going forward were cigarettes or vaping. But times have changed with the emergence of modern oral nicotine, which grew more than 22% in sales last year according to NielsenIQ. The category has grown so quickly that NACS Managing Director of Research Chris Rapanick noted “NACS has begun to view cigarettes and other tobacco products (OTP) in aggregate as ‘nicotine.’” On a legislative front, NACS Senior Vice President of Government Relations and General Counsel Doug Kantor said that the U.S. market has been flooded with illicit and unregulated vape products, largely from China, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval pathway for legal nicotine products
Erica Aitken Photography; NACS
Ramen was common on the Expo floor, along with other Asian snacks.
products, but also other better-for-you offerings. There were organic yerba maté drinks and other caffeine-based beverages positioned around natural energy, chips made with shiitake mushrooms, hydration sodas with electrolytes, functional beverages with adaptogens and plenty of bottled waters that touted their purity. Education Sessions also touted the renewed interest in wellness, including “Food and Beverage Trends Shaping Convenience in 2027.” The session was led by Suzy Badaracco, president of Culinary Tides Inc., who said that wellness is one of the major factors shaping consumer buying decisions, along with value, exploration and emotional reward. (For more, see “Familiar Meets Fresh” starting on page 72)
FROM FREEZE-DRIED TO JUST PLAIN FROZEN Remember those old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercials in which two people bump into each other? One says, “You got chocolate on my peanut butter!” The other says, “You got peanut butter on my chocolate!” Let’s modify that TV commercial for 2026. It would now air on TikTok, of course, and might go a little something like, “You got your freezer in my candy aisle!” and “You got your candy aisle in my freezer!” because candy and frozen treats seem to be swapping positions. Baby Ruth and 100 Grand bars, among others, now come in ice cream form, while Lemonheads and Trolli candies are now ice pop flavors. Meanwhile, Popsicle is now a lollipop and Creamsicle is a candy twist. Remember last year when the big candy trend was freeze-dried? That trend hasn’t gone away, but it’s been joined by frozen candy treats.
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25 Years Later, Inspiration and Innovation Still Resonate The 2001 NACS Show in Las Vegas wasn’t my first NACS Show (it was my second), but it was the one that showed me what NACS meant to the industry—and the communities that we serve. The NACS Show took place only two months after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington was shut down, so Baltimore was the nearest viable airport for me. There were huge lines, as airports were still grappling with new security protocols. Upon landing in Las Vegas and getting in a cab, the “thank you’s” began. Las Vegas was hit hard by conference cancellations after 9/11 and we were the first major conference to take place after that terrible day. Whether cab drivers, hotel staff or convention center personnel, they were grateful that a semblance of normalcy had returned to their lives—and their city. The NACS Show itself was incredible: A moving series of General Sessions highlighted the 40th anniversary of NACS, with virtually every past chairman on stage. There was a stirring call to fight global terrorism from former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Major. On the Expo floor, there were more celebrities than I’ve seen in my life. More importantly, NACS debuted an innovation to allow retailers to quickly spot new products and services: the Cool New Products Showcase. It has since grown from a small room to a mini-Expo of its own and is now known as the Cool New Products Preview Room. The 2001 NACS Show set a record for retailer attendance and you could see it in the long registration lines on site. And that is probably the biggest change over the past 25 years. While NACS Show attendance has grown considerably since then, process improvements have made the registration experience much more … convenient. One thing that hasn’t changed over the last 25 years: The NACS Show is full of energy and it truly showcases how the industry shares ideas and comes together, in good times and bad.
NACS
2001 NACS Show
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NACS President and CEO Frank Gleeson spoke with Doug Kantor and Pace McMullan from the NACS government relations team during the October 8 General Session.
has been arduous and opaque. To date, the FDA has received more than 26 million premarket tobacco product applications for review. Of those products, the FDA has authorized just over 60 to be on the market. “We need FDA to provide regulatory clarity of what can and cannot be on the market, clear the backlog of all outstanding premarket tobacco applications and act on new ones quickly and increase enforcement measures so that law-abiding retailers have a level playing field,” said Kantor in a panel discussion during the October 8 General Session.
6.
FUELING IN-STORE SALES The total number of in-store transactions during the first half of this year fell 4.5% from the same period in 2025, noted Rapanick in “State of the Industry Updates,” an annual Education Session that always attracts a large audience.
Too many customers are “not even considering the fact that they could go inside the store to purchase something,” he noted. But a plethora of fueling dispensers on the Expo floor aimed to change that. Many dispensers on the market now feature interactive touchscreens and cloud software that allow customers to order food, snacks or car wash services directly at the pump while they fill up. Some dispenser manufacturers also showcased broader advertising opportunities on the pump. With giant screen displays that show not just the price, but in-store offers—plus no more paper pump toppers and added lighting for security—we’ve come a long way from the dispensers that ushered in self-serve fueling in 1964. But what about maintenance or grime on the touchscreens? Two manufacturers took a different approach to my question and pounded the nozzle against the shatterproof-glass display. “Ballistic glass,” they noted.
Erica Aitken Photography; NACS
7.
DISCOVER HOW YOU CAN BE DISCOVERED More than any other competing retail channel, convenience stores have moved from conducting transactions to creating experiences, especially around new trends.
This isn’t real fried chicken—it’s a squishy! These TikTok-famous toys are having a big moment.
NACS NOVEMBER 2026 37
General Session speaker and former “Saturday Night Live” producer Lindsay Shookus continued the tradition of speakers walking the Expo floor after their presentations— and enjoying the latest issue of NACS Magazine.
Several booths featured products that were hot on TikTok, notably squishies of all shapes and sizes, from the classic stick of butter to a giant chicken wing. Blind boxes like the mystery dumplings inside boxes designed to look like steamer baskets also were hot. Many of the items had backstories or fortune-telling elements added to further build interest. The NACS Ideas 2 Go videos that debuted during the October 8 General Session reinforced the trend that “if you can squeeze it, they will come.” Reeder’s of Tulsa, Oklahoma, announces special “drops” of hot new squishy products on social media and finds that some customers race from home in their pajamas to get the prized new offerings. The Cool New Products Preview Room also featured products that were trending on social media, including ice cream that is molded to look like hyperrealistic mangoes and peaches. A few other interesting novelties were gummy mystery cubes, in which you peel a gelatin cube to reveal a hidden animal-shaped gummy, audio lollipops that play a song in your head while you enjoy them (it really works!) and fidget keychains featuring clicky keyboard keys. General Session speaker Lindsay Shookus had an even more bold idea for the industry’s future as a relaxing destination when she showed her AI-created rendering of the new Wawa Resort and Spa, which honestly could fit right in on the Las Vegas Strip. To be clear, this was her concept, not anything Wawa has in development … yet. While squishies and other offerings may not be the answer for everyone, the trend of making your store a destination is not going away. As one exhibitor told
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PLUS SO MUCH MORE There is no way that one person can truly cover everything that takes place at the NACS Show—there were 1,090 booths, 56 Education Sessions, three General Sessions and countless receptions and parties. That’s why so many companies send teams to extract all the learnings they can get from the NACS Show. There were plenty more trends to be seen at the NACS Show. With foodservice becoming an increasingly large part of the convenience industry, ideas for how to build and improve a foodservice offer were a big part of the Education Session schedule and the Expo floor. There were also AI-based solutions for everything from back-office management to loss prevention. THC-infused products were another big trend, but their future remains in doubt unless Congress takes steps to reclassify them. (At press time, a federal ban on hemp-derived THC was still looming, set to go into effect on December 11.) In the Education Session “The Next Wave in the Cold Vault,” Diana Eberlein, chair of the Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives, said regardless of what happens in December, THC beverages will be back. “THC beverage has demand. The consumer wants it. The wholesalers, the retailers want it.” Ultimately, success in retail comes down to understanding what your customer wants and your special sauce in serving them. As NACS 2025-26 Chairman Annie Gauthier noted in her speech at the October 6 General Session, “We solve problems. We make life easier. But we all have a different approach to how we make life convenient. Prioritize what’s important to you and your business.” Or, as one exhibitor told me about how c-store snacks and drinks can reframe how drivers think about long trips: “We can take what they dread and make that fun. After all, isn’t that also convenience?” Jeff Lenard is the NACS vice president of media and strategic communications.
Erica Aitken Photography; NACS
me, “You can decide if you want to be the place where people discover new things or you can be left behind.”
DOING VAPOR RIGHT Retailer-focused programs and partnerships support responsible vapor sales.
HOW HAS REYNOLDS AMERICAN BEEN WORKING TO ENSURE THESE PRODUCTS ARE MARKETED AND SOLD TO ADULTS ONLY? Mras: The latest data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey shows underage vaping has declined 74% in the last six years. That’s real progress, but the job is not done. Underage individuals who vape overwhelmingly report using illicit disposable products that operate largely outside regulated, licensed and traceable channels. We can’t control the illicit products proliferating the market or the bad actors who ignore the rules. But we can continue to do vapor the right way by working within the FDA framework and further raising the bar with our trusted retailer partners.
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Gorodenkoff - shutterstock.com
WHAT STANCE DOES REYNOLDS AMERICAN TAKE WHEN IT COMES TO THE MODERN VAPOR MARKET? Mras: As adult smokers increasingly seek innovative alternative smokeless products, the Reynolds American organization believes innovation must be paired with strong safeguards to help ensure vapor products end up in the hands of adult nicotine consumers only.
This interview is brought to you by Reynolds American, a NACS Hunter Club Member.
VALERIE MRAS
Senior Vice President, Brand Marketing
“The Reynolds American organization believes innovation must be paired with strong safeguards to help ensure vapor products end up in the hands of adult nicotine consumers only.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS YOU KEEP YOUR MARKETING CENTERED ON ADULT NICOTINE CONSUMERS? Mras: Our responsible marketing practices are centered on critical principles such as: • Only marketing to adult tobacco and nicotine consumers through tailored advertisements that only use models who are aged 35 and older. • Prohibiting the use of social media influencers. • Partnering with national programs like We Card and TruAge, which offer retailers materials, training and technology to help them prevent and stop the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to underage persons. ARE THESE NEW INITIATIVES AND PARTNERSHIPS FOR REYNOLDS AMERICAN? Mras: While some of our technology and marketing practices are newer to keep up with changing landscapes, our commitment to preventing underage access is not new. We’ve been a founding partner with We Card for more than 30 years to bring age verification and underage access prevention measures to retailers across the country. Accelerating that support is our investment in TruAge, which serves
Reynolds American partners with national programs like We Card and TruAge, which offer retailers materials, training and technology to help them prevent and stop the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to underage persons.
to digitize age verification at retail, further preventing the potential for underage access. HOW DO YOU WORK WITH RETAIL PARTNERS TO ENSURE THAT ONLY ADULTS CAN ACCESS VAPOR PRODUCTS? Mras: Our retail partners are a critical part of the underage access prevention ecosystem, and we’re proud that as we’ve further raised the bar to do vapor right, many have joined our push to keep vapor for adult nicotine consumers, period. Through our newly instituted Responsible Vapor Retailer program, we’ve established additional requirements for contracted retail partners that choose to sell Vuse Pro Pods. WHAT DOES THE RESPONSIBLE VAPOR RETAILER PROGRAM MEAN FOR RETAILERS? Mras: In support of the Vuse Pro launch, we have instituted a Responsible Vapor Retailer program with additional requirements for contracted retail partners that choose to sell Vuse Pro Pods.
Visit reynoldsamerican.com for more information.
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The
Coolest New Products of the Year … … as voted by attendees at the 2026 NACS Show.
O
ne of the buzziest spots at the NACS Show is the Cool New Products Preview Room, where the future of convenience is on display. The space is filled with everything from the latest packaging solutions and merchandising displays to exciting flavor trends, new technologies, innovative products and beyond. There were more than 300 products on display in the Cool New Products Preview Room at this year’s NACS Show. Attendees were able to scan the labels to get more information about the products that caught their attention and create a shopping list for booths to visit later. After almost 100,000 total scans, these were the items attendees were most interested in.
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1
KRAFT MAC AND CHEESE CHEESY RAMEN Kraft Heinz
Rather than the classic elbowshaped macaroni, this product features ramen noodles in a cheesy sauce. It comes in chicken, pork and spicy variations, and is set to launch in the United States in early 2027.
2
FUMANG PROPITIOUS MANGO ICE CREAM & TAOQI PEACH BREEZE ICE CREAM
Forest Food / Ultimate Sales & Services These frozen confections have gone viral on TikTok. The ice cream takes the shape of a mango or a peach—with the flavor to match—and is then covered in a white chocolate shell and colored with soft gradients that look shockingly close to real fruit.
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3
FRAZIL FIZZ Frazil
Frazil, a familiar name in frozen dispensed, is entering the carbonated frozen dispensed world. Frazil FIZZ is launching with eight flavors, including classics like Cola Freeze, Cotton Candy and Verry Cherry and others familiar to Frazil fans, like Tiger’s Blood.
4
SELF-SERVE BAKERY DISPLAY Palram 4U
These bakery displays from retail merchandising provider Palram 4U feature clear tempered glass, easy-access drawers and built-in LED lighting.
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5
PRETZILLA SOFT PRETZEL BITE GRAB AND GO CUPS Pretzilla
Designed in small plastic containers that can fit into a cupholder, these little pretzel bites offer a salty snack on the go. They come with two options for dipping: nacho cheese and cinnamon bun icing.
6
BAKERY SELF-SERVE COUNTERTOP DISPLAY CASE – 18 SKU Palram 4U
This countertop model has six drawers, each of which contains two flavor compartments as well as an optional additional half-tray, allowing it to hold up to 18 unique items. The front doors are made of tempered glass.
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7
CIGARBROS HUMIDOR WITH FRESHBOX CigarBros USA Inc.
The FreshBox is a cigar-storage system designed to preserve cigars at peak condition and maintain optimal humidity. It can help maintain freshness for 12 months or more, so the products retain their quality through delivery and longterm storage.
8
RETAIL READY FUDGE AND NUTS Fudgeamentals
These prepackaged fudge bites come in more than 20 flavors, from classics like chocolate and peanut butter to fun seasonal flavors including key lime and snickerdoodle. They come in single containers and larger multiflavor platters.
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NOW IN 10-PACK CADDIES OF 2 OZ PACKS
REAL
SNACKING REAL CONVENIENT DISCOVER THE POWER OF PROTEIN HORMELFOODSERVICE.COM/CONVENIENCE ©2026 HORMEL FOODS, LLC
NEW!
6 OZ PACKS
9
READY HIGH PROTEIN BAR Ready
These bars come in chocolate chip cookie dough and caramel crunch flavors, each of which has 20 grams of protein per bar. The company also offers other clean protein bars, protein puffs and protein water.
10
LITTLE JOE AIR FRESHENERS
Little Joe - Drive Int. USA These compact, colorful figurines clip onto a vehicle’s air vent to freshen the air with a smile. Typically retailing between $1 and $5, they’re impulse purchases. Little Joe (and his companions Little Dog, Litle Cat and Little Duck) come in a wide variety of colors and scents.
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FOR TRADE PURPOSES ONLY
NEW LOOK ARRIVES JANUARY 2027*
©2027 ITG Cigars Inc. 1
*PRODUCT AVAILABILITY VARIES BY LOCATION.
21+ adult consumers expressed stronger curiosity toward the updated product line.
21+ adult consumers view the updated design as more modern, premium, and visually engaging, contributing to a +242% increase in high-quality perceptions.
+118% increase in 21+ adult consumers perceiving Dutch as better than other brands, driven by modernized visuals that elevate shelf standout and positioning in a crowded set.
Dutch®, Dutch Masters® and Roll Bold. Burn Slow.™ are trademarks of ITG Cigars Inc. Source: PRS/Ipsos, Quantitative Package Redesign Research, Dutch Masters & Dutch, April 2026
A to
The 2026 NACS Show Expo offers endless options and inspiration. BY CHRISSY BLASINSKY
and in Between 50 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
T
here were more trends found at the NACS Show Expo than what’s listed here. Pickle and protein are still going strong, as is Dubai chocolate and sour gummies. Foodservice equipment seemed to be getting more compact and visually impressive with digital displays. And, as expected, AI dominated the technology space. For those who know, you know: There’s a lot of ground to cover in just two and a half days. From cool solutions to new flavors and products synonymous with the c-store channel, here’s what caught my eye as interesting and new trends for the industry.
A B C An APPLE a day … while not a new flavor, I did notice quite a bit of apple flavor profiles.
“This @$*! is BANANAS, B-A-N-AN-A-S!” Another tried-and-true flavor profile coming in hot.
CANNABIS beverages made their debut in the New Exhibitor Area.
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D
E
DIRTY SODA CREAMERS for your dirty soda concoctions.
