• Establishes a digital foundation to optimize the ATC 21+ journey
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• Provides a clear road map for development, integration, and implementation supported by AGDC
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Emerging beverages are designed to create experiences for consumers.
36 We Are Convenience
Get a glimpse of what’s coming at the 2024 NACS Show in October.
44 A Fresh Focus On Design
Taking notes from QSRs, c-stores are highlighting food, community and experience in their interiors.
ONTENTS
52 The Drink-Driving Demographic Who’s behind the next round of adult beverage sales? Women.
74 A Tale of Two Plants
Marijuana legalization takes a material step forward while hemp remains ‘murky.’
82
Q&A: Terry Gallagher
The CEO of Smoker Friendly discusses the future of tobacco, family businesses and the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival.
88 Connecting Through Data
This interview is brought to you by PDI Technologies.
Postcard From Barcelona
PDI Technologies provides a bridge between CPG companies and operators.
STAY CONNECTED WITH NACS @nacsonline facebook.com/nacsonline instragram.com/nacs_online linkedin.com/company/nacs
At the annual NACS Convenience Summit Europe, c-store leaders traded ideas for navigating a rapidly changing landscape.description
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ONTENTS
IT’S A FACT
$3,620
Packaged sweet snacks average sales per store, per month in 2023.
DEPARTMENTS
06 From the Editor
08 The Big Question
NACS News
18 Convenience Cares
22 Inside Washington Why retailers should use the August recess to meet with members of Congress at home.
26 Ideas 2 Go Cole’s Fairfield Market carries on the tradition of being a cornerstone of the community.
90 Cool New Products
94 Gas Station Gourmet DA North Carolina retailer gave up its forecourt and focused only on its restaurant after a hurricane.
96 Category Close-Up Consumers continue to seek out snack cakes, pastries, muffins and more.
104 By the Numbers
EDITORIAL
Jeff Lenard V.P. Strategic Industry Initiatives (703) 518-4272 jlenard@convenience.org
Ben Nussbaum Editor-in-Chief (703) 518-4248 bnussbaum@convenience.org
Nancy Pappas Marketing Director (703) 518-4290 npappas@convenience.org
Logan Dion Digital Media and Ad Trafficker (703) 864-3600 ldion@convenience.org
NACS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHAIR: Jose Victor Pardo Paterno, Philippine Seven Corp. dba 7-Eleven Convenience Store
TREASURER: Lisa Dell’Alba Square One Markets Inc.
OFFICERS: Anne Gauthier St. Romain Oil Company LLC; Varish Goyal, Loop Neighborhood Markets; Brian Hannasch, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.; Charles McIlvaine, Coen Markets Inc.; Lonnie McQuirter, 36 Lyn Refuel Station; Tony Miller, Retail Delek US
GENERAL COUNSEL: Doug Kantor, NACS
LIAISON: Joseph Sheetz, Sheetz Inc.
MEMBERS: Chris Bambury Bambury Inc. dba BONNEAU; Tom Brennan, Casey’s General Stores Inc.; Andrew Clyde Murphy USA; Terry Gallagher Gasamat Oil Corp/Smoker Friendly; Raymond M. Huff
NACS SUPPLIER BOARD
SUPPLIER BOARD CHAIR: David Charles, Cash Depot
VICE CHAIR: Sarah Vilim Keurig Dr Pepper
MEMBERS: Tony Battaglia, Tropicana Brands Group; Patricia Coe Advantage Solutions; Jerry Cutler, InComm Payments; Jack Dickinson, Dover Corporation; Matt Domingo, Reynolds American Inc.; Mark Falconi, Greenridge Naturals; Ramona Giderof, Diageo Beer Company USA; Mike Gilroy, Mars Wrigley; Danielle Keck Holloway, Altria Group Distribution Company; James Hughes; Kevin Kraft, Q Mixers; Kevin M. LeMoyne, The Coca-Cola Company; Kevin Martello, Keurig Dr Pepper; Bryan Morrow, Chobani; Jay Nelson, Excel Tire Gauge LLC; Nick Paich, GSTV
HJB Convenience Corp. dba Russell’s Convenience; John D. Jackson, Jacksons Food Stores Inc.; Mark Jordan Refuel Operating Company; Missy Matthews, Childers Oil Co. dba Double Kwik; Brian C. McCarthy, Blarney Castle Oil Co.; Natalie Morhous RaceTrac Inc.; Jigar Patel FASTIME; Robert Razowsky, Rmarts LLC; Stanley Reynolds, 7-Eleven Inc.; Kristin Seabrook, Pilot Travel Centers LLC; Babir Sultan, Fav Trip; Richard Wood, Wawa Inc.
PAST CHAIRS: Donald R. Rhoads, The Convenience Group LLC; Jared Scheeler, The Hub Convenience Stores Inc.
SUPPLIER BOARD
REPRESENTATIVES: David Charles Sr., Cash Depot; Vito Maurici, McLane Company Inc.
STAFF LIAISON: Henry Armour, NACS
PAST CHAIRS: Brent Cotten, The Hershey Company; Kevin Farley W. Capra Consulting Group LLC (Axonet); Drew Mize PDI Technologies
RETAIL BOARD
REPRESENTATIVES: Tom Brennan, Casey’s General Stores Inc.; Scott E. Hartman Rutter’s; Kevin Smartt, TXB Stores
SUPPLIER BOARD
REPRESENTATIVE: Vito Maurici, McLane Company Inc.
GENERAL COUNSEL: Doug Kantor, NACS
STAFF LIAISON: Bob Hughes, NACS
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.
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Global and Local
Although NACS is a U.S.-based organization, it maintains a robust international presence.
The reason is simple: There are ten times as many c-stores globally as there are in the United States. With about 1.5 million stores around the planet and 150,000 in the United States, there’s a huge opportunity for retailers around the world to learn from each other and for NACS to bring those lessons back to the United States.
Mark Wohltmann, director of NACS Global, is the NACS employee tasked with facilitating conversations within the global c-store world. He orchestrates two signature events each year, Convenience Summit Europe and Convenience Summit Asia, as well as smaller events that bring together top executives. He also oversees the efforts of more than a dozen NACS relationship partners, a globally connected network of the foremost industry experts who are consultants or suppliers and who support the mission of NACS across their networks.
The lessons learned abroad aren’t always apples to apples, but at the same time it doesn’t take huge leaps to see how ideas can cross the ocean. An easy
example is 7-Eleven Denmark’s journey to win foodservice customers. Some of the particulars are specific to Denmark— in the past, convenience stores in that country benefited from a nationwide law restricting grocery store hours—but the mission itself is one most U.S. retailers can easily identify with. Read more about the remarkable transformation of 7-Eleven Denmark, and other highlights from Convenience Summit Europe, in “Postcard From Barcelona.”
This issue also has our first look at the 2024 NACS Show. Last year, well north of 20,000 people and 1,000 exhibitors came to Atlanta to share ideas, be inspired and do business.
There’s a theme that connects those two articles. I heard someone say the other day that this is a huge tiny industry. The huge part is obvious. The tiny part is what you feel at a NACS event, when you realize that retailers across the country—and across the world—are grappling with the same challenges and opportunities that you are.
If you haven’t been to the NACS Show … come to Las Vegas in October and join many thousands of your peers. And be sure to say hi when you see me on the Expo floor.
The 17 sessions at the Barcelona event were exceptional across the board.