ELOTE! A popular restaurant trend is making its way into salty snacks.
FG H J I Getting a FOCUS boost from energy pouches.
GUM, like this one created by a dentist.
HOT HONEY is still hot.
ICED. Pickle. Slushie. Not gonna lie, it was pretty tasty.
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JELLY, as in drinkable.
info@akcrust.com akcrust.com
CUSTOM PIZZA. PROVEN PERFORMANCE.
r in e d a or f e l s y r m t dus a progra s. n i e Th or izz t p a r m e custo nience op conve
K L M N O P LOLLIPOPs that play music? Sounds a bit strange until you try it.
The fidget spinner has evolved into the KEYBOARD fidget keychain.
“MANLY” wipes … do dudes shower?
NON-ALCOHOLIC beverages, like these zero-proof cans from Ritual.
PEELABLE gummies: Why just eat it when you can create an experience?
OLIPOP had a strong presence this year after making its NACS Show debut in 2024.
Q QUICK & Pure Ice System.
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R ROBOT, as in one that keeps floors clean.
Can’t get enough of the SQUISHY toys.
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T U V UBE is a flavor trend to keep an eye on.
V is very vexing … but VENISON to the rescue.
TAJÍN is still going strong.
W WINGS!
X EXCEL Companies.
Y
YERBA, organic caffeine.
Z
PMI continues to innovate ZYN nicotine pouches.
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Z is also for ZILKA. NACS Show first-timer Lisa Zilka, senior designer on this magazine, brought her camera and snapped what caught her eye.
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Thank You for a Great NACS Show We Enjoyed Sharing What’s Next With You.
The Conversation Doesn’t End Here. From full-service travel centers to flexible express formats, TA Franchise continues to help entrepreneurs build for what’s next in travel center franchising. Thank you for connecting with our team at the NACS Show.
Scan QR code or email: franchising@ta-petro.com
Erica Aitken Photography
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Return on Education More than 50 Education Sessions offered operators deep insights into today’s best practices and tomorrow’s trends. Here are some highlights. BY LAUREN SHANESY, BEN NUSSBAUM, CHRISSY BLASINSKY AND NOELLE RIDDLE
NACS NOVEMBER 2026 61
From left to right: Michael Sansolo, research director for the CocaCola Retailing Research Council; Ryan Sheetz, EVP of marketing and supply chain at Sheetz; Tom Brennan, chief merchandising officer at Casey’s General Stores
With competition coming from all sides, winning trips is getting harder for retailers. According to the latest research from the NACS Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council (NCCRRC) presented during the Education Session “The NACS Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council’s Insights on Driving Trips,” 25% of convenience shoppers considered going somewhere else on their most recent convenience store trip, whether to grocery stores, QSRs, coffee shops or other competitors. That consideration was even higher among some groups that are important to the channel’s future, including high-income shoppers (34%), younger consumers (37% for millennials specifically) and GLP-1 users (49%). The NCCRRC’s latest data was presented by Richard Bode, CEO, and Gavin Stoecker, principal of Cadent Consulting Group LLC, along with Michael Sansolo, research director of the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council. However, the variety of competition also points to a strong opportunity for convenience retail. Tom Brennan, chief merchandising officer of Casey’s General Stores Inc., describes it as a “category of one”—convenience can bring all the offers of its
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competitive sets together in one location, offering fuel, food, beverages, merchandise and more in one stop. “Where else can you get all of these offerings in one location so conveniently?” he said. The CCRRC research found that to attract customers, keep them coming back and eventually grow sales, retailers should follow a framework based on a hierarchy of needs. At the base are fundamentals such as clean stores and restrooms, friendly employees and in-stock products. Next come growth levers, including a curated product assortment and foodservice. At the top are experiences that can turn a store into a destination, such as loyalty programs and signature foodservice. “Fundamentals are fundamentals for a reason. If you don’t have those basic fundamentals covered, then it doesn’t do you any good to then pursue a differentiated foodservice program,” Brennan said. Foodservice raises the stakes on all fundamentals. Ryan Sheetz, EVP, marketing and supply chain at Sheetz, said that when customers are considering a store for food and beverages,
Erica Aitken Photography
THE NACS COCA-COLA RETAILING RESEARCH COUNCIL PRESENTS FINDINGS ON WINNING TRIPS
44%
of customers who went to a c-store for fresh or alternative snacks considered going elsewhere.
12%
of customers who went to a c-store for cigarettes or OTP considered going elsewhere.
something as simple as a dirty restroom can lead them to question the cleanliness of the kitchen. Once the basics are covered, retailers can then look more closely at whether their offer reflects changing consumer behavior. One emerging example is GLP-1 users. The research showed greater interest in fresh, healthy snacks among these consumers, offering an opportunity for retailers to cater to this customer. “What we’re seeing is that the GLP-1 customer is not leaving us. We’re seeing their patterns change … what they’re buying might change,” said Sheetz, pointing to more snacking and increased interest in protein. Looking outside the GLP-1 group, today’s consumers are also looking for protein, fiber, caffeine and functionality in their food choices. Convenience stores have an advantage because retailers can continually adjust the assortment within their existing boxes as customer preferences change, Brennan said. The same principle applies to generations. Younger shoppers may gravitate toward different brands, products and flavor profiles than older
THE TOP 10
Most Attended Education Sessions Here’s what your peers were most interested in at the 2026 NACS Show. 1.
Food & Beverage Trends Shaping Convenience in 2027
2.
How Convenience Stores Can Win Against QSRs
3.
The Road Ahead: Modernizing Convenience Retail
4.
The NACS Coca-Cola Research Council’s Insights on Driving Trips
5.
What’s Convenient Now? Gen Z & Gen Alpha Weigh In
6.
What Top Retailers Do Differently
7.
AI Hype Versus Retail Reality
8.
Positively Energizing Leadership
9.
Agentic AI for Around-the-Clock Retail
10. Beyond the Pump: Building the Intelligent Site That Drives Loyalty and Profit
consumers, but the answer isn’t to choose one generation over another. “You don’t want to cater to just one because then you’re limiting your overall relevancy to the general population,” said Brennan. “The broad need states exist across generational cohorts.” Retailers don’t need to tackle every opportunity at once, but instead should follow the hierarchy of needs, understand their shoppers, identify where their operation sits on the hierarchy and build from there, the panelists said. “If you don’t deliver on the fundamentals, then it really gets harder and harder to win by doing the other things,” said Brennan.
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The job of Conexxus is to set the industry’s technology standards, serve as an incubator for retailers and suppliers to connect and collaborate, and generally ensure that the industry is prepared for whatever comes next. In the past, offering guidance about emerging technologies was part of that mission. But at the 2026 NACS Show, Conexxus leaders took a different approach. The reason is simple: AI. As the rate of innovation increases, the future roadmap is harder to predict. It’s better, the speakers said, to lay the groundwork for the future by focusing on key capabilities. The Education Session “The 2026 Conexxus Technology Roadmap: Building Capabilities for the Future” focused on the three key capabilities: trusted data, connected commerce and nimbleness. As Linda Toth, the executive director of Conexxus, explained, these capabilities give retailers “the underlying foundation to do what you need … whatever hits you in the future.”
From left to right: Robert Hampton, chief technology officer at Yesway; Don Emery, senior manager, payment products at CHS; Gray Taylor, strategic advisor at NACS
TRUSTED DATA “Data used to be something that we reported on, and now data is something that a machine will act on, sometimes many times, without a human as a brain,” said Robert Hampton, the chief technology officer at Yesway. That can mean bad decisions at scale if the data isn’t clean. While retailers have made huge strides cleaning up their data, the panel said it’s imperative to continue to make progress. “At the heart of trusted data is the Conexxus data dictionary. Even if you aren’t using our standards, if you use the data dictionary to do your proprietary APIs, it means that all of your data is consistent,” said Toth.
She shared the example of forecourt dispenser. “But some people call it a fueling point. Some people call it a pump. Some people call it a pump number or a fueling point number or a dispenser number.” Simply agreeing on a consistent term means your internal data is much more valuable. And if you use a term widely adopted by the industry, that means future M&A is much easier. CONNECTED COMMERCE Agentic commerce may still be more of a concept than a reality, but it’s coming. Don Emery, senior manager of payment products at CHS, urged attendees to begin evaluating their businesses from an AI agent’s perspective. “Start thinking like a customer,” he said. “Think through it how an AI agent may think through it. So how would they find you?” He encouraged retailers to map the customer journey, assess how agents might evaluate store locations and customer reviews, and determine whether their digital presence allows transactions through websites, apps and other channels. Hampton added: “It might be good to test the visibility of your competitor across the street from you. … Do the same journey that you did for you with them. Are you ahead of them? Are you behind them?” NIMBLENESS Silos, slow decisions, an inability to learn and a reluctance to fail fast are all hallmarks of companies that aren’t nimble. In particular, as IT emerges as a stronger force across the company, it needs to be willing to go all in on an idea, see it fail … and be fine with that as long as there are lessons learned. “We need to take our learnings from what went wrong and we need to apply that to the next thing we try because it may be that this thing that failed miserably might spark an idea,” Hampton said. Nimbleness is where smaller operators can shine. “You have the ability, you have the control, you have the nimbleness in your hands,” said Emery.
The 2027 Conexxus Annual Conference takes place January 26-29 in Newport Beach, California. Register at Conexxus.org.
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Erica Aitken Photography
PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE OF TECH—INSTEAD OF PREDICTING IT
onv c e r e h W
enience perfectly blend
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i o c u i l s e ness D h t i w
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HOW RETAILERS ARE WINNING GEN Z AND GEN ALPHA Gen Z and Gen Alpha are poised to have an enormous impact on convenience retail—and they already know exactly what they want. During the Education Session “What’s Convenient Now? Gen Z and Gen Alpha Weigh In,” industry leaders explored how younger consumers shop, what drives them to convenience stores and how retailers can earn their loyalty for years to come. Gen Z alone represents an estimated $6 trillion in c-store spending over its lifetime, according to
data presented by Jason Zelinski, session moderator and vice president for North American retail at NielsenIQ. Gen Alpha is expected to have similar influence, putting a combined $12 trillion in potential spending at stake over the next 30 years. For retailers, capturing that spending starts with understanding just how intentional younger consumers are about their choices. “They want what they want. They’re very decisive in their product selection,” said Weigel’s President and CEO Doug Yawberry. “And they control their family’s pocketbook. … So you’ve got to have what they want.”
Erica Aitken Photography
From left to right: Frank Gleeson, president and CEO of NACS; Crystal Maggelet, CEO of Maverik; Kevin Smartt, CEO of TXB Stores; Doug Yawberry, president and CEO of Weigel’s Stores
Interviews with Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers played during the Education Session revealed a mix of traditional convenience favorites and emerging priorities. Candy and snacks remain popular, particularly among younger shoppers, while older teen consumers cited energy drinks, protein shakes, hydration beverages and other functional products. This creates a balancing act for retailers trying to provide variety within limited store space. “We have to be a lot of things to a lot of people,” said Maverik CEO Crystal Maggelet. “There are so many trends out there. Not only are there sports drinks … you’ve got more protein drinks and shakes and energy bars and flavor. … You have to provide variety with all of these different brands and flavors and tastes to meet the consumer’s desire to always be on trend.” Foodservice represents another significant opportunity. Younger consumers expect convenience, but they also want quality, variety and products that reflect their increasingly global tastes. “This is a very exciting time, a golden time, I think, for convenience stores if you’re in the food business in a meaningful way,” said NACS President and CEO Frank Gleeson. “There is no doubt there is higher demand. There is higher spending power … I would predict we’re going to see a lot of growth with the younger generation. They expect variety because they’ve traveled all over the world.” But products are only part of the equation. Younger consumers interviewed for the Education Session also mentioned enthusiastic employees, clean stores and restrooms, rewards programs, selfcheckout and other elements that make visits easier and more enjoyable. This means that even though younger consumers value technology, retailers cannot allow technology to overshadow the fundamentals of hospitality. “Technology should enhance hospitality, not replace it,” TXB Stores CEO Kevin Smartt said. “Yes, technology is important, but we have to continue to execute on the basics, especially for this generation.” At the same time, digital experiences must be intuitive. Gen Z and Gen Alpha have grown up with smartphones, digital payments and other technologies, making frictionless experiences an expectation rather than a novelty. “They don’t want friction. They want easy,” Smartt said. “They want their apps to be easy. They want their rewards programming to be easy. They want their shopping experience to be easy.”
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STATE OF THE INDUSTRY UPDATE: THE INDUSTRY’S OPERATIONAL SCORECARD
Chris Rapanick, managing director of NACS research
Chris Rapanick, managing director of NACS research, reviewed topline per store, per month industry performance, operational and financial metrics from the proprietary NACS CSX database on Tuesday, October 6, at the 2026 NACS Show. Taking a mid-year pulse on industry benchmarks, Rapanick’s session, “State of the Industry Updates,” keyed in on what’s impacting profitability and managing expenses. As expenses continue to grow and the c-store business becomes more complex, the industry is also faced with fuel demand declines. The conflict in Iran impacted the price of fuel immediately with the average price of gasoline going over $4.00 per gallon for the first time since July 2022.
217
The number of sites the industry added in the first half of 2026 Average fuel margins held at 40 cents to over 50 cents per gallon through January-June 2026, Rapanick said, noting that it will remain to be seen how the year wraps up with the inside business being affected by higher fuel prices. For the first six months of 2026, Rapanick noted that transaction counts suggest consumers are behaving differently at the pump. He said that typically when gas prices go up, fuel transactions increase because consumers tend to buy less fuel per visit, creating more opportunities to win in-store visits. “The environment in 2026 has vetoed that thought,” he said, noting that consumer sentiment may be low enough that people are cutting back on driving in general, or they may instead be eliminating other discretionary expenses that are non-fuel related. Inside the store, the average basket value for the first half of 2026 grew by 46 cents, and peaked in May at $9.22. In April at the NACS State of the Industry Summit, Rapanick highlighted the importance of driving basket value—one item at a time. The same holds with inside transaction counts down 4.5% for the first half of the year. Heading into the remaining months of 2026, Rapanick suggested that uncertainty inside the store and on the forecourt will likely continue no matter what happens in the fuel markets. He also stressed that across the board price increases are not a strategy for growth. Instead, look to increase basket item count or mix to grow in-store metrics.
The increase in average basket value from the first half of 2025 ($8.35) to the first half of 2026 ($8.81) 68 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
Erica Aitken Photography
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KEEPING THEM PAST 90 DAYS: DO YOUR EMPLOYEES LIKE YOUR ONBOARDING PROCESS? About one-third of convenience retail employees leave within the first 90 days of a job. A positive onboarding experience can help reduce turnover. “Most early quits are avoidable. What drives people to say, ‘Hey, I’m out,’ is four things: schedules changing without notice, no real training in their first week on the job, a manager who never checks in and when pay or hours don’t line up with what they were told during the interview,” said Alisha
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Black, vice president of human resources at Huck’s Market, during the 2026 NACS Show Education Session “Breaking the 90-Day Escape: A Roadmap for Onboarding.” “Onboarding starts in the interview. You need to be explaining what you expect from employees, who they will meet, where to park, what to wear, what it’s going to look like. I also tell my managers to listen to all feedback,” Black said. After listening to your employees about what’s working or not, be it through conversations or surveys, it’s important to then set up a feedback loop to turn what you hear from employees into action to create change. To get employees to stay, Black suggested that retailers set clear expectations for employees, explaining what a day on the job looks like from the very start. They should also enforce predictable schedules and hours, and make sure their managers get to know each new employee. Retailers also need to consider what is or isn’t working with their onboarding process. “When was the last time you truly looked at your onboarding process? Start there. When is the last time you shadowed a new hire going through the onboarding process? And when was the last time you asked a 90-day associate what made them quit? Walk the first 90 days yourself. Provide feedback,” Black said.
Erica Aitken Photography
Alisha Black, vice president of human resources at Huck’s Market
Hunt Brothers® Pizza is designed specifically for c-stores like yours. With pizza profits 50% or higher and free marketing support from a nationally recognized brand, making money is simple. We are not a franchise and do not have franchise, royalty or marketing fees. Call (800) 453-3675 or visit HuntBrothersPizza.com/Profits. © 2026 Hunt Brothers Pizza, LLC
35 YEARS
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Familiar Meets
Fresh
in Flavor Trends The 2026 NACS Show Expo showcased evolving flavor trends, from new twists on old favorites to bold new up-and-comers. BY LAUREN SHANESY
M
y fellow editors may argue with me, but I personally think I got the best writing assignment for this issue— pinpointing the flavor trends showcased throughout the NACS Show. There were hundreds of in-store merchandise and foodservice exhibitors on the NACS Show Expo floor this year. That is a lot of product to see and taste, and I certainly didn’t hit them all (though believe me, one can try). Among the whirlwind of fried chicken, pizza, customized drinks, exciting new candy and endless snacks, several flavor profiles stood out that signal where the industry is going.
That’s me in the middle of my trusty sidekicks and fellow editors, Noelle Riddle (left) and Michelle Cassidy (right), who helped me scour the Expo floor for this year’s flavor trends.
NACS NOVEMBER 2026 73
Root Beer Float frozen beverage, while Stacker 2 had dirty energy sodas in multiple flavors. Cooler crossover? Two retro flavors originally from the freezer stood out to me this year in the pack bev space—orange creamsicle and rocket pop. Orange creamsicle showed up in numerous places: f’real’s
Creamsicle Milkshake and TruBar’s I Scream for Orange Cream protein bar in collaboration with Orangetheory Fitness, for starters. Liquid IV has a new Firecracker popsicle electrolyte flavor, C4 showcased Frozen Bombsicle, and in candy, Hi-Chew
introduced its Retro Remix pack with Root Beer Float and Crunchy Rocket Pop flavors. Cotton candy: This fun flavor was all over the drink aisle, from Bloom’s Cotton Candy Sparkling Energy to Truly’s new Cotton Candy flavor. Cotton candy didn’t just appear in drinks. Trident released a Cotton Candy-flavored gum and Peeps had a Cotton Candy version of its sweets. Shirley Temple: This one is particularly nostalgic to me as this was my favorite restaurant drink as a kid. Pack bev brands are bringing back this old-school mocktail in canned form—Bloom showcased its Shirley Temple soda, Olipop has a new Shirley Temple flavor on display, and Keurig Dr Pepper will release its 7UP Shirley Temple for the holiday season as a limited-time offering. GLOBAL FLAVORS BREAK DOWN BORDERS Gen Z is one of the most well-traveled generations, according to Badaracco. As the rising generation with the most spending power, its zest for discovery, exploration and new experience is driving an increase in flavors inspired by global food and drink. A handful of new flavor profiles stood out at the Expo this year. Chili lime: Combos of spicy, sweet, sour and tangy appeared across releases this year, particularly in Tajín or chili lime flavors. I caught Modelo’s Chelada Pepino Limón, Spicy Tequila Lime Chicken RollerBites, Tajín Bugles from
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Erica Aitken Photography; NACS; butenkow - stock.adobe.com
NODS TO NOSTALGIA (AND “NEWSTAGLIA”) In hard economic times especially, consumers tend to crave comfort foods and flavors that are familiar to them, a representative from Rich Products told me while I was tasting f’real’s new orange-flavored Creamsicle Milkshake. Suzy Badaracco, president of Culinary Tides Inc., also posited that consumers today are looking for “newstalgia,” or nostalgic foods and flavors that have a modern twist, while presenting at the 2026 NACS Show Education Session “Food & Beverage Trends Shaping Convenience in 2027.” An ode to the soda shoppe: Some form of a soda float dominated releases from the top packaged beverage brands, perhaps related to the dirty soda trend. Coca-Cola launched Strawberry Float, Keurig Dr Pepper debuted Ice Cream Float and C4 Energy will have a Root Beer Float flavor out in 2027. Mug had a Dirty Dawg Root Beer. THC beverages got in on the trend too: Foundry Nation’s Two Scoops line featured Orange Creamsicle and Root Beer Float. Plus, Coffee-Mate had Dirty Soda individual creamers in coconut lime, made for soda instead of coffee. Frazil showcased a
General Mills and Doritos Dinamita NKD Chile Limón. Asian inspiration: Asian flavors felt like one of the most prominent regional nods. Ramen, an Asian noodle soup dish, inspired chip and snack products. Calbee had Asian-Style Chips in Spicy BBQ and Tonkotsu Ramen and Baby Star had Ramen Snacks and Snack Bites in flavors including Soy Sauce, Hot and Spicy Chili, Red Chili and Tonkotsu. Pringles showcased an Asian Zing spice. Asian inspiration spread to other categories: I saw a Sweet Yuzu caffeine and nootropic pouch from Deckiez and Sweet Thai Chili cashews from Smackin’. Ube: While the purple yam has been used prolifically in Asian dishes and traditional Filipino foods, ube is a new international flavor making its way into convenience snacks. It’s been popular in drinks over the past year, with Starbucks launching a limitedtime Iced Ube Coconut Macchiato as part of its 2026 Spring menu. Ube was named flavor of the year in 2024 by T. Hasegawa. It’s now showing up in products such as Galerie au Chocolat’s Ube Style Truffles and David’s Cookies Decadent Ube Crystal Sugar Cookie Dough with white chocolate chips. Mexican street corn: Touching on multiple flavor trends, including global influence and flavors inspired by dishes, Mexican street corn, or elote, is appearing across the snack category. Quest Protein Chips had this as a new flavor, as did Pop Daddy Pretzels’ Mexican Street Corn Pretzel Sticks and Herr’s Fire Roasted Mexican Street Corn popcorn.
Kraft Mac and Cheese Cheesy Ramen was the most-scanned product in the Cool New Products Preview Room during the 2026 NACS Show. Is it ramen-flavored mac and cheese? A cheesy take on ramen? I’d put it somewhere in the middle, using ramen noodles and ramen seasonings with a light, thin cheese sauce instead of the traditional broth. Did I like it? Definitely! It was innovative. And it plays into the success of growing flavor trends: Ramen is its own trending flavor, and it speaks to the desire for globally inspired products and dishes. At the same time, mac and cheese is a comfort food for many, underscoring the craving for nostalgic items.
Keep Your Eye On … … these additional flavor trends from the 2026 NACS Show Expo: • Super spicy, like “lava” and “fuego” • Cereal flavors and breakfast flavors in general, from savory breakfast sausage to sweet cinnamon French toast • Blueberry, peach and blue raspberry, which has enough demand that several manufacturers are releasing blue raspberry-only packs of snacks and candies • S’mores • Hickory BBQ • Loaded dessert flavors, like cinnamon bun, frosted cookie, strawberry shortcake, donut and chocolate mousse • Movie theater popcorn
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All about apple: Apple and green apple flavors were all over the Expo floor, from apple-flavored beers to a Hulk Green Apple Smash Butterfinger collab with Marvel.
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FRUIT FORWARD Simple fruit flavors held their own. Seeing strawberry: It felt like I was “seeing strawberry” this year, with new releases such as Pepsi’s Strawberry Shortcake soda, Coca-Cola’s Strawberry Float soda, Bloom’s Strawberry Shortie Sparkling Energy Drink, General Mills’ Strawberry Protein Cheerios, Pop Daddy Pretzels’ Strawberry Shortcake Pretzel Sticks, Strawberry Pop-Tarts Peeps, the Core Power protein shake from Fairlife in Strawberry and Strawberry Clean Energy Gummies from Proper Wild.
Going bold with banana: Milk brand Fairlife brought back a “previous fan favorite” flavor, Banana, to its Core Power protein shake line. Joey had a Banana nicotine pouch. In candy, Fantasy Farms showcased Dark Chocolate-Covered Banana and Coolioh! Peelz had both a Spicy Lava Banana and non-spicy Banana flavor. Tropical trends: Tropical flavors such as pineapple, mango, guava and more stood out on the Expo floor from frozen beverages to candies and snacks. Some brands stuck to singular fruit flavors while others dove into the tropical blend, such as Hot Tamales’ new Tropical Heat candy. Keurig Dr Pepper debuted its 7UP Miami Vice LTO, which combines “refreshing limelemon, sweet strawberry daiquiri and creamy pina colada flavors for a tropical soda experience inspired by the classic frozen cocktail.” Peach is also emerging in new releases this year.
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but Tikka Masala-coated peanuts from Jabsons also caught my eye, as did nut mix flavors from Upside Down Snacks in Donut, Taco, Churro and Cheeseburger flavors. Dubai chocolate: This might not have the “it factor” (and super high price tag) that it had last year, but Dubai chocolate definitely hasn’t gone away. The floor was still rife with Dubai chocolate classics and pistachioflavored takes (like Lindt’s new Pistachio Milk Chocolate line of bars and truffles), as well as new iterations, like Wonderful’s Dubai Chocolate covered pistachios and Dubai Chocolate popcorn from Belle’s. Matcha: Another flavor that first made its debut in drinks, matcha is now proliferating across the CPG space—from matcha chocolates, matcha latte popcorn and other snacks from a variety of producers to canned matcha lattes from La Colombe (and yes, strawberry is one of the three flavor options). Lauren Shanesy is a senior editor at NACS.
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STAYING POWER Things are a fad, until they’re a trend … until they’re a mainstay menu staple. These flavors are showing that they can move beyond a viral social media moment to solidify their place in the industry. The pickle punch: At my first NACS Show in 2024, it was the year of the pickle. It felt like pickle was finally punching through from the fringes and was showing up in well … everything. Pickle may not be as in-your-face as it was two years ago, but it certainly hasn’t lost its appeal. In 2026 it now feels like it has settled into its place as a more permanent product and menu flavor. Heinz Pickle Flavored Ketchup was once again featured prominently, as were many pickle-flavored chips, Vlasic Pickle Balls, Hidden Valley Ranch’s new Pickle Ranch Dippers, Pickle Punch Takis, pickle sunflower seeds, as well as Van Holten’s Dill Pickle-flavored pickled hard-boiled eggs and even the brand’s new line of Big Papa Dill Pickle cold and frozen beverages. Johnsonville also featured
a Spicy Dill Pickle Flavored Ultimate Sausage. Spicy: “Spicy isn’t going anywhere. It’s just taking different forms,” said Farley Kaiser, vice president, retail foodservice at McLane Company, noting that the popular pepper of the day might change, but a spicy profile of some kind is always at the top of flavor charts. “We’re still seeing sweet heat and things like hot honey [continue to] be popular.” • Hot honey: The hot honey flavor profile continues to resonate with consumers. Combos debuted a Honey Sriracha pretzel, Uglies had Hot Honey sweet potato chips and Olli added Hot Honey-flavored salami to its grab-and-go charcuterie packs. • Spicy candy: The ultimate sweetand-spicy combo, spicy flavors made their way to candy. Hot Tamales had a Hot Honey flavor, and spicy profiles were featured prominently in gummies and fruit snacks. Trolli released Spicy Crawlers while General Mills launched Spicy Gushers Unleashed. Skittles once again showcased Fuego gummies, Jolly Rancher had Heat Wave gummies on display and Snak Club touted Mike’s Hot Honey gummy bears. “Loaded flavors.” I was first introduced to this term in 2025. It describes a flavor that takes inspiration from dishes instead of singular food items. These loaded flavors have been making their way into CPG products for the past few years—think of the shift from something being cinnamonflavored to being churro-flavored. The Expo featured ramen-flavored chips from multiple brands, the new tacoflavored Protein Chex Mix from General Mills, Giant’s Taco Tuesday Sunflower Seeds and more. Taco and ramen flavors tend to dominate in this loaded flavor category,
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The Kitchen Chronicles
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Retailers who came to the NACS Show searching for foodservice equipment and packaging solutions found dozens of providers touting their tried-and-true products and latest innovations. BY AUSTIN FULLER
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Equipment Elevates Foodservice
C
onvenience store operators getting into foodservice should start small to scale smart, said Ryan Krebs, senior director of food and beverage at Sprint Mart. “You always want to test equipment and do it on a very small scale,” Krebs said. Sprint Mart has 95 stores in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Krebs—along with Weigel’s Stores Vice President Beth Hoffer—presented the Education Session “Fundamentals That Make or Break a Foodservice Program” at the 2026 NACS Show. “Avoid overinvesting in equipment until it’s proven out,” Krebs said. There was plenty of foodservice equipment for operators to check out during NACS Show Expo, with dozens of companies showcasing their popular products and innovations. This article gives a sample of the conversations that were taking place on the Expo floor. ‘START WITH ONE’ Krebs gave an example of getting a potential deal on 20 ovens. Operators should make sure they’re confident in their decisions before making a big purchase, he said. “That’s fine if you already are confident that those 20 ovens are going to be executed and work in all of those stores,” Krebs said.
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Joe Arvin, corporate executive chef at Ovention, said Ovention’s Shuttle S1200 oven is ideal for starting small. “Say a location’s opened and they’re just not using a ton of pizza yet. They’re trying to figure out what they’re going to use.” With the doors open, the oven can run as a conveyor for cooking pizza and subs. With the doors closed it can become an air fryer, Arvin explained. “One of the greatest things about it being convenience store [equipment], is no hood or no vents needed for this product,” Arvin said. “I can stack it up to three high.” Elsewhere, Unox touted its SPEED-X selfwashing combination speed oven. The machine also helps consolidate the amount of equipment an operator needs, as it has a convection function and can steam and microwave food, according to Alex Harvey, key account manager. “What a lot of people will do is use this to batch at the beginning, so they’ll batch cook five sandwiches … get those in the hot hold system,” Harvey said. “Then they can come back to this. Then they start using this as their microwave oven as well. So you’re reducing that footprint.” Unox’s SPEED.Pro allows operators to cook multiple items at once with different timers for each item. This means that a customer waiting in line doesn’t have to wait for the person in front of them
to have their item finished before their food gets cooking, according to Harvey. He added the timers will automatically adjust as temperature is lost when the doors open. “With a traditional speed oven, the person behind [the customer at the front of the line] has to sit and wait,” Harvey said. “The nice part [of the SPEED.Pro] is really the speed of service instead of having four people standing there and getting upset … or heaven forbid someone walks out because it’s been too long to get the item.” The idea is simplicity, Harvey said. “The simpler you can make this, the easier you can make this, they press a button and they wait until it beeps at them, the easier it’s going to be long term.” ROLLER GRILL ROLLING Operators can also consolidate equipment space with Nemco’s new roller grill with built-in bun cabinet. “We have the integrated bun box, so you’re not having to purchase a separate roller grill and a separate bun box to stack … so you’re saving a lot of space in regards to the height,” said Cassie Moffatt, marketing manager at Nemco. “Maybe there’s shelving above, they’re storing things, or advertising other products.” The grill’s control panel is also covered. “Operators are loving that,” Moffatt said. “Keeping the controls hidden so that they’re not messed with either on purpose or accidentally by customers coming in.” The grill can be serviced from the side instead of having to flip over the whole grill, Moffatt added. “When the units do need to get serviced, it’s a lot faster of a process,” Moffatt said. “You’re not going to have a store with a roller grill down for as long.” And for tech-forward operators, a camera might soon keep watch over their roller grills. Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions demonstrated its Roller Grill Monitoring powered by ELERA that uses computer vision to recognize and track each item, according to Johanna Hinkle, director of AI and automation solutions. The monitoring is available today for proof-of-concept projects with select convenience store retailers, Hinkle said. “One or more cameras mount above the roller grill and connect to a small edge computer in the store,” Hinkle said. “An in-store screen shows staff, in real time, what is on the grill, how long each item has been there and what needs attention.”
A lot of the times there’s someone that wants to work the counter and there’s someone who wants to work the kitchen and usually they don’t want to do both at the same time.” PRESENTATION LIFTS SALES Of course, the food needs to sell and presentation can play a role in moving goods. Palram 4U’s bakery self-serve countertop display case was among the top 10 items scanned in the Cool New Products Preview Room. “What gets everybody excited is the illumination,” said Gal Wollach, vice president of business development at Palram 4U. “It really complements the product. The products look great, the baked products, and it lifts sales.” He added the trays in the display case come out, allowing retailers to quickly cycle products and making cleaning easier. The ability to tilt trays in the display cases also helps show off a retailer’s pastries. “[Operators] want to make more money. They want to give a better service to their clientele,” Wollach said. “They want to differentiate themselves from the next convenience store around the block.”
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Packaging Makes a First Impression
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perators should think about their packaging as a first impression, according to Jeremy Reinicke, corporate executive chef at McLane. “When you meet someone, how important is the first impression? It’s similar I think when we’re retailing food or when we’re purchasing food,” Reinicke said. “It’s seeing it. It’s getting excited about it.” The latest packaging products made their own first impressions at the NACS Show, where established suppliers and new entrants offered their latest innovations. This article is a sample of what was seen and heard. “If I just had a minute, all I’d want operators to understand is that package performance can deliver a real benefit for their business,” said Kurt Richars, Anchor Packaging’s director of marketing. “What I’m talking about there is protecting the quality of the food for longer so it tastes freshly made for longer.” ‘SEE IT, SELL IT’ Having a full window on the packaging to display the food is important for McLane’s Prendisimo Pizza and HiBird chicken offerings, Reinicke said. “If I just see a box or a bag, I want to know what’s in it,” Reinicke said. “I want to see what’s in it before I commit to the purchase.”