Ben Nussbaum Editor-in-Chief
n Increased facings from 70 to 90, a 29% increase*.
n Automatically billboards and faces product.
n Reduces losses from bag hook tearout.
n Cuts over 1 hour/day labor for restocking.
n Allows rear restocking and proper date rotation.
n Dramatically increases sales in the same space.
n Adjusts to accommodate various package widths.
*
An Industry to Be Proud Of
THE TOTAL NUMBER OF U.S. C-STORES IN 2023.
160 million
The approximate number of transactions taking place at convenience stores every day.
Of people in the U.S. make purchases from c-stores either daily or several times a
79%
Say that the convenience store closest to their home is an important part of the community.
95%
Of convenience stores support charitable causes.
74%
Rate their service as either excellent or good the last time they were in a c-store.
$208 billion
The approximate amount of taxes collected by the c-store industry in 2023.
Conference: October 7-10, 2024
Expo: October 8-10, 2024
Las Vegas Convention Center
Don’t miss the opportunity to see what’s new and next in convenience by attending the NACS Show and visiting the Cool New Products Preview Room and the New Exhibitor Area of the expo. These two destinations are packed with never-before-seen industry innovations. Register now to find the next cool thing in convenience nacsshow.com
European Retailers Win With Convenience Excellence
NACS held its annual Convenience Summit Europe in June in Barcelona, Spain. The event explores the defining market trends and latest retailer innovations across the continent (don’t miss this issue’s article on the summit).
The event culminates with an awards ceremony gala, where NACS recognizes retailers for outstanding achievement in the European convenience industry across four categories: retailer of the year, industry leader of the year, sustainability, and technology.
Brian Donaldson , CEO of the Maxol Group, is this year’s recipient of the NACS European Convenience Industry Leader Award.
Established by William McMullan in 1920, Maxol is the largest family-owned convenience forecourt retailer in Ireland. With a network of 242 branded service stations, Maxol is one of the most recognized fuel brands in Ireland.
“Brian has done an amazing job of transforming the company from one that is fuel based to one that is food
based. As the industry continues along this path, this is a model to both study and celebrate,” said NACS President and CEO Henry Armour.
Maxol has received accolades from NACS over the years for its innovative approach to convenience retail and exceptional store formats. Most recently, the Maxol Ballycoolin in Dublin, Ireland, won the 2022 NACS European Convenience Retailer of the Year Award and the Maxol Newbridge in County Kildare won the 2021 NACS European Convenience Retail Best of the Best Store Award.
“I am honored to receive this recognition and award from my peers. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire Maxol team and support of the McMullan family. Over the past decade, our collective efforts have driven the success and innovation that define our company today. I am proud of what we have achieved, and this award inspires us to continue our journey,” said Donaldson.
Donaldson joined Maxol Oil Limited in September 1986 as a graduate trainee and played a key role in the development of Maxol’s retail network in Northern Ireland. He advanced through various positions over the decades and was appointed CEO in 2016.
Under his leadership, he has overseen a transformative strategy, repositioning Maxol as an innovative convenience-led brand. This includes the introduction of Maxol’s own convenience concept in the Republic of Ireland with proprietary brands Rosa coffee and Maxol Deli and a private label range. He also recently became chair of CBI NI’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Working Group, which is driving significant improvements around charge-point provision across Northern Ireland.
SuperValu Portstewart , part of the Musgrave Group, won the NACS European Convenience Retailer of the Year Award. This store was the first in Northern Ireland where Musgrave launched “SuperValu Rejuvenation” in
NACS CEO and President Henry Armour and NACS Global Director Mark Wohltmann with retail technology winners Q1 Shop & Go.
August 2022. The concept was developed to redefine convenience retail related to store design, product selection, technology, customer service and branding elements.
With an investment of £1.1 million, SuperValu Portstewart was physically reimagined into a bright, airy, and modern space with wide linear aisles offering easier navigation for shoppers. The store also showcases a re-invention of the brand, most notably around a transformed food experience. The award was sponsored by Dover Fueling Solutions.
BWG Foods, part of the BWG Group in Dublin, Ireland, won the NACS European Convenience Retail Sustainability Award. Through the company’s work with Anglo Irish Refrigeration and Wirth Research, BWG Foods designed, created and implemented two energy efficient solutions: First, Next Generation Refrigeration uses airflow movements to enhance the cooler’s energy efficiency, and second, Climate Flow repurposes cold air to cool the store during the summer and utilizes hot air to heat the store during the winter. The award was sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company.
Germany-based Q1 Shop & Go won the NACS European Convenience Retail Technology Award. Q1 Energie AG, which operates over 230 petrol stations and more than 50 electric vehicle charging stations throughout Germany, is testing a new form of convenience with its Q1 Shop & Go, a fully autonomous store located in the Science Park in Osnabrück.
Q1 Shop & Go is an AI-based smart store designed make quick and easy errands possible. It is open 24/7 and product selection includes in-between meals and groceries, fresh snacks/ sandwiches such as wraps and salads, as well as chilled drinks and a coffee-to-go range. The store does not have employees onsite. The award was sponsored by Gilbarco Veeder-Root.
The global NACS Convenience Summit Europe event takes place each year in a different European city and is hosted by U.S.-based NACS. Visit convenience.org/CSE for more information and to register for next year’s event in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Empowering Our Industry’s Female Leaders
Women have unique strengths—and those attributes are not only celebrated, but nurtured and enhanced at the NACS Women’s Leadership Program at Yale, taking place this November 17-22.
“One of the most impactful and empowering moments was to have a professor talk to you about using the attributes you have as a woman, instead of apologizing for those or trying to conform in a way that fits what’s traditionally been a male dominated [field],” said Meredith James, vice president of strategic development and business partners for Sigma. “I thought it was really important to allow women to feel like they can look like a woman, speak like a woman and have emotions like a woman, and learn how to use those unique characteristics to empower ourselves, empower one another and lead large organizations.”
The course takes place on the Yale campus in New Haven, Connecticut, and is designed for women who want to bolster their leadership abilities, reinvigorate their companies and expand their networks. Through a series of courses, networking opportunities and exercises, the program is designed to help female industry professionals:
• Develop critical team leadership skills.
• Refine strategic perspective and decision making.
• Understand and hone leadership style through feedback assessments.
• Improve executive presence and leverage diversity to accelerate innovation.
• Practice emotionally intelligent leadership.
This year’s curriculum will focus on leading with emotional intelligence with expertise from Yale faculty member Emma Seppälä, building high performing teams, practicing conscious accountability, managing difficult conversations and constructive criticism, and how to “speak up without freaking out.”
For James, one of the biggest takeaways from attending the program was the relationships she formed with the other participants. “I was able to meet 40 other women from around the world who are some of the best leaders from different segments of our industry,” she said. “We were able to learn from each other, share stories, connect through the different courses we took and empower each other, and then use all that in our careers. I would encourage any woman to further their education through this course.”
Visit www.convenience.org/Education/NACS-Executive-Education/ Womens-Leadership for more information and to register.
Road Trips in the Rearview
Roughly two in three Americans (62%) said they were planning to take a road trip this summer, according to NACS consumer survey data. And convenience stores play a big part in these drives.
NACS Vice President of Strategic Industry Initiatives Jeff Lenard and Digital and Content Strategist Chrissy
Calendar of Events
NACS Show
October 07-10 | Las Vegas Convention Center
Las Vegas, Nevada NOVEMBER
NACS Innovation Leadership Program at MIT
November 03-08 | MIT Sloan School of Management Cambridge, Massachusetts
NACS Women's Leadership Program at Yale
November 17-22 | Yale School of Management New Haven, Connecticut
Blasinsky spent some time on the road this summer, and in a flurry of c-store stops a few innovative ideas and details they saw stuck out to them—from both convenience retailers and businesses at large.