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McLane’s Central Eats breakfast and lunch sandwiches come in susceptor packaging, which uses a metallized film that helps toast the bread. “It sort of optimizes and redirects those microwaves to help crisp the bread without drying it out,” Reinicke said. “Often times without that susceptor your sandwich is going to get mushy or hard or dried out.” Anchor Packaging, meanwhile, demonstrated antifog technology for its containers.
If they see more, then you sell more.” Typically, when hot food is enclosed in a container without antifog, steam is released and condensation forms, said Richars. Those water droplets then obscure the food. “If they see more, then you sell more,” Richars said. Anchor Packaging was also showing off its Invertibles single-piece containers. With those, the same part can be used as the base or lid of a container, improving efficiency, Richars said.
“If somebody’s eating in the store maybe they just use the base as a tray. If they’re leaving maybe they put a top on as a lid. You are never off on the count by more than one,” Richars said. “If somebody knocks a handful of lids on the floor in the back, you don’t lose the bases because you have a miscount. You eliminate miscount waste. You have to buy one SKU, not two.” Visibility is also an important feature of ProAmpac’s HandRap, which uses a fog-resistant film bag with a paper board as part of the package. “You’re going to load the sandwich in there and the consumer, when they go in the store, they’re going to see exactly what is inside this package,” said Sal Pellingra, vice president of global package design, applications and business development. “See it, sell it is a big message of ours.” Consumers getting grab-and-go food from a convenience store can eat directly out of the bag, Pellingra said. “If anything drips out of it, it’s going to stay inside the bag,” Pellingra said. PAPER PACKAGING Elsewhere on the Expo floor, Genpak Corporate Marketing Manager Monica Bowser said paper packaging is trending right now. “Paper is an excellent insulator and it’s a less expensive option,” Bowser said. “Packaging is always evolving, but the core is to really research and learn what packaging works best for you,” Bowser said. She added there is always a need for core packaging. “You can play with different options, but have that one option that you know is your workhorse that will work reliably every single time,” Bowser said. Taryn Pilson, sales development executive advisor for foodservice at Graphic Packaging International, described the demand for paper as a slow evolution that’s been building. Pilson said that as more pressure is placed on plastic and
other materials with sustainability initiatives, paper is taking market share. “First and foremost, we’re a paper company,” Pilson said. “We have our own paper mills. We have converting facilities where we make that into foodservice packaging.” Graphic Packaging International is seeing a need from operators for clamshell packaging driven by functionality so that retailers don’t have to have a different package for every menu item, Pilson said. “Just like consumers today with the economy, we’re all trying to do more with less,” Pilson said. “We see our operators are trying to do more with less as well, and so part of that is how can they buy a package that is going to work really hard across their menu applications.” Good packaging is essential as convenience stores compete in foodservice with QSRs, explained Pilson. “If they get in the car and the sauce on their sandwich has completely eaten through their container or dripped out the sides because it’s just not engineered in the right way … they are not going to come back and choose you for their lunch. They’re going to go to that QSR down the street,” Pilson said Austin Fuller is a senior writer at NACS. He can be reached at afuller@convenience.org.
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Q + A | ATLANTIS MANAGEMENT GROUP
ADAPT &
THRIVE
A family-first culture and a relentless focus on relationships have fueled Atlantis Management Group’s growth in the Northeast. BY BEN NUSSBAUM
A
tlantis Management Group (AMG) operates more than 300 locations in the New York City and New England areas. It’s the opposite of a one-size-fits-all company, flying a variety of flags, operating as a wholesaler and striving to maintain small operator ingenuity. Even its flagship convenience store concept, Atlantis Fresh Market, is built to be flexible, offering guests a similar experience across a variety of store sizes. CEO Tumay Basaranlar, President Jose Montero and Vice President Jimmy Kochisarli, the company’s three co-founders, spoke with NACS about the company’s origins and its plans for the future—as well as how its New York City roots have shaped its business strategy.
LET’S START AT THE BEGINNING. TELL ME THE ORIGIN STORY OF ATLANTIS MANAGEMENT GROUP. Tumay Basaranlar: Jimmy and I are cousins, with a four-year age difference between us. Our relationship has always been more akin to that of brothers. In 1999, while I was working at Merrill Lynch on Wall Street, Jimmy was completing his education. It was during this period that we decided to venture into the gas station and car wash business. Our interest in this industry was sparked about a decade earlier through
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Jimmy’s parents’ involvement in the gas station sector. In 2004, we sold our car wash, which provided us with capital to explore new opportunities. We subsequently acquired a three-station deal in the Bronx and Westchester. This transaction introduced us to Jose, the seller. Jose, who was contemplating retirement at the time, formed a strong connection with us during the negotiation process. Our relationship quickly evolved from a professional acquaintance to a close
The roots of Atlantis Management Group go back to 2004, when Jimmy Kochisarli (left) and Tumay Basaranlar (right) purchased three gas stations from Jose Montero (center).
friendship. Jose’s extensive experience in the industry—over 20 years as a significant Amoco/BP dealer—proved invaluable. Given his comprehensive knowledge of the New York City gas station market, Jose became an indispensable source of information as we operated the sites we purchased from him. During this period, Jose was considering his retirement plans, frequently traveling to the Dominican Republic. A pivotal moment occurred when BP approached Jose regarding a location on
Webster Avenue in the Bronx. He invited us to participate in a partnership for this new-to-industry location. We eagerly accepted, recognizing it as an excellent opportunity to partner with Jose and continue benefiting from his wealth of industry knowledge. This single site, which we began developing in 2005, became the catalyst for our current network of over 300 convenience store locations and 32 Dunkin’ restaurants. It marked the beginning of our significant expansion in the industry.
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Q + A | AMG
Atlantis Fresh Market was envisioned as a modern neighborhood convenience store with a flexible design.
JUST FROM TALKING WITH YOU ALL FOR A COUPLE MINUTES, I GET THE IMPRESSION THAT IT’S BUSINESS AND IT’S TOUGH, BUT IT’S ALSO A LOT OF FUN. Basaranlar: I mean, this is truly beyond our dreams. When Jimmy and I started, we were thinking about maybe five stations, but this has turned into something far more extraordinary. Jose Montero: It’s been an incredible ride. Not only have I had the opportunity to partner with two guys who feel like additional brothers, but we’ve grown this venture together. We’re constantly expanding—adding more locations, bringing in quality people. What’s remarkable is that we still have team members from our very first day. We see this as more than a business; it’s a family, and that’s made this journey incredibly special. Basaranlar: It’s somewhat unconventional, right? Two Turkish guys and a Dominican guy, all from different generations, coming together like this. I can tell you, there were plenty of people in the beginning who bet against our success. WHAT ABOUT THE CULTURE AT ATLANTIS HAS ALLOWED YOU TO GROW? WHAT’S IN THE DNA THAT HAS ALLOWED YOU TO SUCCEED THE WAY YOU HAVE? Basaranlar: Our organizational growth is fundamentally driven by our human capital. While the foundation begins with our
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leadership, it rapidly extends to our exceptional management team. We’ve deliberately constructed a family-oriented culture that emphasizes loyalty and an extraordinary work ethic. Some might characterize our approach as scrappy, others as pure hard work. Our core principle remains consistent: No one will outwork our team. This approach is intrinsically linked with a robust, growth-oriented strategic mindset. Our track record speaks volumes—the number of stations we’ve developed and the strategic acquisitions we’ve completed over two decades demonstrate our commitment. Equally important has been creating a warm, inclusive work environment that cultivates a genuine sense of belonging. The result is a profound level of employee dedication and loyalty that flows bidirectionally. Our team has evolved alongside the organization, developing deep insights into our business model, understanding our unique differentiators and consistently driving innovation. This is the essence of our organizational philosophy: Every individual is significant, not merely a statistic. Our managers and district managers embody this spirit, approaching their roles with warmth, engagement and a deeply human perspective. They don’t just manage; they genuinely care and treat the business as their own personal endeavor. Jimmy Kochisarli: To complement this perspective, I’ll emphasize our proximity to operations. As company founders, we can enter any store and personally know every
manager by name. Our employees recognize us, underscoring that we are not distant corporate executives but actively engaged leaders who invest substantial time directly into our stores. IS IT A POINT OF PRIDE THAT YOU’VE BEEN ABLE TO SUCCEED IN NEW YORK CITY? Basaranlar: I often try to explain to people in our industry what it’s really like to do business in New York City, and sometimes they’re genuinely flabbergasted by the different variables at work. Operating in New York requires a constant level of vigilance and adaptability. The market never stands still. There are always new entrants, new concepts and new variations of competition coming at you from every direction. Not only on the fuel side, but especially in food and convenience. You’re competing in a market that has some of the best pizza in the world, the best bagels, the best burgers and arguably the best of almost everything. The customer has an extraordinary number of choices and their expectations are incredibly high. So competing here isn’t simply about being a good convenience store. You have to earn the customer’s business every single day. You have to continually evolve, stay relevant and give people a compelling reason to choose you
when they have so many great alternatives. On top of that, as our people are impacted by a high cost of living, the business has to absorb tremendously high occupancy costs while battling relentless competition and a very high regulatory environment, especially with cigarettes and tobacco. Not to mention the labor costs that outpace the industry in most other areas of the nation. So, you must adapt.
This is the essence of our organizational philosophy: Every individual is significant, not merely a statistic. Although it is very difficult, it is equally rewarding when you can get it right and you’re able to pull it off. Overall, it’s made us much nimbler, much quicker. And we had a great ace in our back pocket and that was Jose, because he had been doing business in this market and all the boroughs for 20 years plus when we got together. We
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knew how to make money in ways that other people didn’t. Jose would run parking lots at some of his gas stations, for example. We were able to bring other alternative income sources to these locations through his experience. His knowledge, over the years, of how to operate in these locations, which locations had the better traffic flow, how to pick the locations, was an insurmountable advantage for us.
You have to continually evolve, stay relevant and give people a compelling reason to choose you when they have so many great alternatives. IT’S A SMALL OPERATOR MINDSET. Basaranlar: We try to keep that mindset even today, which is not always easy. YOU HAVE A LOT OF DIVERSITY IN TERMS OF ALL THE DIFFERENT SITES YOU’RE RUNNING AND JOBBING, AND THEN YOUR SIGNATURE STORE, ATLANTIS FRESH MARKET. HOW DO YOU JUGGLE THOSE TWO? Basaranlar: We embarked on developing the Atlantis Fresh Market concept in 2015. It was then that we sensed that there was a dynamic shift happening in our business. The
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convenience store became more and more important, and that’s when we realized we needed to start branding our convenience store. The vision was to create a modern neighborhood convenience store that delivers a consistent customer experience across a very diverse real estate portfolio. Because our network was built largely through acquisitions and roll-ups, our stores vary significantly in size, configuration and location. We don’t have the luxury of a standardized 4,000- or 5,000-square-foot prototype. So rather than trying to make every store physically identical, we looked at Starbucks as the model. Starbucks operates in many different formats and footprints, yet when you walk into one, you immediately recognize the brand and know what kind of experience to expect. WITH REGARDS TO ATLANTIS FRESH MARKET, WHAT ARE YOU PROUDEST OF IN TERMS OF HOW YOU’VE BEEN ABLE TO DEVELOP THAT CONCEPT? Basaranlar: What we’re most proud of for Atlantis Fresh Market is the fact that it’s internally designed and developed. We did it ourselves. We have our fingerprints all over the project and therefore it’s closer to home. So even today, we rebrand five to seven existing sites to Atlantis Fresh Markets every year, and the team designs based on the existing footprint of each location. In terms of diversity of assets, that comes
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Q + A | AMG from the way we built the company, through acquisition. Diversity of brands comes from the notion that we wanted to optimize the offering to the customer base with various brands in different locations. But all this has made us a lot more resilient. A lot of people on our team know how to take on these sites, transition these deals with different assets, different sizes, different scales, and our growth has brought a lot of knowledge to us in regard to streamlining that acquisition process.
We started by centralizing our data from different systems and creating useful dashboards, but that evolved into using AI to enhance the analytics and tease out answers that sometimes we didn’t even know we were looking for. WHAT’S IN THE FUTURE FOR ATLANTIS? WHAT ARE YOU MOST ORIENTED TOWARD RIGHT NOW? Basaranlar: There are two main focuses for us. One is a food focus, and the other one is leveraging technology. The food focus is near and dear to our heart, because one of the ways
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we differentiated our company and brought it to the forefront of our geographical footprint early on was by becoming a Dunkin’ franchisee. One of our claims to fame was in 2008 when we bought 16 locations from BP. We thought that Dunkin’ was a very strong way to differentiate our offering from everybody else. During that time, a lot of people were still in the mechanic/500-to-800-square-foot convenience store business, especially in New York City. So we all of a sudden went to a bigger convenience store with a national brand in Dunkin’. It catapulted our growth. The combined offering of an Atlantis Fresh Market and a Dunkin’ is a very strong competitive offering. As you can imagine, we can’t put a Dunkin’ in every location that we have. There are proximity issues with other Dunkin’ restaurants that are already in the area, especially as we grow in New England. So we’ve started a targeted food offering that offers pizzas, empanadas, chicken wings, chicken fingers, sandwiches, hot sandwiches. It’s getting the job done, but it’s a significantly rapidly evolving category and we understand that we need to figure out how to become an expert in the food program. The second priority, in terms of company focus, which would be equally important, or even more important, is how we leverage technology. Kochisarli: Our investment in technology is substantial. In many ways, we operate like a quasi-technology company with a convenience business focus. I don’t know too many companies our size that have their own IT
Q + A | AMG
Many Atlantis Fresh Market locations share space with an AMG Dunkin’ franchise.
department with a development team (meaning code writers). We also manage our digital marketing campaigns and all marketing efforts internally. Our loyalty program is a significant initiative for us, serving multiple purposes. We employ what we call hyper-targeted marketing, utilizing our platform to track customer spending patterns, purchasing behaviors and basket sizes. This allows us to create tailored value propositions for our customers.
We’re obsessed with ensuring every single customer knows we’re working hard to make them happy. We want a completely smooth transaction where they can get in and out of the store with a smile. And these value-driven offerings are becoming increasingly central to our strategy. For instance, we’ve seen great success with promotions like “buy two energy drinks and get 10 cents off per gallon of fuel.” We’re also implementing discounted programs around energy drinks and sodas, featuring 99-cent offers and free giveaways. These initiatives have significantly boosted customer engagement.
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We meticulously measure the impact of these programs, analyzing ancillary income, basket sizes and customer visit frequency. Our goal is to position ourselves as a destination, ensuring our customers don’t hesitate to choose our stores. I believe our loyalty program has been instrumental in maintaining high levels of customer engagement. Many of our app offers are value-driven, as well. We’ve also introduced Fresh Pay, a direct payment feature through our app that provides customers with a daily 15-cent discount. This has been tremendously successful. We would rather make less on our customers per trip but have them visit our stores more frequently. Basaranlar: We’re continually evolving our technological capabilities, such as exploring AI technologies to predict customer purchasing behaviors and optimize our strategies accordingly. We focus on the power of data. We like to use the term “democratize data.” We have put meaningful data into the hands of our teams from our category managers, marketing, accounting, loyalty and fuel. By empowering these teams, they have been able to bring insights into areas that were previously untapped. We started by centralizing our data from different systems and creating useful dashboards, but that evolved into using AI to enhance the analytics and tease out answers that sometimes we didn’t even know we were looking for.
Q + A | AMG
We have created force multipliers across our teams and created a culture of leveraging data to make smarter decisions. WE HAVEN’T USED THE WORD ‘RELATIONSHIPS’ VERY MUCH, BUT IT’S A THEME THAT KEEPS COMING UP. THE THREE OF YOU, YOUR CORE LEADERSHIP TEAM, THE QSR ASPECT, YOUR TECH PARTNERS, THE OIL COMPANIES— THIS IS A RELATIONSHIP BUSINESS. Basaranlar: Look, it really starts with the three of us and then our executive team. These folks aren’t just colleagues—they’re like family. We spend a tremendous amount of time together, not just in business settings but outside of them, too. There’s an incredible level of trust and loyalty between us. We always say our team is our biggest asset, and we wouldn’t trade them for anybody else’s team. They know it, and we know it. When it comes to partnerships, we’ve put tremendous effort into developing relationships with third-party connections—oil companies, distributors, vendors, Dunkin’. Jose had built some incredible connections early on, and Jimmy and I have continued to build and nurture those relationships
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over the years. Another crucial relationship is with our financing partners. We’ve always been transparent with our banks—clear about our objectives, our business plan, how we want to maintain a healthy organization while growing sustainably. I think we’ve done a pretty good job so far, and we plan to keep it that way. But here’s the most critical thing: our relationship with customers. We’re obsessed with ensuring every single customer knows we’re working hard to make them happy. We want a completely smooth transaction where they can get in and out of the store with a smile. That means we’re constantly focused on our frontline employees because they’re literally the face of Atlantis to our customers. We’ve got a great foundation to grow from in terms of sites, people and overall organization. Our mission? To become one of the premier convenience store networks in the Northeast. And honestly, I believe we’re well on our way to achieving those goals. Ben Nussbaum is the NACS publisher and editor-in-chief.