Some retailers reward everyday heroes, whether in their stores or in their communities, with special parking spots. In Milford, Massachusetts, one retailer celebrates exceptional employees with reserved spaces, while in Georgia, convenience retailer Jones Petroleum recognizes active military, veterans, EMTs, police and firefighters who serve communities 24/7—just like convenience stores do—with Hero Parking.
While the summer drive season is winding down, media interest in road trips continues throughout the year. Do you have a good story to share about what makes a stop stand out, whether it’s exceptional food or a unique customer experience at your stores or others you have visited? Let us know. We want to hear about it so we can continue to tell great stories about how our industry makes a difference every day in communities and, of course, on the road. Contact Jeff Lenard at jlenard@convenience.org
Conexxus Annual Conference
January 26-30 | Loews Ventana Canyon Tucson, Arizona
FEBRUARY
NACS Leadership Forum
February 11-13 | The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, Florida
NACS Convenience Summit Asia
February 25-27 | Conrad Tokyo Tokyo, Japan
MARCH
NACS Day on the Hill
March 10-12 Washington, D.C.
NACS Human Resources Forum
March 24-26 | Hutton Hotel Nashville, Tennessee
APRIL
NACS State of the Industry Summit
April 08-10 | Hyatt Regency
DFW International Airport Dallas, Texas
For a full listing of
and
visit www.convenience.org/events.
UP FRONT NACS NEWS
Member News
RETAILERS
The Pilot Company announced that Andy Lupo has been promoted to executive vice president, chief technology officer. In this role, he is responsible for delivering enterprise technology and digital technology that provides a seamless customer experience. Lupo first joined Pilot in 2020 as vice president, focusing on commercial advanced analytics at Pilot. Most recently, he served as senior vice president, advanced analytics and business development.
7-Eleven named four executives to new director positions:
The company named Jamie Horvath as director of private brand product management, commercialization and emerging brands. Horvath first joined 7-Eleven in 2015 as a human resources business partner and was promoted to human resources leader in 2019 before becoming a market manager for the company.
Kia Hasheminejad was appointed operations director for proprietary products excellence. Prior to his promotion, Hasheminejad served as a field manager, market manager, director of store readiness and a regional director for the Southwest.
Dan Keefe was named director of enterprise project management office (PMO). Keefe first joined 7-Eleven in 2016 as PMO portfolio analyst before being promoted to project manager, senior manager, a senior manager for operations and a senior manager for retailer initiative acceleration and the chair of the 7Veterans Outreach Organization.
Justin Huffman joined 7-Eleven as director of sourcing. Prior to joining the retailer, Huffman was the director of procurement and then vice president of procurement at Lakeview Farms, a Cincinnati-based dip, dessert and specialty products manufacturer.
SUPPLIERS
Marathon Petroleum Corp. announced Maryann Mannen will take up the role of chief executive officer, effective August 1. Mannen has served as president since January of this year, after previously serving as executive vice president and chief financial officer since January 2021.
Michael Hennigan announced he will be stepping down from chief executive officer of Marathon Petroleum but will stay on as executive chairman of the board. Hennigan has led Marathon as CEO since March 2020, and joined its board of directors in April 2020.
Marathon Petroleum Corp.
Chairman John Surma was elected to serve as lead director of the board. Surma has been a member of the board since 2011 and became independent chairman of the board in April 2020. Surma retired as the chief executive officer of United States Steel Corporation
in September 2013 and as executive chairman in December 2013. Prior to joining U. S. Steel, Surma served in several executive positions with Marathon.
Flexeserve, a hot-holding manufacturer and food-togo specialist, announced that Rachel Paul has joined its team as its key account manager. In her role, Paul will collaborate with Flexeserve’s United Kingdom team to help deliver service to customers across the Americas.
Veronica Blankenship was promoted to chief people and communications officer at Talking Rain Beverage Company, the makers of Sparkling Ice. Blankenship will oversee all aspects of human resources, culture and corporate communications at the beverage company.
Andy Lupo
Maryann Mannen
Michael Hennigan
John Surma
Rachel Paul
Veronica Blankenship
UP FRONT NACS NEWS
New Members
NACS welcomes the following companies that joined the Association in May 2024. 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.
RETAILERS
Alabassi Group Inc. Perris, CA
Amarillo Mountain Corp. dba Mini Mart Amarillo, TX rockiesmarket.com
Black Mesa Travel Center Algodones, NM
Circle K Texas San Antonio, TX
Crowley’s Market Ada, OK crowleysmarket.com
Donald Ross Shell Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Evans Group Inc. dba Evans Expressmart Lebanon, NH evansexpressmart.com
Gazelle Oil LLC Durham, NC
High Country Fuels St. George, UT
Independent Buyers Company LLC Arlington, TX ibc.us
Kaya Inc. Hammond, LA
La Verne Car Wash La Verne, CA
Pit Stop Missouri LLC Perryville, MO
QuikPick Vista, CA quikpick.com
Sapp Bros. Inc. Omaha, NE
Suncoast Refreshments Inc. New Port Richey, FL
Tiger Buying Group Paramus, NJ
Tobbins Inc.
Bakersfield, CA tobbins.com
Alberni Co-op Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada albernico-op.crs
AleSat Combustíveis S/A Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Petroruta San Luis Potosi, Mexico petroruta.com
Rubis Caribbean St. James, Barbados rubiscaribbean.com
SUPPLIERS
Ajinomoto Foods North America Fort Wayne, IN
Arneg Inc. Lexington, NC arnegusa.com
Big Machine Distillery Lynnville, TN spikedcoolers.com
Coastal Beverage Co. Inc. Wilmington, NC
D&W Fine Pack Wood Dale, IL dwfinepack.com
Deposita an Allied Universal Company Jupiter, FL www.deposita.us
Esper Bellevue, WA
Fever-Tree fever-tree.com/en_US
FST Logistics Dublin, OH
GN US Dallas, TX
John Greene Logistics Co. Titusville, FL jglc.com
K&S Wholesale Inc. Syosset, NY kandswholesaler.com
Ken’s Beverage Inc. Plainfield, IL kensbeverage.com
La Nova Wings Buffalo, NY lanova.com
Mitchell & Company Inc. Little Rock, AR mitchco1.com
OptiSigns Houston, TX
Rana Meal Solutions Bartlett, IL giovanniranausa.com
Ronpak Shreveport, LA ronpak.com
Solventum Maplewood, MN solventum.com
Suja Life LLC Oceanside, CA
The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Calabasas Hills, CA
Tote.ai West Hollywood, CA tote.ai
U.S. Payments Tulsa, OK uspayments.com
Westport Solutions Clayton, GA westportsolutions.us
Zumex USA Inc. Doral, FL zumex.com
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EG America Raises $657,000 for the American Red Cross
The in-store fundraiser was held in honor of Red Cross Month in March.
EG America raised $657,000 for the American Red Cross during its nationwide in-store fundraiser held in recognition of Red Cross Month.
Throughout the month of March, guests at EG America’s Certified Oil, Cumberland Farms, Fastrac, Kwik Shop, Loaf ‘N Jug, Minit Mart, Quik Stop, Sprint Food Stores, Tom Thumb and Turkey Hill stores could donate $1, $5 or an amount of their choosing to the American Red Cross. EG America then matched the amounts raised by the top store in each banner to increase the donation total.