THE
AMERICAN COMMUTE — 2026 EDITION
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Americans are driving again, but hybrid work has changed when, where and how convenience retailers capture the commuter customer. BY STEVE HOLTZ
I
t sounds like a blip in retrospect: U.S. driving, in terms of miles driven, fell about 15% in the pandemic lockdown year, then rebounded to record levels by 2023, when Americans drove roughly 3.26 trillion miles, according to federal highway data. Commute times have nearly snapped back, too, with the U.S. Census Bureau putting the average one-way trip at 27.2 minutes in 2024, just about where it was before Covid reshuffled the workweek. But for some convenience store retailers, especially those built around downtown office workers, the numbers tell only half the story. The commute is back. The commuter is different. That distinction matters at c-stores, an industry that has long made a business of routine. Coffee before the train. Bottled water after the gym. A banana, phone charger, protein bar or pack of gum grabbed between the parking garage and the office elevator. The transaction may be small, but it is powered by repetition. Break the routine, even by two days a week, and the model changes.
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WAITING TO RECOVER Ray Huff has lived that change from the inside. The president of HJB Convenience Corp., which operates Russell’s convenience stores in office towers and urban locations, has been through sudden traffic shocks before. After the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and again after the September 11 attacks in New York, office workers stayed away from high-rise buildings. Sales fell sharply and quickly. Yet the pattern, as Huff remembers it, was familiar: fear, absence, gradual return. “At the time, we might have had 42 stores, and we might have seen a sales drop overnight of 30%,” Huff said of the Oklahoma City period. “But within three months, four months, we’d begin to see it creep back up.” “This is the first one we haven’t recovered from,” Huff said of the pandemic’s effect on his downtown stores. The difference is technology. After earlier disruptions, the office remained the place where work had to happen. After Covid, Zoom, Teams and other tools made work portable enough that many employers stopped measuring attendance in five-day increments. “I really expected to recover from the Covid incident also, but I think what happened is technology stepped up to fill the need to keep the businesses going,” Huff said. Huff sees it in the sales curve. At one Los Angeles location, business has recovered to about 90% of its prepandemic level, with Tuesday, Wednesday and
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When Policy Changes the Trip Public policy, particularly in crowded cities, may become another force reshaping the post-pandemic commute. Congestion pricing—charging drivers to enter the busiest business districts during peak periods—has long been used in global cities such as London, Singapore and Stockholm to manage traffic, reduce emissions and fund transit. Deloitte’s transportation trends research notes that those international programs have reduced congestion by 13% to 30% and greenhouse gas emissions by 15% to 20%, while London’s layered charging system generated hundreds of millions of pounds for public transportation and infrastructure. In the U.S., Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and even Denver have considered congestion pricing, but New York City is the only one so far to enact city tolls. NYC launched a cordon-style congestion pricing program in January 2025, charging passenger vehicles to enter Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that in the program’s first year, 27 million fewer vehicles entered the congestion relief zone, traffic fell 11% and the tolls generated more than $550 million in net revenue for transit improvements. For convenience retailers, the effects are mixed. Less gridlock can make delivery routes more predictable and improve access for pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders. But a charge on driving can also change when and whether office workers, contractors, shoppers and service employees enter the core. A downtown store that already depends on a thinner Tuesday-through-Thursday customer base may feel even small shifts in car trips or ride-hailing demand. In Chicago, the idea of congestion pricing has moved into the policy conversation. A 2026 city financial task force floated a downtown congestion fee on vehicles entering or leaving a central area during peak periods. While not enacted, consideration continues. Meanwhile, the city did expand its existing ride-hailing congestion surcharge zone early this year. For retailers, the policy lesson is already clear: The commute is not being remade only by employers and workers. Cities are also beginning to price, steer and redesign the trip itself.
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“If people are there, we will be successful,” Huff said. For Huff, downtown retail has become more site-specific, landlord-specific and day-of-week specific than it was before 2020.
It’s next to crazy the amount of traffic that’s moving [in and around Denver]. They’re just not coming downtown. Thursday sometimes exceeding old sales patterns. Monday and Friday, however, remain weak. Another Los Angeles store is stuck at roughly 40% of pre-Covid sales. In Denver, where HJB once had 14 stores, the company now has three operating and two mothballed; the others have been released.
OUT OF THE OFFICE National data supports the split picture. The Federal Highway Administration’s long-running Traffic Volume Trends reports show that U.S. vehicle miles traveled have recovered to record levels, yet telework and working from home remains far above prepandemic norms. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 35.1 million people teleworked or worked at home in August 2026, representing 21.6% of people at work, down from 22.1% a year earlier. The Census Bureau’s commuting data
show travel times nearly back to normal, but that average can hide a changed rhythm: fewer daily office trips from some workers, longer trips from others who moved farther out, and more discretionary errands during the middle of the day. “It’s next to crazy the amount of traffic that’s moving [in and around Denver],” Huff said. “They’re just not coming downtown.” That new rhythm is most visible in metropolitan areas. In northeastern Illinois, a Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning survey found that the share of residents telecommuting at least once a week rose from 14% in 2019 to 46% in 2024-25. The same report found midday travel rising meaningfully, with trips between the traditional morning and evening peaks reaching about
When Do Commuters Travel? A 2026 study of Chicago residents showed that morning and evening peaks in travel demand were pronounced, although midday travel rose compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Weekday Trips in Motion SOV
1,250,000
HOV Walk
1,000,000
Transit Bike School bus
750,000
Other 2019 trips in motion
500,000 250,000 0
3 a.m.
6 a.m.
9 a.m.
12 p.m.
3 p.m.
6 p.m.
9 p.m.
1 p.m.
3 a.m.
Time of Day Note: Trips in motion are 25-minute rolling averages of travelers in motion. Includes trips made by residents age five and older in the CMAP region. Only trips were within, to, and/or from the region are included. Figure is based on a total of 29,811 recorded trips. Source: Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning analysis of My Daily Travel Data 2026.
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two-thirds of rush hour levels, compared with less than half before the pandemic. For roadside convenience stores, that can be good news. If hybrid workers are driving to school pickup, medical appointments, fitness classes, lunch meetups or midafternoon errands, stores located along suburban corridors may see new dayparts emerge. The morning coffee rush may be less dominant, while late morning and midafternoon trips become more valuable. Operators can adjust labor, foodservice production and promotions around a wider traffic window. UNSETTLED CITIES The challenge is sharper for stores that were designed as office amenities. Huff’s model depends on dense, predictable populations inside large buildings. Over decades, he learned to translate square footage into sales. “If you tell us there’s 5,000 people in the
Workers Traveling 60 Minutes or More As travel times get longer, so do the number of commuters traveling an hour or more, but that percentage remained below prepandemic levels as of 2024, the latest data available.
Percent of commuters traveling an hour or more 9.5%
9.8% 8.5%
8.9%
9.3%
7.7%
N/A 2018
2019
2020*
*Data not available.
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2021
2022
2023
2024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
building, we can calculate sales within 5% or 10%,” Huff said. “But when we’re off 40%, 50%, then something’s wrong.” A 1-million square-foot, tower implied several thousand workers. If those workers were in the building five days a week, a small-format store with coffee, snacks, beverages and essentials could become part of the building’s value proposition. In the old math, the store was not merely a tenant. It was an amenity. Huff said landlords understood that a Russell’s downstairs could help them command higher office rents because tenants wanted services in the building. “What they did is they said if they had a Russell’s downstairs, it added a dollar per foot to the rent that they could charge,” Huff said. “So, a million-squarefoot building, they could charge an extra million. We would be an amenity.” That logic still applies, but only if there are enough people upstairs to use the service. “If people are there, we will be successful,” Huff said. That caveat now drives lease negotiations. A store serving a three-day office week cannot pay rent as if it serves a five-day week. Huff said he has adjusted lease terms to reflect the lower traffic base, and some landlords have done the same. “I’ll modify my lease terms to reflect that, so a 40% drop in rent,” Huff said. “The landlords are like, OK, we know— just be open.” Smart landlords, he said, realized during Covid that keeping the operator in place mattered more than enforcing prepandemic economics that no longer matched the foot traffic. Others took longer to understand the shift. Huff describes some locations as being in mothballs: signs down, shelves cleared, product removed, pointof-sale equipment shut down. “We put paper on the windows so you couldn’t see in them,” he said. “We took out all of our
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Mean Travel Time to Work The most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows average commute times for workers have increased since the peak of the pandemic, nearly reaching pre-Covid levels in 2024.
Average commute time in minutes 27.1
27.6
25.6
26.4
26.8
27.2
2023
2024
N/A 2018
2019
2020*
2021
*Data not available.
products, but we could reopen them in a week. We just need to restock them, put the point of sales back in, put the signs back up.” The stores could reopen quickly if the building population returns, but keeping them idle still carries costs. Utilities, maintenance and opportunity costs accumulate while downtown waits for a renaissance. WHAT COMES NEXT? Denver may be one of the clearest laboratories for that next version. Huff gives the city credit for trying. The 16th Street Mall has been rebuilt at great expense, with a cleaner, more open design intended to bring people back to the corridor. Denver has also supported downtown business incentives and office-to-residential conversions as part of a broader effort to address vacancy and rebuild street life. “The city is being very proactive because they realize it hasn’t
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2022
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
gotten better,” Huff said. “They are trying to do the conversion from an office to residential, but it will take three to four to five years.” Those steps are important, but they are not quick fixes for retailers whose sales depend on daily office density. Office conversions, in particular, point to the long-term answer and the short-term pain. Turning a large office tower into apartments can eventually give downtown retailers residents instead of commuters, evening demand instead of lunch-only demand, and seven-day traffic instead of a Tuesday-through-Thursday spike. But the construction and financing timelines are long. Office buildings were not built like apartment buildings. Plumbing, electrical systems, floor plates and life-safety requirements can make conversion expensive and slow. For convenience retailers, the strategy is becoming more granular. Stores near highways
and suburban arterials may lean into flexible-day traffic: foodservice that works beyond breakfast, promotions tied to errands rather than commuting, and labor schedules that recognize a flatter rush hour. Urban office stores may need stronger landlord partnerships, lower fixed costs, more delivery to upper-floor tenants and merchandise mixes that serve hybrid workers when they are in the building. The old commuter was predictable. The new commuter is conditional. She may come in Tuesday through Thursday, drive instead of ride transit, arrive later, leave earlier and run errands at lunch. He may live farther from the office but tolerate the trip because it happens only a few days a week. Both still need coffee, snacks, beverages and convenience. They just no longer need them in the same place at the same time every weekday. That is the post pandemic commuting story for convenience retail. The country is moving again, but movement has become less centralized. The roads may look crowded. Downtown may feel lively at night. Office workers may be back three days a week. Yet for retailers built on the certainty of five-day foot traffic, the recovery remains uneven. Huff is not counting downtown out. He has seen business districts empty before and recover. But this recovery depends less on a return to 2019 than on a new alignment among workers, employers, landlords, cities and retailers. If people come back, the stores can work. If they come back only parttime, the economics have to come back part-stime, too. Steve Holtz is a c-store journalist with more than 20 years in the industry and president of Holtz Media Consulting.
PRACTICAL PERKS OF AI Retailers are finding that AI shines when it comes to the nuts and bolts of operations. BY LAUREN SHANESY
W
hen Rick Rigby joined Atlantis Management Group as chief technology officer, he came armed with expertise from nearly two decades at Circle K and a firm belief that better data leads to better decisions. Rigby began building a data team at the company and creating new dashboards, knowing that Atlantis had valuable information that could help employees improve operations. “I thought, I’m going to have my ‘Field of Dreams’ moment. If you build it, they will come,” he said while speaking at PDI Connections Live in August 2026.
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That moment arrived during a meeting with category managers and company leadership. The CEO of Atlantis was asking highly specific questions to the group. The category managers knew their business, but they didn’t have the exact data in front of them to answer. “I pulled out my tablet and the dashboards I was working on and showed him the answers he was asking for,” Rigby recalled. “He looked at it and he said to me, ‘Teach them.’” Over the following weeks, Rigby trained category managers and operations leaders to understand and use the data more effectively. “They were able to be strategic. Having this data took them from being reactive to predictive. They were able to start figuring out things that they didn’t see before,” he said. “They were seeing patterns that I, as a data guy, didn’t even see. The data was democratized to bring more insights to more people. It was very powerful.”
‘FORGET THE SEXY STUFF’ If you talk to both operators and suppliers across the industry about implementing AI in retail, you’ll start to hear a recurring narrative: “Forget the sexy stuff.” That doesn’t mean use cases have to be primitive, it just means they should be practical. And practical can still transform your day, your store and your business. One of the biggest impacts AI can have on a business is that it can do the mundane daily tasks that take up time. And it can often do them faster and more accurately. Inputting fuel invoices, expenses and other documents is one of operators’ most tedious to-do list items, said Safi Modi, head of growth at Modisoft. “Manually keying in information takes so long. Why not have AI get it done for you?” he said. AI document readers, including one developed by Modisoft, can scan invoices or receipts, extract the information, log it and reconcile it with the back office. A task that initially could take up to seven
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“If that product has a three-week life cycle and you figure it out in week four, you’ve already missed it.”
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minutes now takes less than one. Added up, that can save a significant amount of time across the week or the month. “You can look at it as staff augmentation,” Modi said. AI can also flag errors, like if the batch payment matches the initial order but not what was delivered and is now in inventory. “Say you actually received 10,000 gallons of fuel, but you got billed for 12,000 because you initially ordered that amount. AI is tracking how much the invoice was for verses what was actually logged to see if it reconciles or if it’s mismatched.” Flagged anomalies in sales data can also signal problems or opportunities for improvement. Instead of requiring managers to review reports from every location, AI can identify unusual activity and call attention to it. “Say last week there was a store that made $2,000 [on a product], but this week it’s only $1,000,” said Modi. “That discrepancy is going to be flagged.” At Atlantis, Rigby partnered with PDI Technologies to test an AI-powered fuel invoice workflow. Previously, invoices arrived via email, an accounts payable employee manually entered them into the system and another employee routed them for approvals. Multiple people touched the document before payment. “Now AI can just read a PDF and pull out the seven or eight data points you care about and put it through the approval process,” said Rigby. “That whole process went from three or four people spending days to an automated flow.” Critically, the process still has “humans in the middle for approval.” “It really moves the needle in terms of reducing labor and helping our teams be more strategic,” Rigby said. MAKE IMPACT WITH INSIGHTS C-stores collect a vast amount of data, but what do they do with it? Are there employees who have the time and the skill set to analyze the data and build strategy around the numbers? “It’s all about making data actionable,” said Jeff Hassman, general manager of AI solutions at PDI Technologies. Today’s AI tools can provide insights, surface opportunities and help determine ways to grow the business.
Rigby described one of his first experiments with AI, asking about a particular store’s sales using a report from his self-checkout vendor. Prepaid fuel card sales, which were very high across the company overall, were significantly lower at this site than at comparable locations, even though it was a high fuel volume location. “What I realized was that the employees and customers didn’t know they could buy prepaid fuel cards on that self-checkout machine,” he said. “It was a training opportunity,” Rigby said. “AI was able to give me the answer to a question I didn’t even know I was looking for.” After additional training, prepaid fuel became one of the store’s top-performing categories. In other cases, AI can help put strategy behind qualitative information. Transaction-log data can often tell you what was purchased, but not why, said Kevin Farley, chief customer officer at InStore.ai. InStore.ai’s technology, which analyzes conversations in the store and then uses AI voice analytics to surface operational improvement opportunities, gives retailers
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insights into what’s really happening in the store in a way that might not have been captured otherwise. “If customers are asking your cashier for a product five times a day and you don’t carry it, that’s important information,” he explained. Historically, there was no system for capturing those requests, identifying patterns and getting the information back to decision-makers. “The conversation analysis is finding patterns and turning those patterns into something retailers can act on,” said Farley. PICK UP THE PACE Innovation is moving at what feels like lightning speed, and “the game has changed,” said Rigby. “So how do you go faster, but maintain the same level of quality [in your operations]?” In an age where viral social media trends are heavily influencing what’s popular, retailers need to hop on product inventory fast. “If that product has a three-week life cycle and you figure it out in week four, you’ve already missed it,” said Babir Sultan, president and owner of Fav Trip, a threestore chain in the Kansas City, Missouri, area.
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AI can speed things up … and that means it can also speed up bad processes.
Sultan uses AI to turbocharge the category manager function in his stores. Identifying emerging products and in-demand items to stock can require hours spent reviewing trend reports, social media conversations, supplier information and industry news. But AI helped the c-store owner cut that task from four to six hours down to four minutes using Claude. Each day, Sultan asks the AI agent what the top five items are that the retailer should look at. “It told me to stock items I didn’t carry even a month ago that are now our top sellers,” said Sultan. Rather than forcing store teams to navigate dashboards and reports, AI distills information into practical priorities, he said. Sultan believes some of the biggest benefits of AI come from helping employees perform everyday tasks more effectively. Anything that simplifies work, reduces frustration or saves time ultimately improves store execution, he said. “This is especially critical in a retail environment where labor is a challenge and turnover is high,” he said. “Anything you can do to make employees’ jobs easier and faster will make them more engaged.” Shyam Rao, founder and CEO of Tote, an AI-native POS platform, described how a manager at one retailer the company works with said using the system’s automated features for her end-of-day close out saved her 45 minutes worth of administrative work each day, allowing her to focus on other aspects of the store. “That time saved translates to real ROI,” he said. AI implementations will be unique to the retailer and the problem they’re trying to solve, and there’s no one prescriptive way to start integrating the technology into your workflow. But at the end of the day, AI tools should solve a problem, provide a new layer of insight, or benefit your employees in a way that drives real impact on the business. “I think the idea that every employee in your organization is going to be smarter and make better decisions because they’re going to have these AI assistants … that’s where the magic is,” said Hassman. Lauren Shanesy is a senior editor at NACS.
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1
Beyond the Hype 5
RULES FOR GETTING AI RIGHT According to AI consultant and executive strategist Sol Rashidi, retailers should “avoid the shiny toy syndrome” of AI—in other words, spend less time chasing the latest AI trend and more time making sure the technology is solving the right problems. Simply using AI tools doesn’t translate into meaningful transformation, she said during her keynote presentation at McLane Engage 2026. “Don’t ask, ‘How can we use AI?’ Ask, ‘How can we run a better business?’” she said. These are a few rules she says retailers should follow as they consider AI implementations.
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START WITH THE PROBLEM, NOT THE TECHNOLOGY “If my task is to cut a piece of paper, why on earth would I introduce a chainsaw when scissors will do the job just fine?” Rashidi asked. Before investing in a new tool, it’s important to ask: • What operational challenge are we trying to solve? • What’s slowing employees down? • Where are we losing time or visibility?
2
UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “USING AI” AND “DOING AI” A company can deploy hundreds of AI licenses and see employees use them to write emails, summarize documents or generate content faster. “That’s using AI,” Rashidi said. Those use cases can certainly improve productivity, but she argued they’re often incremental improvements layered onto existing processes.
“Doing AI” is something much bigger, she said. It requires organizations to examine how work gets done, identify where human judgment is essential and determine which tasks can be delegated to AI. It means redesigning workflows and changing how organizations actually operate. “The distinction makes a massive difference in your approach,” she said.
3
DECIDE WHAT SHOULD STAY HUMAN Not every decision should be handed over to AI. Organizations need to be “human-led and AI-supported,” Rashidi said. Retailers need to identify, and differentiate between tasks that are repetitive and rulesbased and tasks that require judgment, experience and context. AI should allow employees to focus on the work humans do best while technology handles routine tasks.
4
FIX BROKEN PROCESSES BEFORE AUTOMATING THEM AI can speed things up … and that means it can also speed up bad processes. Before adding AI, retailers should examine whether the workflow itself makes sense. Automating an inefficient process often creates a faster version of the same problem. In many cases, operational redesign should happen before AI implementation, she said.
5
PREPARE THE WORKFORCE Implementation is not finished when the technology goes live. Employees need genuine AI literacy, including an understanding of what the system does, how it affects their responsibilities and where its output requires human scrutiny. “Pushing AI into production is not what will determine your success. It’s the adoption that determines your success,” Rashidi said.
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The Fourth Wave of Convenience How and where consumers want convenience has changed over time— now it’s evolving again. BY JEFF LENARD
T
hink “beyond the box”—that’s the mantra in retail today. How can retailers grow sales beyond the physical box that is their store, whether through delivery or curbside pickup, tying it all together with internet and app ordering and payment? While these conveniences may still feel new, in many respects they have been around for decades or even centuries. The key to determining which of these so-called pivots will gain further traction and grow in popularity—or even spin off new conveniences—will hinge on consumer demand and retailer execution. So let’s take a look back—to ultimately look ahead—to see how convenience has evolved in three distinct waves, with each one coming twice as fast as the previous one. And the fourth wave is already underway.
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WAVE 1
HOME DELIVERY (SINCE 1785)
MILK DELIVERY Milk delivery was introduced in 1785 in Vermont, when milkmen traveled through neighborhoods with a giant vat of milk. Residents would use any containers they had handy to fill up.
Whether it’s for food or merchandise, home delivery has been around for centuries. Milk delivery was introduced in Vermont in 1785, when milkmen traveled through neighborhoods with essentially a giant vat of milk and residents would use any containers they had handy to fill up. It was more than a century until the milk bottle was patented in 1878. Eventually insulated containers would be brought in for the milkman to deliver milk and other products directly to a subscriber’s doorstep. Mail-order delivery in the United States goes back even further and was founded by one of the country’s Founding Fathers before he turned his attention to the country’s independence. Benjamin Franklin created the mail-order catalog in 1744, offering book delivery to people’s homes—the same concept Jeff Bezos used to create Amazon 250 years later. Over the next century, other specialty catalogues sold seeds or other items for home delivery. The general interest catalog was introduced in 1872 by Montgomery Ward, and Sears Roebuck perfected the offer. It was once possible to buy a house through the Sears catalog: Everything to build the house, including nails and other fasteners, was sent to your home—or at least the location of your new home.
Then there’s food delivery. The first pizza “delivery” took place in 1889 in Italy when Queen Margherita of Savoy, who was tired of the local cuisine while on travel, asked a nearby restaurant to prepare traditional Italian food and bring it to where she was staying. That first delivery included a special pizza that featured the colors of the Italian flag: red (sauce), white (mozzarella cheese) and green (basil leaves), which then became known as a Margherita pizza. Delivery to commoners was not common for a few more decades. The Kin-Chu café in Los Angeles was an early entrant, offering delivery in 1922. But it was the booming economy following World War II that made delivery a trend, and New York City pizzerias began offering call-in pickup pizzas. In Los Angeles, a few restaurants introduced pizza delivery, a practice that picked up nationally around 1960, the same year that Domino’s opened its first location in Michigan. The strong postwar economy helped spur the suburbs’ growth in the 1960s, but the greater distances for travel between customers made traditional milk delivery from a central dairy location costinefficient. Wawa Dairy Farms, then a 150-year-old dairy company, needed another distribution option for its milk and opened its first convenience store in 1964, now known as Wawa Food Market.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog, 1916
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WAVE 2
DELIVERY SERVICES TO VEHICLES (SINCE 1913) The invention of the automobile created a second place for Americans beyond their homes. It ushered in the second wave of last-mile delivery—to the car, beginning with fuel. Karl Benz invented the first gasoline-powered automobile in 1885; however, fueling the first models was inconvenient. Early fueling sites were a patchwork of pharmacies—many vehicles ran on ethanol—or ramshackle sheds and blacksmiths’ shops. This early method for refueling changed in December 1913 when Gulf Refining Company opened the nation’s first drive-up service station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, designed and built specifically to sell fuel. Attendants wore crisp, white uniforms and provided a full-service experience for drivers. Eventually, the service stations specialized in TBA: tires, batteries and accessories. Like any new idea, a true gas station took time before consumers fully embraced the concept. That
Gulf station only sold 30 gallons of fuel on its first day. In 1913, the total number of vehicles on the road first topped one million. While cars were becoming affordable, they still were a major purchase and car owners wanted to keep their expensive new purchases in tip-top shape and looking new. And a year later, the first car wash, the Automobile Laundry, opened in Detroit with workers washing, rinsing and drying cars. In 1921, a Texas barbecue joint called Kirby’s Pig Stand pioneered the concept of delivery to the car. Parking spots surrounded the building on all four sides, and the servers brought food to people in their cars. It took nearly 20 years for someone to coin the term carhop, which is a mashup of car and bellhop. White Castle introduced a different level of convenience with its carryout sack in 1927. The drive-thru didn’t debut until 1948, when In-NOut Burger in California introduced an ordering system for its burgers, fries and drinks via an intercom and pickup at a window.
Sunoco attendant, 1958
DRIVE-IN GAS STATION On December 1, 1913, Gulf Refining Company opened the nation’s first drive-up service station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, designed and built specifically to sell fuel. On that first day, the station sold 30 gallons of gasoline—less than 1% of the daily sales volume of a fueling station today. Despite the higher posted prices of today, gasoline is a relative bargain. In 1913, gas cost 27 cents a gallon—which equates to $9.10 per gallon in today’s dollars.
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SELF-SERVE While self-serve fueling had been around in some form since 1947, state and local fire codes kept the concept from growing.
RATIONING The gas fueling industry continued to stagnate through World War II because of rationing. Customers gathered at this Washington, D.C., station to find fuel before tougher restrictions were to take effect. Gasoline rationing also was used during the 1973-74 oil crisis, and odd-even rationing was mandated in a handful of states during the 1979 oil crisis and briefly in New York and New Jersey following 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. PAY AT THE PUMP The ability to pay at the pump was introduced in Europe in 1982 and in the United States in 1986 by E-Z Serve and its subsidiary AutoGas in Abilene, Texas.
Ultimately, convenience stores may not have flourished without one innovation: self-service grocery shopping. Before 1916, grocery shoppers presented their orders to clerks, who gathered the goods from store shelves while the shopper waited. Clarence Saunders saw that this antiquated method of passing along a written grocery list to a clerk to pick items resulted in wasted time and expense, so he came up with a solution that would revolutionize the entire grocery industry: a way for shoppers to serve themselves. Saunders showcased this concept in the first Piggly Wiggly store in Memphis, Tennessee. Now that shoppers could select their own items, the stage was set for convenience stores, and the first convenience store opened in May 1927 in Dallas, Texas. At the time, icehouses sold big blocks for use in iceboxes. Icehouses were open 16 hours, unlike grocery stores that closed at 5 p.m., to make it convenient to pick up blocks of ice in the cooler evening hours. “Uncle Johnny” Jefferson Green, who ran the Southland Ice Dock, realized that customers sometimes needed to buy things such as bread, milk and eggs after the local grocery stores were closed. So, he decided to stock a few of those staple items. The idea turned out to be very convenient for customers. Joseph Thompson, one of the founders and later president and
chair of The Southland Corporation, saw the potential of Uncle Johnny’s big idea and brought it to other ice docks, which were open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. Eventually, the company rebranded its stores around its hours: 7-Eleven. The next big evolution: Self-serve fueling, which had been around in some form since 1947, although state and local fire codes kept the concept from growing. And it wasn’t truly self-serve since an attendant was still required at the forecourt to collect money and authorize the pump. In June 1964, the Big Top convenience store chain introduced the first remote self-service gas pumps in Westminster, Colorado. On that first day, fuel sales only totaled 124 gallons. It took the loosening of restrictions—only 13 states permitted self-serve in 1964, but that number increased to 42 by 1972—and the oil price shock of 1973-74 that made customers more interested in pumping their own gas to save some money for self-serve fueling to take off. Self-serve gas had massive implications for additional self-serve ideas at convenience stores over the next half-century. By the mid-1960s, 7-Eleven had introduced self-serve, to-go coffee and self-serve fountain soda. By the decade’s end, the first ATM was introduced.
7-Eleven, 1966
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CONVENIENCE
FIND
INNOVATIVE
MAXED-OUT T A TASTE? AN W N
to innovate with us. CO
© 2026 Megamex Foods, Inc
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Customers looking for bold, loud, NEW Mexican flavors found them at NACS Show 2026 with the MegaMex Convenience portfolio of taquitos, burritos, tacos, guacamole, salsa and so much more. Now it’s time
STIL L
MEXICAN FLAVOR. N TACT US
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WAVE 3
DELIVERY VIA ELECTRONIC DEVICES (SINCE 1982) FOOD AT THE PUMP Sheetz pioneered touchscreen kiosks for food ordering in stores in 1993, replacing the cumbersome golf pencil and strip of paper traditionally used at delis to place customized and tested it at the pump in 2014. SPEEDING UP FUELS SALES In 2016, ExxonMobil released the Speedpass+ app, which allows consumers to pay for gas directly from their smartphones. ONLINE BECOMES IN STORE Amazon opened its first Amazon Go convenience store in 2018.
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Home delivery has historically been linked with a device. Originally the device was a pen and a catalog order form. Later, the device used most for placing orders was a landline telephone. In 1982, a new device was added. The television set became the equivalent of a print catalog with the debut of the Home Shopping Club, a local cable TV channel that evolved into the national Home Shopping Network in 1985. New electronic devices also were introduced at convenience stores in the 1980s. First it was pay-at-thepump, introduced in Europe in 1982 and in the United States in 1986 by E-Z Serve and its subsidiary AutoGas in Abilene, Texas. The dispensers featured a built-in credit/debit card reader system. Some retailers feared that selfserve fueling would discourage in-store purchases. Instead, pay-atthe-pump increased industry sales, and customers who wanted only fuel embraced the added convenience. Meanwhile, pay-at-the-pump increased in-store foot traffic because lines inside were shorter. Altoona, Pennsylvania-based convenience retailer Sheetz pioneered touchscreen kiosks for food ordering in 1993, replacing the cumbersome golf pencil and strip of paper traditionally used at delis to
place orders. By 1996, every Sheetz store had the technology. Touchscreens soon evolved outside the store. In 2014, Sheetz became the first company to experiment with touchscreen kiosks at the pump, where customers could order foodservice items to pick up after they refueled. Sheetz abandoned the idea because it was difficult to execute. Two University of Virginia students, Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, conceptualized an idea to order Sheetz sandwiches from the pump using their cellphones. They pitched their idea to a startup investor in 2005, who suggested they try something easier. So, Huffman and Ohanian developed a new concept, launching the popular social news aggregation, web content rating and discussion website called Reddit. Order-by-device innovations set the stage for how retail could take advantage of the coming digital revolution. The in-store experience blended with the online experience, aided by mobile devices. The device became more convenient when the iPhone debuted in June 2007, followed by Apple’s App Store in 2008. Smartphones quickly moved from a nice-to-have device to something essential to stay connected to each other and to mainstream businesses. In 2016, ExxonMobil released the Speedpass+ app, which allows consumers to pay for gas directly from their smartphones at the pump at thousands of Exxon and Mobil locations across the United States.
WAVE 4
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE In looking at the first three waves of convenience, each wave was roughly half the length of the one prior. The first wave focusing on the home, was around 130 years until the second wave focused on the car. And that lasted more than 60 years until the third wave emerged, incorporating the touchscreen. It’s now been more than 40 years since the third wave. The fourth wave has already begun, combining all three previous waves with AI. AI means that machines are constantly investigating your behavior and offering up ideas that they think you like. These machines are also making recommendations on items you should buy or read, or for just about anything that you might do in your day. This means consumers today not only know what they want, but they expect the businesses they engage with to know what they want, too. And while an AI-powered robot chef executing your foodservice program probably still feels like something out of “The Jetsons,” the practical uses of AI to run the business are plentiful. Backoffice tasks that once took a manager hours are becoming fully automated. AI agents are controlling inventory management, forecasting and ordering.
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Point-of-sale systems equipped with AI offer employees in-the-moment training for customer needs. Predictive maintenance can clock equipment problems before they become a problem for the customer or cause downtime. Computer vision self-checkout machines are reducing the labor burden on frontline workers. An AI chatbot can connect to your back-office software to make recommendations about how to increase sales. How might AI evolve as a fourth wave of convenience? AI is scary and exhilarating at the same time. But the same could be said about all change. Most likely, AI won’t replace humans. Done right, it can allow them to be more human, whether in their jobs or in their lives. More than anything, new concepts or applications of technology must meet consumers’ convenience needs. After all, convenience is king, and those who will win are those who can continue to redefine it. Jeff Lenard is vice president of NACS media and strategic communications and is still waiting for the jetpack to revolutionize travel, a concept that was promised more than 50 years ago. He can be reached at jlenard@ convenience.org.
NACS-tradamus?