“We are proud to champion the American Red Cross’s mission of
helping those in need,” said John Carey, president and CEO of EG America. “We are equally moved by the overwhelming generosity of our guests who contributed to this worthy cause.”
The American Red Cross assists individuals and communities in crisis. Donations enable the organization to respond immediately and deliver lifesaving support to those in need.
“The American Red Cross is grateful to be among the causes that EG America and its customers support,” said Bill Andrews, division fundraising vice president. “The funds raised will be used by our volunteers to power our mission and lifesaving work.”
In February, EG America presented the nonprofit organization Disabled American Veterans (DAV) with $750,000. The amount was raised from the company’s fifth annual fundraiser for the organization, held throughout the month of November.
“We are honored to support the critical services and benefits DAV provides to veterans across the nation,” Carey said at the check presentation. “Thanks to the tremendous generosity of our guests and the collective efforts of our team members, EG America has surpassed all previous years’ donation amounts, raising more than $3 million for DAV since the beginning of our partnership.”
CONVENIENCE CARES
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 www.conveniencecares.org
RUTTER’S CHILDREN’S CHARITIES GOLF OUTING MAKES HISTORY
1 Rutter’s Children’s Charities hosted its 22nd annual Charity Golf Outing on May 6 and 7, and the event achieved record breaking success by raising over $980,000 to benefit local charities. Over the past 22 years, this event has played a pivotal role in raising over $3.7 million to support local children’s charities across Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia.
The funds generated from this outing will play a pivotal role in bolstering Rutter’s Children’s Charities’ programs and initiatives throughout 2024, furthering the organization’s commitment to making a positive difference in its community.
KENT COMPANIES MAKES RECORD BREAKING DONATION
2 The Kent Companies donated $110,000 to the Permian Basin Rehab Center (PBRC), which provides essential services and support to individuals with disabilities and special needs, as well as their families. The donation was the largest contribution the retailer has ever made to the organization and was made possible through a roundup campaign held during the first three months of 2024.
WILLS GROUP DONATES $100,000 TO CAMP ACCOMPLISH
3 The Wills Group, parent company of Dash In, gathered at Melwood’s Camp Accomplish to help the camp prepare for the 2024 summer camp season. The occasion also marked the introduction of a new camp partnership with Children’s National Hospital.
While there, Wills Group President and CEO Blackie Wills presented a $100,000 donation to Camp Accomplish, making it possible for even more children with and without disabilities to experience the joys of summer camp and community.
LOVE’S DONATES CLASSROOM SUPPLIES FOR TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK
4 In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6-10) and Love’s 60th anniversary, the company donated $60,000 to DonorsChoose, a crowdfunding platform for teachers to fund school projects. The DonorsChoose gift from Love’s helped fund 188 projects at 93 schools in the Oklahoma City metro area. Most of the funding will go to engineering, technology and science projects at equity-focused schools.
COUCHE-TARD TEAMS UP WITH TOO GOOD TO GO TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE
5 Alimentation Couche-Tard expanded its partnership with Too Good To Go, a global social impact company driving the world’s largest marketplace for surplus food, signifying a significant stride in the companies’ fight against food waste. The two companies aim to have more than 9,000 Circle K and Couche-Tard stores across the United States, Canada, Ireland and Poland available on the Too Good To Go app by the end of the year, marking Too Good To Go’s most extensive rollout to date.
Since the companies first partnered in 2018, Circle K and Couche-Tard customers have purchased 1.3 million Surprise Bags—the equivalent of avoiding 3,510,000 kgs of CO2e and the unnecessary use of more than 1 billion liters of water.
Making the Most of August Recess
Why retailers should use this time to meet with members of Congress at home.
BY MARGARET HARDIN MANNION
It’s finally August in Washington, D.C., and all is quiet on Capitol Hill. Members of Congress have packed their bags and left our nation’s capital to return to their home districts or states for what’s known as August recess. However, just because it’s called recess doesn’t mean lawmakers are taking a break. For some, it’s one of the most important months of the year.
The August recess period provides members of Congress with the opportunity to meet with their constituents and focus on local issues that require their
attention. In a campaign year such as this one, they also return home to strategize and connect with voters ahead of the November election.
This month is full of opportunities to connect and build relationships with elected officials while Congress is out of session in D.C. NACS has a number of suggestions for convenience industry advocates to engage with their lawmakers at the grassroots level.
One of the best ways to engage with a member of Congress at home is to set up a convenience store tour through the
NACS In Store program. NACS In Store visits allow legislators to connect with local business owners, their employees and constituents at the store level. Since legislators make the laws that can help or hurt your business, it’s critical they understand our industry and how we serve our communities.
During the store tour, the member of Congress even has the chance to put on a uniform and get behind the counter to ring up customers. Through first-hand experience and conversations with store management, associates and customers, who are also their constituents, they can gain a better understanding and appreciation for not only the store operation, but also for the industry as a whole. Through NACS In Store, elected leaders across the country can join the 2.44 million people who work in the industry serving an estimated 165 million Americans every day. And when they return to D.C., lawmakers are better informed
Rep. Brittany Petterson (D-CO-7) meeting with a constituent.
Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) went to work at Sprint Mart in Columbus, Missouri.
This month is full of opportunities to connect and build relationships with elected officials while Congress is out of session in D.C.
Oregon.
RaceTrac in Grand Prairie, Texas, welcomed Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30).
Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN-1) visited and worked at a Kwik Trip in La Crescent, Minnesota, with the NACS In Store program.
Jacksons employees with Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR-5) during an In Store tour in Portland,
Face-to-face meetings and personal stories can create a lasting personal connection that makes them more open to hearing your concerns.
like this can influence their opinion, and ultimately their vote on the CCCA.
and better equipped to make decisions about legislation and regulations that can impact our industry.
Another effective way to take action during the August recess is to set up a meeting with your representative in their district or state office. Face-toface meetings and personal stories can create a lasting personal connection that makes them more open to hearing your concerns. When constituents meet their members of Congress in person, it holds them accountable. They’re reminded that they are representing real people with real concerns and not just abstract issues. Wondering what you could meet with your legislators about? NACS is con-
tinuing its advocacy for the passage of the Credit Card Competition Act, which would tackle credit card swipe fees by introducing competition to the credit card marketplace. If swipe fees are one of your top expenses each year, consider bringing in your printed statements to show lawmakers their direct impact. Personal interactions in a district office
You don’t have to do it on your own— reach out to NACS, and we can help schedule the meeting for you and even connect you with other convenience retailers who live or operate in the area to join the meeting as well.
We understand that turning your attention away from your store to meet with members of Congress is a significant commitment. However, leveraging the August recess is an invaluable investment in your business and the future of our industry. NACS is fully committed to supporting our members’
NACS In Store visits allow legislators to connect with local business owners, their employees and constituents at the store level.
Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA-3) went behind the counter at Casey’s in Des Moines, Iowa, with the NACS In Store program.
During his NACS In Store session at Sprint Mart, Senator Roger Wicker (RMS) got to meet his constituents.
efforts to build strong relationships with your members of Congress, and we can offer any assistance you need for effective and productive conversations, meetings, or In Store visits.
Our industry’s voice is only as powerful as the engagement of its members. By getting involved at the grassroots level, your participation can make a profound difference.
Margaret Hardin Mannion is the NACS manager of government relations. She can be reached at mmannion@convenience.org.
NACSPAC LIST
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 June 2024 are:
Riaz Ahmad NSR Petro Services LLC
J. Scott Apter Apter Industries Inc.
Sean Colman The Boston Beer Company
Karim Dhukani Easy Lane Stores
Tom Jamieson Jaco Oil Company | Fastrip Food Stores | WFI Transportation
Lonnie McQuirter 36 Lyn Refuel Station
Natalie Morhous RaceTrac Inc.