HIGH TRAFFIC. LOW TOLERANCE FOR DOWNTIME.
High traffic. Constant cleaning. Daily wear and tear. Bobrick and Koala Kare offer durable, easy-tomaintain restroom solutions designed for the realities of convenience retail, from heavy-duty washroom accessories to thoughtful accommodations for families.
Build a better restroom experience bobrick.com
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Notify me! Conference: October 5-8, 2027 Expo: October 6-8, 2027 Georgia World Congress Center Atlanta, GA
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 2025. The products featured here also can be seen in the Cool New Products Discovery Center at www.convenience.org/coolnewproducts.
NEW DESIGN
Anchor Packaging Invertibles™
One part is both the base & lid!
Foodservice leaders know – as operations expand, space and labor are critical. Invertibles™ combines the base and lid into one innovative design, reducing SKUs, freeing up storage, and eliminating mismatched inventory. The easy-close, microwave-safe container keeps prep moving and is ideal for hot or cold grab-and-go. It’s a smarter way to simplify operations and do more with less!
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NEW TO THE INDUSTRY
C. Cretors and Company 12 oz T-3000 2 FT Self-Serve Popper
Cretors Introduces a New Self-Serve Popper Designed to Boost Profits
Designed for maximum self-service efficiency and profitability, the new Cretors 12 oz. T-3000 2ft Self-Serve Popper/Warmer reduces labor costs by shifting service from employees to customers – while driving impulse sales. A customer-controlled conveyor system dispenses fresh popcorn directly into the containers, eliminating hand contact and elevating sanitation. Perfect for c-stores, retail spaces, theatres, bars, cafeterias or any environment offering free refills or a self-service concession experience. Contact Shelly Olesen at 847-616-6901 or visit www.cretors.com.
NEW SERVICE
Coin Wrap, Inc. $88.88 Penny Offer - Delivery Charges Included
How Much is Penny Rounding Costing You? Eliminates Rounding Costs on 1,250+ Cash Transactions $50.00 (100 Penny Rolls) - Free Delivery Tracking 2-Day Delivery to Most Locations Nationwide Two-50 Roll Boxes of Standard Penny Rolls All Coin and Change Order Costs Included All Shipping & Handling Costs Included
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NEW FLAVORS
NEW TO THE INDUSTRY
Dieffenbach’s Potato Chips
CIGTRUS
Uglies Kettle Chips
Behavioral Habit Replacement for Smoking & Vaping
Help Farmers. Reduce Waste.
Habit Replacement for Smoking
Ugly potatoes make great chips!
Cigtrus is a natural, nicotine-free inhaler designed to help satisfy the behavioral hand-to-mouth habit associated with smoking and vaping. Unlike traditional nicotine replacement products that focus on nicotine cravings, Cigtrus complements the smoking cessation category by addressing the physical routine many consumers continue to miss. Smoke-free, vapor-free, and non-electric can be used ANYTIME, ANYWHERE.
NEW TO THE INDUSTRY
PARTYBOMB PARTYBOMB Party Crasher & PARTYBOMB Blast Pack
The new flavored alc brand bringing NEW shoppers to the FMB category
PARTYBOMB is a brand born out of fun, flavor, innovation, inclusivity and a hint of 80s nostalgia. The flavored alcoholic beverage offers fans a high-quality, flavor-forward, real-fruit drink to get the party started. PARTYBOMB is a low-fizz, malt-based recipe that’s available in single-serve 19.2 oz cans in four delicious 8% ABV flavors: Hard Pineapple Whip, Hard Strawberry Lemonade, Hard Mango and Hard Watermelon. The PARTYBOMB Blast Pack variety 12-pack includes 5% ABV beverages in four flavors: Hard Pineapple Whip, Hard Strawberry Lemonade, Hard Peach and Hard Punch. In addition to real fruit and natural flavors, PARTYBOMB is made with real sugar, and DOES NOT contain any ingredients or have an artificial aftertaste. PARTYBOMB offers flavor fans a real-ingredient option and store owners a unique product that bring in new category shoppers. Learn more online at www.drinkpartybomb.com or on social media @drinkpartybomb. NACS NOVEMBER 2026 133
NEW TECHNOLOGY
f’real f’real by Rich’s
SWEET SUCCESS: F’REAL BY RICH’S BLENDER PROGRAMS. ONE BEVERAGE SOLUTION. TWO WAYS TO SIP. MEET YOUR NEW BEST BLEND. FRONT-OF-HOUSE AND BACK-OF-HOUSE BEVERAGE MAGIC. BEVERAGE PROGRAM LACKING? TAKE F’REAL FOR A SPIN. BLEND MORE INTO YOUR BEVERAGE PROGRAM. TAKE YOUR PROGRAM BEYOND BEVERAGES.
NEW TO THE INDUSTRY
GLOBAL SNUS CAMO Caffeine Energy Pouches
They can’t choose what you don’t stock.
Your current brands aren’t everyone’s favorite. Taste, moisture, and comfort are personal. CAMO brings bold flavor, unforgettable aroma, and a soft, flexible pouch. Moist in all the right ways. Six years of pouch innovation at Global Snus. We know how to treat your mouth. You can thank us later. Made in Vilnius, Lithuania—Europe’s G-spot. Geography was never this satisfying. We could’ve airbrushed the pouch. But it wanted credit for doing the dirty work. Put CAMO caffeine pouches on your shelf. Let shoppers discover what they’ve been missing.
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NEW TECHNOLOGY
Mashgin Power Counter
Turn 1 cashier into 3
It’s not self-checkout. It’s AI-powered checkout. All of the speed of AI, without losing the critical face to face retail experience. Now 1 cashier can support more volume than 3. Higher throughput captures more sales. Customer experience turns them into repeat customers.
HEALTH WELLNESS
Dynamo Wellness Dynamo Wellness Travel Sex Kits
Expand your adult wellness category. Fun. Discreet. High-margins.
Thoughtfully curated for enjoyment, each kit is an experience! For casual fun or steady date nights ensure intimacy stays fun, comfortable, and full of connection. A mix of essentials for safe and satisfying sex wherever you go. The All Night Kit, Date Night Kit, Glow Up Kit, and Hook Up Kits all come with a different mix of the following best sellers: Delay Spray, Penis Rings, Intimacy Wipes, Arousal Cream, Mini Rechargeable Vibe, Vibrating Ring, and Lubricant foils. Kits sold separately in 6ct boxes Contact Us Today! Phone: +1 310-446-1632 Email: Dan@momentum-management.com
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NEW FLAVORS
Monster Energy Company Monster Energy Vanilla Shot and Monster Energy Vanilla Shot Zero Sugar
100% Monster with a twist of Vanilla
Tear into a can of Monster Energy Vanilla Shot. It’s the ideal combo of the right ingredients in the right proportion to deliver the big bad buzz that only Monster can. Monster packs a powerful punch but has a smooth easy drinking flavor. Now with a twist, adding a creamy vanilla flavor to top-off the legendary taste you know and love. It helps fight fatigue, improves mental performance and focus, and motivates you to work (play) harder, so generally, you feel pretty damn good. Grab a can and Unleash the Beast! Available in zero sugar.
HEALTH WELLNESS
Nature’s Path Organic Que Pasa Tortilla Chips, Love Crunch Granola, EnviroKidz Cereal
Easy, delicious, organic–all day long Whether it’s a slow or on-the-go day, Nature’s Path has you covered.
Make breakfast an organic event with EnviroKidz cereals that offer a nutritious start while helping animals around the globe. When you need a snack time pick-me-up, crunch on Que Pasa rolled chips—crafted from simple, organic ingredients with a bold kick of flavor and craveable crunch. Ready for a moment of me-time? How about fair-trade Italian dark chocolate paired with sweet strawberries or creamy peanut butter… Love Crunch granola features dreamy pairings you can enjoy anytime, anywhere.
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NEW TECHNOLOGY
Red River Software Omni Retail
Make Your Data Work For You
Rooted in decades of service to c-store operators, Red River Software is entering a new chapter and unveiling the next evolution of back-office technology. With our new cutting-edge platform, Red River Omni Retail, operators get accessible, actionable data without app downloads or operating system constraints. From real-time sales data to AI-powered insights, Red River Omni Retail gets your data to work for you.
NEW TO THE INDUSTRY
Rito Mints Ltd. MINTS & CONVERSATION HEARTS
From Pocket Tins to Shareable Sweets
Bring a fresh and sweet touch to your shelves with RITO. Our Peppermint and Wintergreen Strong Mints come in two convenient tin sizes, with display options to meet your merchandising needs. Sweet Notes conversation hearts, available in both bags and tins, combine colorful candy hearts with playful messages. Two distinctive product lines, backed by a candy-making tradition since 1957. Contact Us Today! pgoldman@ritomints.com
NACS NOVEMBER 2026 137
FUELS & ENERGY
Why Energy Surplus Isn’t Energy Independence A new Transportation Energy Institute report looks at how the global oil, gasoline and diesel markets work.
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A
few years ago, I was in the green room at a television network, waiting to go on the air to talk about the latest hurricane that was going to strike the Gulf Coast and wreak havoc on the country’s petroleum infrastructure. I got to talking with another guest who was waiting to go on for a different segment, but he was more interested in talking about mine—everyone loves talking about gas prices. He had a simple question for me: If we know that hurricanes strike the Gulf Coast, why don’t we just build out the infrastructure where hurricanes don’t go—like Minnesota? Setting aside that the political climate in Minnesota might make it the last state to look to when it comes to building a robust petroleum infrastructure, the question wasn’t totally off base. Most people simply don’t know much about petroleum beyond the price at their corner store.
AddMeshCube - stock.adobe.com
BY JEFF LENARD
Of course, the reason that petroleum infrastructure is built out in the Gulf Coast is efficiency—a huge percentage of U.S. oil production is in that area. But the U.S. petroleum infrastructure is only part of a much larger ecosystem that has interconnected hubs around the world. A new report developed by the Transportation Energy Institute (TEI), “Global Petroleum-Based Fuel Markets: A Primer,” provides some simple explanations on how transportation fuels move around the United States—and the world. While the United States produces more gasoline, diesel and jet fuel than it consumes, that doesn’t mean that it is energy independent. Logistical and regulatory challenges complicate how fuel moves
throughout the country, particularly on the East and West Coasts. As a result, those two regions reply on imports to satisfy demand. Meanwhile, excess U.S. production is shipped around the world. The report highlights three major hurdles that force the need for imports on both coasts: The Jones Act: This federal law mandates that shipping between U.S. ports must be done only by vessels that are U.S.-owned and operated. This requirement dramatically increases costs and makes it more cost-effective to acquire imported fuel. (In March 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a limited waiver of the Jones Act that is set to expire on November 15, unless it is renewed.)
U.S. Production Exceeds Demand The United States produces more fuel than it consumes. But geographical complications and regulatory issues require imports to meet demand throughout the country. 9.5
9.0
U.S. Daily Consumption Production (In millions of barrels)
5.0 4.0
1.7
Gasoline
Diesel
1.8
Jet Fuel
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center
Major Fuel Flows Across the United States, 2025 CANADA
,0 470
100 75
,0 0
,0 0
0
East Coast imports mostly from Europe and Canada
0 West Coast imports mostly from Asia
UNITED STATES
Pacific Ocean
Gasoline Diesel Jet Fuel *Arrow size relative to demand
0 2 ,0
0,0
0 90
Gulf Coast to East Coast transfers
MEXICO
00 ,0
00
5
Gulf Coast exports mostly to Latin America and Europe
1,1 55
0,
00
83 40
,0
00
0,
00
, 50
00
0
00
110,0
00
20,00
0
Atlantic Ocean
0
0
Source: S&P Global Energy
NACS NOVEMBER 2026 139
FUELS & ENERGY
Presidential Connections to the Convenience Store Industry In recognition of Election Day on November 3, here are some interesting industry connections.
Barack Obama (2009-2017)
Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)
Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
A motorway service area is named after him that includes statues of him and his wife Michelle in the town of Moneygall, Ireland. One of Obama’s distant grandfathers emigrated from Moneygall in 1850.
His brother Billy operated a gas station in Plains, Georgia, that became the unofficial headquarters of reporters covering Jimmy Carter’s successful 1976 presidential campaign. His brother Billy capitalized on his fame by launching Billy Beer.
His father, Frank, operated a combined grocery store and Atlantic Richfield gas station in East Whittier, California, where Richard worked as a boy.
In 1902, he was the first president to publicly ride in an automobile. It took another 11 years for the first purposebuilt gas station to open, but gasoline wasn’t an issue for this car, which was electric, as were half the cars produced then.
The site of his birthplace in Delaware, Ohio, is now a BP station.
Long before opening the first Wawa, the Wood family operated an iron foundry. Honest Abe briefly worked for the company as a debt collector.
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fuel imports, particularly during peak demand over the summer months. Meanwhile, it exports fuel to Latin America and Europe. This is just a snapshot of what is included in the report. “Global Petroleum-Based Fuel Markets: A Primer” goes into much more detail on the broader global fuels infrastructure. Go to TEI’s website, transportationenegy.org, and click on “Transportation Energy Reports” to download the free report. Jeff Lenard is NACS vice president of media and strategic communications.
NACS and TEI Future of Mobility Summit The NACS and TEI Future of Mobility event brings together senior decisionmakers to turn disruption into real investment strategies, partnerships and revenue models. The event will take place December 2 and 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Go to convenience.org and click on “Connect and Learn” to register.
Library of Congress
Pipeline infrastructure: Pipelines are the most efficient method to transport fuel across the country, but the Rocky Mountains limit options to build pipelines that connect the West Coast to fuel elsewhere in the country. There also are limited connections to pipelines in both Florida and New England. Boutique fuels: There are more than a dozen unique fuel specifications mandated across the country, and California’s specifications are among the most stringent; not all U.S. refiners are equipped to produce these more complex blends. Because of these challenges, despite record U.S. oil production and refinery capacity, the country still requires
December 2-3, 2026 Charlotte, NC
NASCAR Hall of Fame Reception
The Only Event That Connects Strategy to Real-World Delivery in a Multi-Energy Future. At the NACS and TEI Future of Mobility Summit, industry leaders come together to address what’s required to succeed in a multi-energy future. Because the future of mobility isn’t about what’s replacing fuel. It’s about who owns the customer relationship.
Register today and join the leaders shaping the future of mobility. FUTURE OF MOBILITY SUMMIT | convenience.org/mobility
GAS STATION GOURMET
A Night at the W Gas Station
El Sazon Tacos & More brings fine dining to the filling station. BY AL HEBERT
hen one wants to impress on an all-important first date, it’s important to choose the right restaurant. Something with good food and great ambiance. How about a gas station? El Sazon Tacos & More is a popular eatery in Eagan, Minnesota, about a dozen miles south of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Husband-and-wife duo Cristian and Karen De Leòn host Night at the Gas Station, a pop-up five-course meal that features menu items like bone-in short rib birria and squid
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A Night at the Gas Station pop-up dinner includes a five-course meal and nonalcoholic drink pairings for about 50 people, who sit at communal tables.
ink spaghetti with seared scallops, shrimp and wild mushrooms. The De Leòns met while working in a restaurant, and Cristian has been a chef for more than 20 years. They opened El Sazon in 2022 inside a space connected to a convenience store and found success serving tacos and burritos from their tiny kitchen. But Karen said that her husband “missed plating food and highend dishes.” A friend suggested that they host a dinner. “We didn’t know if it would work,” said Karen. “Who wants to eat in a gas station?” It turns out that a lot of people do. “We turn the gas station into a full-service dining experience,” said Karen. They move the shelves to make room for about 50 people. Since the first Night at the Gas Station in August 2022, the De Leòns have hosted about 25 pop-up dinners. Each course has a story or a connection. During the dinner, Cristian will come out and talk about the dishes his mother cooked. “He cooks by
memory,” said Karen. “He only learned to cook in the U.S. He learned to love food.” Recently guest chefs have started to join the event. Each chef prepares three dishes. “The aesthetic of the gas station stays the same. We make it look nice with linen tablecloths with silverware. It kind of gives the freedom for chefs to do whatever they want,” said Karen. Before El Sazon was serving up multicourse meals, it gained attention for its menu of Mexican and Guatemalan food. It became especially well known for its birria, which topped tacos and burritos but also ramen and pizza. “When Cristian was growing up in Guatemala, they would do ramen noodles and his mom would add different things to it,” said Karen. “That led him to come up with birria ramen.” The De Leòns were taking a risk when they first opened. “We borrowed money. We had no real kitchen equipment,” said Karen. They couldn’t even afford a sign. But word started getting out about the food, and people came from across the region to try it. “We still don’t have a sign,” she said, “but it hasn’t been an issue. People find us.”