Paul Reid Reid Petroleum Corporation
Eva Rigamonti RaceTrac Inc.
Jared Scheeler The Hub Convenience Stores Inc.
Derek Zahajko CAF Inc.
Constituents meeting with Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH-12).
IDEAS 2 GO
Name of company: Cole’s Fairfield Market
Year founded: 30 years ago
# of stores:
1 Website: colesfairfieldmarket.com
Community at the Core
BY SARAH HAMAKER
Convenience stores often tie their communities together, especially those in more rural or small-town areas. Fairfield Food Mart in Fairfield, New Jersey, was no exception, but in recent years, the store hadn’t been serving its community as well as it used to. “This store had been central to the businesses and people of Fairfield’s tightknit community, but the previous owner let go of the reigns and the community was upset they had lost their store,” said Cole Szostak, who bought the convenience store in April 2023.
Renamed Cole’s Fairfield Market, Szostak revamped the store and introduced a new-and-improved version to the community. “Since I took over, the whole community has expressed to us how happy they are that they have their store back,” he said. “They have been patronizing it much more now than during the past 10 years, and business has been on an uptick.”
The number-one compliment we get is about the cleanliness of everything in the store.”
The new store keeps the community and local culture at the center of the c-store’s ethos, from the products it sources and specialized deals for its patrons to its design details, giving the community a store that’s tailor-made for them.
“People feel a sense of appreciation for what we’ve done to bring back ‘their’ store,” Szostak said. “Many of our customers have partnered with us in helping to make this the hub of our community once again.”
BRINGING THE STORE TO LIFE
Szostak started with the basics to restore the 3,000-square-foot mart to its former glory. “The store wasn’t kept as clean as it should have been,” he said, “so that’s the first thing we tackled. Now the number-one compliment we get is about the cleanliness of everything in the store.”
Szostak hired a local artist to paint murals inside the store and on the windows. “We have a large Italian community, so the murals are of places in Italy,” he said. The interior murals are painted above the cooler area, and he has the artist change the seasonal scenes on the glass panes to correspond with the time of year, such as harvest themes for the fall.
The store awning also invokes the community with its colors similar to those of the local schools.
MERCHANDISE FOR THE MARKET
Szostak had to toss outdated merchandise and expired food products before expanding the grocery section and adding new categories to meet community needs. “Before, the store had a very limited selection of beverages, candy and a couple of sandwiches in the deli,” Szostak said. “We brought in a much larger dry goods and grocery section, and enlarged our beverage selection in door coolers.”
At the in-store deli, customers can pick up Boar’s Head cold cuts as well as made-to-order sandwiches. He recently added a cold grab-and-go section with packaged cheeses, fruit bowls, yogurt cups and premade smoothies.
More foot traffic means he’s able to maintain product rotation that didn’t previously exist, keeping merchandise fresh for customers. In addition to more food choices, he brought in health and beauty products, baby items, gift bags and high-quality birthday cards. Cole’s Fairfield Market also has a hardware and automotive section with items like solar lanterns and work gloves. Seasonal items include logs and rock salt in the winter and ice in the summer.
LOCALS DRIVE THE BUSINESS
The locals make up the majority of Szostak’s business, so he plans his events, promotions and tailored customer experiences around them. “We offer free ice cream days for the kids, and during the summer have a rock, paper, scissors game for free candy,” Szostak said. The store also donates to local charity events and supports the town’s annual carnival.
Szostak points to the friendly atmosphere and constant improvement as a big reason for the store’s success. “We want to be known for having a welcoming vibe,” he said. “We also strive to improve the customer experience by trying new products.”
For him, the most important thing is to ensure every customer has an enjoyable experience. “From years of going into
BRIGHT IDEAS
As the newish owner of Cole’s Fairfield Market in Fairfield, New Jersey, Cole Szostak sought out inspiration at the NACS Show.
“I went to the 2023 NACS Show to network and see new products,” he said. “I ended up adding more than one product to my store from the Show.”
To get the most out of the Show, he recommended making a game plan ahead of time. “ Don’t walk in blindly—do your research beforehand about who’s going to be there, what your needs are and where you might be able to go to solve those needs,” he said. However, he also emphasized the need to be flexible. “Don’t limit yourself to looking only at certain things—spending the maximum amount of time at the Show will be extremely beneficial.”
convenience stores myself, I know it can often not be a pleasurable experience because you might feel rushed or have to deal with employees who aren’t friendly,” Szostak said. “That’s why I want my customers to come into the store and have a consistent, positive experience.”
Sarah Hamaker is a freelance writer, NACS Magazine contributor, and award-winning romantic suspense author based in Fairfax, Virginia. Visit her online at sarahhamakerfiction.com.
Ideas 2 Go showcases how retailers today are operating the convenience store of tomorrow.
To see videos of the c-stores we profiled in 2023 and earlier, go to www.convenience.org/Ideas2Go
Emerging
beverages are designed to create experiences for consumers.
BY TERRI ALLAN
The idea that a drink is an experience isn’t new: Ask anyone who has waited for a well-poured Guiness, or gone out of their way to a store that sells “chewy” nugget ice with its fountain sodas. But the experiential factor of drinks that conjure sensory reactions from flavors, textures or memories is becoming more important, and is penetrating all the way to packaged beverages.
The arrival of bubble tea, or boba tea, at Sheetz stores earlier this year signaled that convenience stores are fully aboard the beverage experience train. Bubble tea’s unique taste profile comes from the boba pearls featured in the drinks, providing consumers with a beverage that actually involves chewing, followed by a burst of flavor when they bite into the tapioca balls.
The Pennsylvania-based Sheetz’s offer—boba mango popping bubbles added to a Sheetz Refresherz drink for an $1.79 upcharge—could set the stage for an entirely new category in the channel.
“Bubble tea could work in convenience stores because one of the areas where c-stores do really well is in dispensed beverages and the condiment bar,” said Claire Conaghan, associate director and trendologist at Datassential.
BeyondTaste
These consumers love to customize their beverages.”
Conaghan noted that the drinks are becoming more commonplace, pointing to success at QSR chains like Del Taco and Dunkin’, not to mention Starbucks’ recent introduction of bubble tea on its summer menu. Joyba, the packaged bubble tea from DelMonte foods, recently announced that it is now available in stores across the country, including Circle K.
Moreover, consumers—particularly younger and Gen Z consumers—are increasingly embracing drinks that feature interesting ingredients, an immersive experience and connote socialization, typically enhancing retail margins. “These consumers love to customize their beverages,” Conaghan said.
TARGETING THE SENSES
Major packaged beverage marketers are also helping to build beverage experiences for consumers with a wave of new and limited time only (LTO) drinks that keenly target one or more sense. They go beyond simply incorporating a flavor—they elevate the experience by creating a mouth sensation, like those felt when you eat spicy food or the numbing effects from mint or cooling agents, for example.
Spicy and “swicy” (sweet and spicy combination) drinks have been quick to emerge on the heels of the spice craze in other product categories, such as salty snacks.
According to Datassential’s Menu Trends platform, which tracks trends at some 4,800 restaurants around the country, several spicy or spice terms are showing fast growth, including tajin (+286%), jalapeno (+97%), and turmeric ginger (+80%).
“There’s a certain demographic that loves heat, as well as pairing it with honey, which adds a flavor intrigue,” Conaghan explained. “This trend will keep going.”
Coca-Cola famously launched Coca-Cola Spiced and Coca-Cola Spiced Zero Sugar earlier this year as a permanent addition to its line. According to the soft drinks giant, the new products blend the traditional Coke with raspberry and warm spiced flavors. The brand said it’s “not spicy,” in the traditional sense, but has a warm, bold and robust flavor that rounds out the original taste of coke. Dr Pepper also fronted a spicy version last year, Dr Pepper Hot Take, albeit on a very limited basis. Keurig Dr Pepper said the drink “harnesses the bold flavors of spicy peppers,” and was available exclusively to the brand’s Pepper Perks loyalty members.
Among other players, Starbucks capitalized on the swicy trend with the launch of its Spicy Lemonade Refresher LTOs last spring. The three fruity flavors of refreshers—pineapple, dragon fruit and strawberry—are spiced with the chain’s proprietary chili powder blend, creating sweet tropical fruit sips that are followed by a contrasting spicy kick.
But at least one convenience retailer is skeptical of the spice play in packaged beverages. “While hot and spicy [snacks] have been very successful in the center store, with beverages it’s more of a challenge,” said Nathan Arnold, director of marketing at Englefield Oil Inc., operator of Duchess c-stores in Ohio and West Virginia. “Most consumers don’t like to think of drinks that are made to be refreshing as hot and spicy.”
Balancing out the heat options, Coca-Cola launched the Sprite Chill LTO earlier this year, which it said features a “proprietary blend of cooling agents to deliver a uniquely elevated sensory experience” by chilling the drinker’s mouth and creating a numbing sensation. Through a balance of cherry-lime flavor and cooling intensity, “Sprite Chill is one of the first sparkling soft drinks to deliver a cooling sensation without an accompanying mint flavor,” the company said when announcing the launch.
And thanks to caffeine, energy drinks, of course, have long strived to provide consumers with a jolt. At Duchess convenience stores, the big trend today within energy drinks—which are growing at a
Social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok depicting colorful
drinks are helping to grow awareness.
double-digit rate—is even higher caffeine, Arnold said, “providing an ultra-energy jolt.” PepsiCo’s Rockstar Focus label, rolled out earlier this year, contains 200 mg. of caffeine per serving “to provide a blend of energy and mental clarity,” said Bryan Santee, chief commercial officer at PepsiCo Beverages North America.
EVOKING FEELINGS THROUGH FLAVORS
PepsiCo, meanwhile, has been highlighting food-and-beverage-pairings in recent years, drawing on classic combos or quintessential events, like a summer barbeque, to evoke memories or feelings that enhance the experience of its drinks. The “Better with Pepsi” initiative was introduced in 2021 “because we believe pairing with particular foods, including burgers, pizza, hot dogs and barbeque, represents unique consumption moments that are better with one of our Pepsi products in hand,” Santee said.
This summer, Pepsi collaborated with chef Bobby Flay on two LTOs designed to “punch up the quintessential American BBQ,” according to Santee—Pepsi Lime and Pepsi Peach. “The tangy citrus bite of lime and the plush sweetness of a ripe peach are popular nostalgic summertime flavor profiles, and when combined with the crisp and refreshing taste of Pepsi, provide a delectable sweet and refreshing flavor that enhances the bold, dynamic, and smokey savory flavors created on a grill,” PepsiCo said in announcing the LTOs.
VISUAL APPEAL
Beyond taste, trendy beverages like bubble tea are providing consumers with aesthetic touchpoints. Colors and other visual cues bode well for drinks such as bubble tea and dirty soda. Like bubble tea, dirty soda— generally a sparkling beverage topped off with a creamy drink—shows potential in convenience stores.
“It makes perfect sense for c-stores,” Conaghan said, “as they already stock sodas, energy drinks and creamers.” Social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok depicting the colorful drinks are helping to grow awareness. With bubble tea, for example, consumers can sometimes select the shade of pearls they’d
[Dirty soda] makes perfect sense for c-stores as they already stock sodas, energy drinks and creamers.”
like to complement or contrast with the drink. The addition of creamer to a soda, meanwhile, “creates a pretty swirling image that’s fun to share,” Conaghan said.
CULTURAL CONTRIBUTORS
Cultural influences are also playing a role in today’s beverage experiences. Indeed, much of the food and beverage spice trend is rooted in Latin culture. According to Datassential’s Menu Trends, mangonadas have soared more than 400% on non-alcoholic beverage menus at restaurants over the past year. A combination of mango sorbet, chopped fresh mango or mango purée, mangonadas are typically accented with the salty, spicy and tangy flavors of tajin and chamoy. In the alcoholic beverage space, micheladas—a drink made with beer, lime juice, tomato juice and assorted spicy sauces—and particularly Modelo Chelada, are gaining ground. Modelo Chelada’s latest flavor, Fresa Picante, is made with the Mexican beer, sweet strawberry flavors and chili peppers. Before a beverage brand makes its way to c-stores, marketers must first ensure there’s a market for it. PepsiCo’s Santee said that the brand’s research and development department is committed “to being at the forefront of science and technology to create novel beverage experiences that leverage the latest flavors, trends, and cultural influences. [Our] experts are consistently exploring and tracking how our consumers’ everyday experiences are changing, and what this means for their beverage consumption, so that we can deliver on their individual preferences.”
Santee advises that when new brands do hit the market, convenience retailers devote special attention to them. “Creating innovation destinations can introduce new experiences to shoppers by ensuring these products and brands have the right in-store racks and positionings and the right campaign and assets at point of sale,” the PepsiCo executive explained. That’s something you’ll find at Duchess stores, where “innovation shelves” highlight new brands and test their potential for permanent placement. Among the products on the innovation shelf recently, according to Arnold, was a Liquid Death iced tea.
As with any new products, promotions are critical to drive trial and awareness of new beverages and aid customers in their beverage journeys. Santee suggests that c-stores cross-merchandise the beverages with menu items to encourage shoppers to sample the new products. Tactical merchandising practices around new drinks can go a long way in building c-store baskets while elevating consumers’ beverage experience.
Terri Allan is a New Jersey-based freelance writer, specializing in the beverage industry. She can be reached at terri4beer@aol.com
Get a glimpse of what’s to come at the 2024 NACS Show in Las Vegas.
BY LEAH ASH
This October, 24,000+ conve nience and fuel retail industry stakeholders will gather in Las Vegas for the NACS Show. These industry leaders will spend four days learning, buying, selling and networking at an event where everything is designed to help your bottom line—and be fun.
ON THE FLOOR
Attendees will have the opportunity to discover thousands of the latest products and services that c-stores sell and use everyday on the 433,000 square foot Expo floor, which will showcase over 1,200 exhibitors. The Expo is split into five categories:
• Fuel Equipment & Services
• Food Equipment & Foodservice Programs
• Facility Development & Store Operations
• Merchandise
• Technology The Expo also features a New Exhibitor Area and the Cool New Products Preview Room. The Preview Room is loaded with new innovations, products, services and other
growth opportunities for your business. Each product has product details and exhibitor contact information that you can save to make a to-do list for the rest of the Expo floor. Check out the website to see when these areas open—the New Exhibitor Area opens an hour earlier than the general Expo floor and the Cool New Products Preview Room has some buyer-only hours for retailers.
NACS SHOW GENERAL SESSIONS
Four days of NACS Show general sessions will focus on how your stores can deliver an amazing customer experience. Each session will feature a lively mix of world-class leaders, compelling insights from Ideas 2 Go videos and industry experts who will examine how our industry can enhance convenience retail through food, technology, design and people.