Karen and Cristian De Leòn and their son Chris opened El Sazon in 2022.
Al Hebert (GasStationGourmet. com) is the Gas Station Gourmet, showcasing America’s hidden culinary treasures.
NACS NOVEMBER 2026 143
CATEGORY CLOSE-UP FROZEN DISPENSED BEVERAGES
Ice Pick Frozen dispensed beverages remain relevant with new promotions and functional ingredients. BY PAT PAPE
NACS Category Definition: Frozen Dispensed Beverages
Rindi - stock.adobe.com
The frozen dispensed beverage category has three subcategories: frozen carbonated beverages, frozen non-carbonated beverages and other frozen dispensed beverages. (See convenience.org/categorydefinitions for the full guide.)
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Frozen Dispensed Beverages % of In-Store Sales
1.69% 1.69% 2024
2025
Frozen Dispensed Beverages Gross Margin %
64.44% 65.45% 2024
2025
Source: NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2025 Data
F
rozen dispensed beverages, those cold and sweet nostalgic treats, have helped make convenience stores a destination for more than fuel and convenience. But beverage company insiders believe the category has even greater opportunities for growth. “Over the next three to five years, frozen beverages will become more premium, more innovative and more experience-driven,” said Rebecca Johnson, director of dispensed innovation at The Coca-Cola Company. “Consumers are looking for customization, bold flavors and recognizable brands, and operators are looking for products that drive traffic, increase profitability and differentiate their business,” she said. “The future belongs to operators who treat frozen beverages as a destination category rather than simply another drink option.”
NACS NOVEMBER 2026 145
CATEGORY CLOSE-UP FROZEN DISPENSED BEVERAGES
Frozen Dispensed Beverages Snapshot Same-Firm Sample, Per Store, Per Month Percent of Sales
Avg. Sales/Store
Avg. GP/Store
Gross Margin %
2024
2025
2024
2025
2024
2025
2024
2025
Frozen Non-Carbonated
71.8%
70.1%
$2,867
$2,837
$1,806
$1,812
63.00%
63.86%
Frozen Carbonated
15.1%
15.7%
$602
$635
$425
$448
70.61%
70.46%
Other Frozen Dispensed Beverages
13.1%
14.2%
$521
$575
$340
$390
65.23%
67.76%
100.0%
100.0%
$3,990
$4,048
$2,571
$2,649
64.44%
65.45%
TOTAL
Source: NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2025 Data
The frozen dispensed beverage category includes three subcategories: frozen non-carbonated (70.1% of sales), frozen carbonated (15.7%) and other frozen dispensed beverages (14.2%). Last year, according to the NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2025 Data, sales of frozen dispensed beverages averaged $4,048 per store, per month— an increase of 1.5% from 2024’s $3,990. The category generated an average gross margin of 65.45%, slightly higher than the 64.44% of the previous year. The highest sales for frozen dispensed beverages occur between 3 and 4 p.m. on Fridays. FROZEN FUNCTION Across all beverages, consumers are becoming more intentional about what they drink and are seeking beverages with functional benefits. “While frozen beverages have traditionally been viewed as an indulgent treat, we believe there’s room for the category to evolve,” said Johnson. “Functional ingredients like energy, hydration, vitamins and other wellness-focused benefits represent an exciting area of exploration. The
146 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
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.
challenge is delivering those benefits while maintaining the taste, texture and refreshing experience consumers expect from a frozen beverage.” Several slush producers now offer energy-enhanced beverages, including Frazil, which produces an energyboosting slush in assorted flavors and sugar-free versions. Sunny Sky Products debuted its OSC Energy Frozen at the 2025 NACS Show. “It was a hit,” said Isabel Atherton, vice president of marketing for Sunny Sky. “And consumers have fun adding flavor shots to this frozen base.” Next year, f’real, the self-serve milkshake blender, will introduce two protein-enhanced smoothies: Tropical Mango Protein Smoothie and Reese’s Peanut Butter Banana Protein Smoothie. “Both are made with real fruit and deliver 20 grams of protein from milk protein isolate, all in under 250 calories, with no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners,” said Ashley Abeel, director of beverage and equipment at f’real. “What sets them apart is our blend-ityourself process,” she said. “It keeps the texture so smooth and creamy that the added protein is virtually undetectable.”
Frozen Dispensed Beverages Sales by Daypart Heatmap Percentage of sales during each hour of each day Time of Day
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Total
12:00 AM
0.13%
0.09%
0.08%
0.09%
0.09%
0.10%
0.13%
0.71%
1:00 AM
0.08%
0.05%
0.05%
0.05%
0.05%
0.06%
0.07%
0.41%
2:00 AM
0.04%
0.03%
0.03%
0.03%
0.03%
0.04%
0.04%
0.24%
3:00 AM
0.02%
0.02%
0.02%
0.02%
0.02%
0.02%
0.03%
0.16%
4:00 AM
0.02%
0.02%
0.02%
0.02%
0.02%
0.03%
0.02%
0.16%
5:00 AM
0.03%
0.05%
0.06%
0.06%
0.06%
0.06%
0.04%
0.36%
6:00 AM
0.05%
0.10%
0.12%
0.12%
0.12%
0.14%
0.08%
0.73%
7:00 AM
0.11%
0.19%
0.21%
0.22%
0.23%
0.26%
0.16%
1.38%
8:00 AM
0.19%
0.23%
0.25%
0.26%
0.27%
0.32%
0.27%
1.79%
9:00 AM
0.34%
0.31%
0.33%
0.33%
0.35%
0.43%
0.45%
2.54%
10:00 AM
0.57%
0.45%
0.46%
0.46%
0.50%
0.63%
0.76%
3.84%
11:00 AM
0.87%
0.68%
0.69%
0.71%
0.73%
0.91%
1.07%
5.66%
12:00 PM
1.19%
0.89%
0.90%
0.94%
0.96%
1.20%
1.32%
7.39%
1:00 PM
1.36%
0.95%
0.94%
0.99%
1.00%
1.30%
1.45%
8.01%
2:00 PM
1.48%
1.20%
1.21%
1.28%
1.30%
1.59%
1.56%
9.61%
3:00 PM
1.51%
1.55%
1.57%
1.63%
1.70%
1.99%
1.58%
11.53%
4:00 PM
1.42%
1.37%
1.41%
1.44%
1.50%
1.73%
1.47%
10.35%
5:00 PM
1.24%
1.20%
1.22%
1.27%
1.30%
1.50%
1.28%
9.01%
6:00 PM
1.04%
0.97%
0.98%
1.01%
1.05%
1.21%
1.10%
7.36%
7:00 PM
0.86%
0.81%
0.82%
0.84%
0.88%
1.04%
0.95%
6.19%
8:00 PM
0.68%
0.65%
0.67%
0.70%
0.74%
0.89%
0.82%
5.16%
9:00 PM
0.47%
0.46%
0.46%
0.49%
0.52%
0.70%
0.64%
3.75%
10:00 PM
0.27%
0.27%
0.28%
0.29%
0.32%
0.47%
0.45%
2.35%
11:00 PM
0.15%
0.15%
0.15%
0.16%
0.18%
0.26%
0.26%
1.31%
Total
14.13%
12.69%
12.92%
13.43%
13.93%
16.89%
16.01%
100.00%
Source: NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2025 Data
NACS NOVEMBER 2026 147
CATEGORY CLOSE-UP FROZEN DISPENSED BEVERAGES
Traditionally, frozen beverage programs focus on basic bright colors like red (cherry), blue (blue raspberry), green (lime) and orange (orange). “Consumers recognize those colors immediately, especially in a convenience-store environment, where the purchase decision is often made very quickly,” said Loïc Tomei, general manager of Jones Soda Co. Canada. Jones Soda Co. Canada uses the same recognizable colors, but tweaks the flavors: Its red flavor is strawberry lime, blue is berry lemonade, green is green apple and orange is orange and cream. “This allows retailers to offer consumers something familiar visually, but with a more unique Jones flavor experience,” said Tomei. “From our experience in Canada, we see that flavor innovation, recognizable colors, strong branding and LTOs can all generate excitement and trial within the category.”
148 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
LOVE THOSE LTOS Beverage LTOs allow operators to create buzz, encourage trial and keep the frozen-beverage experience feeling fresh throughout the year. “We’ve found the greatest success comes from pairing trusted brands with new flavors, seasonal moments or cultural relevance,” said Johnson. “Whether it’s a unique flavor twist or a seasonal offering, such as our relaunch of Fanta Cherry Limeade, the goal is to generate excitement while maintaining the quality and consistency consumers expect.” Traditionally, frozen beverages are considered warm-weather refreshments. But Canada has one of the highest rates of frozen beverage consumption per capita, and Winnipeg has held the title of Slurpee Capital of the World for more than 20 years, according to 7-Eleven Canada. “We sell frozen beverages year-round, even during the Canadian winter,” said Loïc Tomei, general manager of Jones Soda Co. Canada. “For us, what matters most is distribution and having the product available where consumers are looking for it. Frozen beverages don’t necessarily have to be treated strictly as a summer product.”
Flavor innovation, recognizable colors, strong branding and LTOs can all generate excitement and trial within the category.
“A flavor like Caramel Apple, for example, can create a completely different reason to visit the machine during the fall,” said Tomei. “The possibility of a new flavor gives customers another reason to check the frozen beverage section when they visit the store, regardless of the season.” PARTNERS AND PROMOS Tying a product to a well-known brand or popular franchise is a proven way to boost consumer interest. “At Coca-Cola, we see opportunities to connect frozen beverages with entertainment, movies, sports, gaming and seasonal occasions,” said Johnson. “While we can’t share specific future plans, consumers can expect more collaborations that blend recognizable brands with memorable beverage experiences.”
dontree_m - istock.com
Color Theory
Management at Jones recognizes the strong connection between fun, frozen drinks, younger consumers and pop culture. The company recently collaborated with Circle K on a beverage platform associated with the popular streaming series “Fallout.” “When you connect a unique flavor with an entertainment property that consumers already care about, the frozen beverage becomes more than just a drink, it becomes part of the experience,” said Tomei. Sunny Sky Products works closely with major food companies, such as Ferrara, Ferrero, Hershey and Mondelēz, to produce beverages with brands that customers know. “We have amazing relationships with these companies and continue to
We sell frozen beverages year-round, even during the Canadian winter. innovate based on their candy product launches,” said Atherton. “We recently introduced two new frozen beverage flavors in tandem with the Ferrara Candy Company’s iconic Trolli gummy brand: Trolli Very Berry Punch Slush and Trolli Grape-Strawberry Slush.” “These flavors deliver the bold candy taste consumers expect from
Trolli,” Atherton said, “while providing operators with a high-impact, easyto-execute frozen program that drives traffic and profitable beverage occasions across dayparts.” According to Atherton, stores can sell even more products by linking a frozen LTO with a center-store confection. “The beverage has more visibility when it’s tied to a famous candy or foodservice item, like a cookie or brownie,” she said. “These programs usually help increase the basket size and drive traffic to new areas of the store.” Pat Pape worked in the convenience store industry for more than 20 years before becoming a full-time writer.
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NACS NOVEMBER 2026 149
ADVERTISER INDEX Contact Information
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Thank you to these advertisers who have demonstrated their support of the convenience and fuel retailing industry by investing in NACS Magazine.
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AK Pizza �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 53 akcrust.com
Gadre USA Inc ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 57 gadre-usa.com
Ne-Mo’s Bakery, Inc. ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 93 nemosbakery.com
Alpina MFG ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 7 1-800-915-2828 fastchangeframes.com
Global Snus ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������134 camoenergized.com
Patco Brands ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������95 patcobrands.com
HF Sinclair ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������107 hfsinclair.com
PMI U.S. (ZYN) �������������������������������������������������������������������������9 (800) 367-3677 smna.com
Altria Group Distribution Company ������� Inside Front Cover. AGDCTradeRelations@Altria.com altria.com tobaccoissues.com
Hormel Foods ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 47 hormelfoodservice.com
Anchor Packaging ����������������������������������������������������������������131 anchorpackaging.com
Hunt Brothers® Pizza ������������������������������������������������������������71 huntbrotherspizza.com
Bake’n Joy Foods, Inc. ���������������������������������������������������������������������65 bakenjoy.com
ITG Brands �����������������������������������������������������������������������������49 (866) 328-2485 itgbrands.com
Polar King International Inc. ������������������������������������������������������������ 3 (866) 576-7645 polarking.com Premier Manufacturing �������������������������������������������������������������������� 5 (636) 537-6800 gopremier.com
Bay Cities ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 119 562-948-3751 bay-cities.com
Joey Op Co. ����������������������������������������������������������������������������99 buyjoey.com
Bobricks ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������129 washroominc.com
Krispy Krunchy Foods, LLC ���������������������������������������������������19 krispykrunchy.com
Brooklyn Cured ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������69 brooklyncured.com
Magical Industries Corp. (Importer of Cigtrus) �������������������� 77, 133 cigtrus.com
Rich Products / f’real ��������������������������������������������Back Cover richs.com freal.com
C. Cretors & Company ������������������������������������������������������������������� 132 cretors.com
Mashgin ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 113, 135 mashgin.com
Rito Mints ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 137 ritomints.com
Calico Brands, Inc. ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 25 calicobrands.com
McLane Company, Inc. ����������������������������������������������������������15 (254) 771-7500 mclaneco.com
Ruiz Foodservice ������������������������������������������������������������������ 79 ruizfoodservice.com
Cash Depot ������������������������������������������������������������������������������11 cdlatm.com
MegaMex Foods ������������������������������������������������������������������������������125 megamexconvenience.com
Pythia Scorecard �����������������������������������������������������������������������������127 pythiascorecard.com Red River Software ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 137 redriversoftware.com
Schwan’s �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 35 schwansfoodservice.com
Chyl Brand LLC ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 86-87 (404) 642-4967 getchyl.com
Merrychef/Cleveland Range ����������������������������������������������������������103 merrychef.com
Stateside Brands ������������������������������������������������������������������ 39 drinksurfside.com store.statesidevodka.com
Coin Wrap, Inc. �������������������������������������������������������������������������������132 coinwrap.com
Momentum Management LLC �������������������������������������������������������135 momentum-management.com
Stone Gate dba Tater Kegs ������������������������������������������������29 taterkegs.com
Monster Energy Company �������������������������������������������������136 monsterenergy.com
Stratas Foods LLC ����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 97 stratasfoods.com
NACS Future of Mobility Summit �������������������������������������������������� 141 convenience.org/connect-learn/ future-of-mobility-summit
Suntory Global Spirits ������������������������������ Inside Back Cover minus196.com/en-us/
Cool New Products Guide ������������������������������������������������ 131-137 convenience.org/Media/NACS-Magazine/ Cool-New-Products
Deschutes Brewery ������������������������������������������������������������������������133 drinkpartybomb.com Dieffenbach’s Potato Chips, Inc. ������������������������������������������� 105, 133 dieffenbachs.com Dri-sump ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������13 dri-sump.com Envysion ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 109 envysion.com f’real foods ���������������������������������������������������������������������������134 freal.com
150 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org
NACS HR Forum ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������151 convenience.org/connect-learn/hr-forum
TravelCenters of America ���������������������������������������������������������������59 ta-petro.com
NACS Membership ���������������������������������������������������������������������������69 convenience.org/Membership
Trion Industries �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 27 (800) 444-4665 triononline.com
NACS Show 2027 �����������������������������������������������������������������������������130 nacsshow.com
United Food Group, Inc. ������������������������������������������������������������������117 unitedfoodgroup.net
Nashville Wire Products dba Nashville Display ���������������115 nashvillewire.com
Xcaliber International �����������������������������������������������������������17 (888) 4-XCALIBER xcaliberinternational.com
Nature’s Path �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������136 naturespath.com
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BY THE NUMBERS
What Goes in the Basket Together? NACS Convenience Voices data reveals top pairings for the five leading in-store merchandise categories.
Packaged beverages
made up 18.7% of inside sales in 2025. When purchasing a packaged beverage, consumers were most likely to also have salty snacks or candy in their basket.
Cigarettes
made up 17.6% of inside sales. Consumers who purchased cigarettes were most likely to pair a pack with a drink in their basket— either a packaged beverage or a cold dispensed beverage.
OTP
buyers were most likely to have packaged beverages, cigarettes or candy in their basket. 87% of modern oral consumers are polyusers.
Beer
made up 6.7% of inside sales in 2025. Consumers who purchased beer were most likely to have salty snacks, candy or OTP in their basket.
Salty snacks
made up 4.7% of inside sales in 2025. When buying salty snacks, consumers were most likely to also have packaged beverages or candy in their basket.
Source: NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2025 Data
152 NOVEMBER 2026 convenience.org