On October 10, the final day of the NACS Show, the closing General Session will feature renowned chefs Andrew Zimmern and David Chang. Both chefs are big fans of convenience stores and their food offers. The pair will share their passion for food and how convenience stores can continue to elevate their
foodservice to stand out among the competition. The session includes a live cooking demonstration showcasing a few simple ideas to evolve traditional offerings—plus a recipe challenge to create a unique dish using common c-store items.
Andrew Zimmern is an Emmy-winning and four-time James Beard Award-winning chef, TV personality, writer and social justice advocate. A star of culinary shows on Travel Channel and The Food Network and the host of two Emmy-nominated shows on the Magnolia Network, Zimmern has devoted his life to exploring and promoting cultural acceptance, tolerance and understanding through food. His newest shows are Field to Fire on Outdoor Channel, premiering on September 23, and Wild Game Kitchen on Tastemade. He was a guest on the NACS Convenience Matters podcast “How Celebrity Chef Andrew Zimmern Is Changing C-Store Foodservice” in March 2024. (Check out convenience matters.com for all podcasts.)
Chang is founder of the Momofuku restaurant group and Majordomo Media. Since opening his first restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar, in 2004, he has been recognized as GQ’s Man of the Year and a Time 100 honoree. David also is the host of The Dave Chang Show podcast and three documentary series: “Ugly Delicious,” “Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner,” and “The Next Thing You Eat.” His cookbooks and memoir are New York Times bestsellers. In 2019, he opened a convenience store called Peach Mart in New York City.
Renowned chef Andrew Zimmern will be speaking at the closing General Session on October 10.
David Chang, chef and founder of Momofuku restaurants, will also take the stage October 10 at the closing General Session.
Plan Ahead: The Schedule
Monday, October 7
7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Registration
10:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Cool New Products Preview Room (buyers only)
12:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Education Sessions
3:45 p.m.-5:00 p.m. General Session
5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. NACS Show Kick-Off Party (ticketed event)
Tuesday, October 8
7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Registration
8:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m. Education Sessions
8:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Cool New Products Preview Room (buyers only)
10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m. General Session
10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. New Exhibitor Area (early access 10:30 a.m.)
11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Expo (all exhibits)
11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Cool New Products Preview Room
Wednesday, October 9
7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Registration
8:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m. Education Sessions
8:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Cool New Products Preview Room
10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m. General Session
10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. New Exhibitor Area (early access 10:30 a.m.)
11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Expo (all exhibits)
Thursday, October 10
7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Registration
8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. General Session
8:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Cool New Products Preview Room
9:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Expo (all exhibits)
IDEAS 2 GO
Celebrating its 30th year as part of the NACS Show general sessions, the NACS Ideas 2 Go video series showcases retail excellence at forward-thinking convenience stores. These videos debut throughout the four days of General Sessions.
The featured retailers for the 2024 NACS Show are:
• Hop Shops/Valor Oil Co. in Florence, Kentucky. The company’s “disco bathrooms” have become a viral media sensation and elevated the experience of a restroom visit.
For its Ideas 2 Go video, Hop Shops explored its unique, experience-based disco bathrooms.
• Nouria Energy in Milford, Massachusetts, and Logan International Airport. “Making you happy makes us happy” is more than messaging—it’s Nouria’s commitment to the customer experience.
• Family Express in Cedar Lake, Indiana, and its training center in Valparaiso, Indiana. Family Express’s “living brand” puts the focus on customer relations, beginning with its employees. The hyper selective hiring process brings the right people to Family Express stores.
• Seasons Corner Market/East Side Enterprises LLC in Cranston, Rhode Island. Seasons evolved from a traditional service station to the corner market that delivers exceptional food and curated products that meet the unique needs of the community.
• Dash In/Wills Group in Indian Head, Maryland. Dash In’s latest store showcases how the retailer has redefined how convenience, customer experience and community engagement can positively impact a community.
• Rusty Lantern Markets LLC in Bethel, Maine. The food-forward focus and new store design emphasizes prepared food, including chef-prepared delicacies like lobster rolls, fresh salads, pizza and local coffee.
• RJ WagsPark in Newtown, Ohio. The ultimate experience for dogs and people, as well as food, entertainment and, of course, a convenience store.
While on the road, NACS spoke with Alex Olympidis from Family Express for Ideas 2 Go.
NACS Show Education Sessions
About 50 Education Sessions, created by your peers to cover a range of issues everyone in the industry is facing, are a highlight of the NACS Show. Check out NACSShow.com for an up-to-date list of Education Sessions, which cover everything from AI applications to store safety to the right liquid fuels mix.
Here are Q&As with two of the experts who will be sharing their insights at Education Sessions.
Strategies For Boosting Your Alcohol Category Performance
Join Dee Don Bates, category manager at Yesway, and Danny Brager, beverage alcohol industry fact-based consultant at 3 Tier Beverages, for a masterclass on how industry experts identify trends and create actionable tactics to help businesses navigate the evolving landscape of alcohol.
How would you describe your upcoming education session?
Our session will be set up in a question-and-answer type format as we go over the state of the union in the alcohol category—what’s working, what’s not working. Most importantly, we’ll talk over what has happened in the category over the last year,
from Modelo taking the No. 1 spot in the market to how the price of beer has changed consumer behavior.
The biggest lift to listeners, I think, would be the update on the state of the industry and then our discussion on how to capitalize on that moving forward.
What’s something you hope attendees take away from your session?
Managing through the times is probably the biggest takeaway someone can take from the session. We’ll go over what has happened and what the expectations are for the future of the industry, and from that, what retailers and suppliers can do in the alcohol category going forward. Danny is a data analyst, and he’ll dive into the numbers more nationally while mine are much more regional. But there’s a lot of overlap in how regional and national trends overlap.
For example, the Modelo craze began in California. I thought it would be 10 years before I saw that trend in New Mexico, but it almost simultaneously went straight vertical without even planning on it.
Why should people attend your education session in October?
It will be fun and interesting and educational, and built to help businesses increase their profits. But if nothing else, it will be entertaining.
Connect for Success: The Steps to Influence
Convenience stores are built on community and the ability to connect with others—so continue to hone that skill. This workshop is hosted by retired FBI Special Agent and founder of Elite Mindsets Kyle Vowinkel, and he will not only walk attendees through the FBI negotiation tactics, which are built upon connecting with other people, but give attendees a chance to practice what they’re learning.
How would you describe your upcoming education session?
Connecting with others is something that we’re not taught how to do in school, and it’s such a fundamental skill for people to interact productively, positively, in meaningful ways
with one another, yet so many people don’t know how to use or even build that skill. Connecting is good for business—connecting is good for customers, connecting will increase your profits. If your employees feel valued and a part of the team, they are going to perform better. Connections between people are vital to take your business to the next level.
What’s something you hope attendees take away from your session?
Truly, we’re not taught how to connect with other people, and in this session, we’re practicing connecting through practical exercises. And I advocate and encourage attendees to take away the idea that they can do similar exercises with their own teams. I call them decision-making exercises, and we did them a lot in the FBI because nobody is good at everything right off the bat. You have to practice.
You should have connection exercises, and other leadership exercises, that help you develop yourself. To help your team develop and improve their performance. You can’t just give a PowerPoint and expect them to get better—they need to practice.
Leah Ash is an editor/writer at NACS. She can be reached at lash@convenience.org.
A Fresh Focus on
Shell Café defines its seating area by lowering the lights with different lighting fixtures.
Design
Taking notes from QSRs, c-stores are highlighting food, community and experience in their interiors.
BY AMANDA BALTAZAR
oday’s convenience stores are not the same stores you shopped at 20 years ago. Done right, they’re bright, airy and fresh with an intentional focus on customer experience at their core.
These stores, which have for decades capitalized on their major advantages—speed and convenience—are now focusing on being something more to consumers, zeroing in on how good design can impact every element of a store visit for an elevated experience.
“Design needs to serve a purpose to be effective and relevant—it should be a natural extension of the core values and personality of the individual retailer, create an open and easily understandable layout that is simple to navigate, project a strong first impression and provide a warm, welcoming environment,” said Joseph Bona, president of Bona Design Lab in New York City.
To be authentic, retailers need to find what it is that makes them different and then tell that story through their design. “Design is a strong tool to help [convenience stores] elevate their business,” Bona added.
And with freshly prepared food playing a more important—if not the most important— role in convenience stores, operators can take some design cues from quick service restaurants’ playbooks.
WRITE YOUR FOODSERVICE STORY
With foodservice now being the No. 1-selling category for c-stores, “layouts have evolved to help shape the food story retailers are trying to tell,” as a result, said Bona, adding that food prepping, staging and cooking areas should be more visible to emphasize freshness. Retailers should decide what food narrative they’re trying to convey—if their
An Eclectic Mart in L.A.
Fatty Mart in Los Angeles is firmly embedded in its community.
The store opened last year and features a variety of unusual foods befitting the diverse neighborhood it’s in. It also features freshly made pizza, banh mi and coffee around the perimeter of the space, which is all viewable by shoppers. There’s also a robust grab-and-go offering and consumers can see it all being freshly prepared— including a view of the pizza oven.
Outside, the store is painted vibrant orange and blue, colors that continue inside. Los Angeles firm Design, Bitches, retained the original storefront but removed the glass from the windows, then built a secondary storefront 25 feet back, creating a covered seating area in between the two. “This really creates activity and helps pull people
specialty is made-to-order fried chicken in the store’s own proprietary breading, for example, then customers should be able to see that. This elevates a store’s story, especially when compared to some competitors, said Bona.
Seth Maddox, creative designer, King Retail Solutions in Eugene, Oregon, suggests creating direct sightlines back to the foodservice area, especially if it has an open kitchen, so customers can be enticed to buy food.
into the space,” said Catherine Johnson, founding partner, Design, Bitches.
The space is open and airy with low shelving and high, exposed ceilings. There’s lots of warm laminated plywood, while tile makes the space feel upscale, clean and fresh. Fatty Mart features bright and fun murals in the brand colors. Guests can shop in the store or order ahead and pick up from a designated spot just inside the front door.
Design needs to serve a purpose to be effective and relevant
The more retailers can showcase the freshness of the food or elevate the offerings through presentation, the better, and there are small design touches that can have a big impact—displaying pastries or bread items in baskets, which add color and texture and make the products seem fresher, more akin to a bakery, for example; or showing sandwiches being prepared, even if the meat comes in already sliced.
TECHNOLOGY UPGRADE
. ”
Technology is becoming a more important marketing tool. Retailers are using digital menu boards with dynamic images to whet customers’ appetites, such as steam rising from a coffee cup or condensation dripping down a cold drink. These vibrant images create color and movement and capture more eyeballs than static signage.
This Jacksons location, designed by King Retail Solutions, uses sign hierarchy that denotes products and category sections to help customers navigate the store.
Kwik Trip stores, for example, typically have around 18 digital signs in their 9,000-square-foot stores. These are used to promote everything from counter items to smoothies and fresh foods and can be quickly and easily changed for new offers or to reflect pricing changes or promotions. Ideally, retailers should use digital menu boards to promote high-profit and high-margin items and specials.
Transparent LED digital signage is also being used more. This can be placed on cooler doors or front windows and is easily updated with time-of-day specials since the film is connected to a server.
Digital ordering kiosks are becoming more prevalent, both in the convenience industry and in quick serve restaurants. Kiosks are ideal for customers who prefer not to interact with staff and should be placed within the foodservice area so it’s obvious what can be ordered there.
And in the back of house, kitchen display systems (KDS) help guide employees through the steps for making food items, which can be extremely helpful for locations with high turnover because less staff training is required.
Using technology can also help with consumer perceptions of the store, making the space feel less cluttered, sleeker and more modern, said Bona, “and it makes people feel a little more confident that these are modern facilities.”
Technology is making its way into more consumer touchpoints too, such as coffee or slushie machines. This eliminates the need for an employee preparing these drinks, said Maddox, as well as taking the order, since it’s often done through a kiosk.
WAYFINDING IS PARAMOUNT
Design is astrong tool to help [convenience stores] elevate their business.”
Digital ordering, and the pickup of those meals, has changed the layout of c-stores and QSRs, and clear directional signage is ever more important. “There’s such a variation with customer journeys,” said Lauren Chipman, principal and CEO, Chipman Design Architecture in Des Plaines, Illinois, “so we
need to be very obvious. The customer needs to know where they’re going for mobile pickup, drive-thru or ordered ahead drive-thru, or catering.”
Chipman has designed several quick service restaurants, and said it’s a good idea to think of signage in a hierarchy because there’s a lot for customers to take in.
Maddox is also a fan of signage hierarchy, with tier one directing people to certain areas of the store—food to order, the cold vault, restrooms or snacks, for example. This could
be done with printed signs, canopies, clouds and hanging signs. In tier two are eye-level signs, such as ones showing where specific beverages are or directions for how to make a cup of coffee; and tier three gives product level information such as pricing.
But try not to overwhelm the customer with signage, Chipman said. She likes to use hanging signage, because it can be flexible, though it is harder to update regularly. Conversely, she’s not a fan of floor signage as it’s reminiscent of the pandemic (remember those six feet apart circles directing customers where to stand?). “It feels like the [place] hasn’t been updated,” she explained.
Wayfinding also doesn’t only include directional signage—it can be accomplished with cues or guidance that leads customers through a clear path. For example, retailers can demarcate different areas with colored flooring or a different style of flooring—perhaps in the foodservice or payment area—to help customers distinguish sections of the store.
Maddox likes to define the seating area by lowering the lights or adding different lighting fixtures, and creating a canopy or cloud over the tables to make a zone.
At a recently opened Bellevue, Washington, Evergreens location (a Seattle-based quick-service chain), Joy Dayaw, associate, MG2 Design in Seattle, included a railing six feet from the front door to guide customers to the menu, the ordering line, and then to the POS, “so it’s a very clear pathway.” And the railing, of course, fits in—it’s painted the dark, deep green of the
At a Bellevue, Washington, Evergreens location, a railing subtly guides customers through a clear ordering path and demarcates sections of the restaurant.
King Retail Solutions added a distinct seating area, separated by a homey fireplace divider, to this Jacksons location for customers to enjoy their food, work remotely or take a break from the road.
Bite-Sized Design Ideas
Consider adding a self checkout near your regular checkout to provide options. Stores need at least one of each, said Maddox.
Upgrade your interior materials to upscale the customer experience. In six out of 10 projects, Maddox is asked to make the convenience store “not feel like a gas station.” He’s using higher-quality materials, like real tile, actual wood cladding and more expensive light fixtures “so it feels more authentic,” he said.
Let customers see into your kitchens to showcase the freshness of your food program. QSRs are doing this too. Smashburger wanted customers to literally see employees smashing their burgers, so Dayaw designed an open area where people could sit and wait for their food while watching the cooks. “They feel they’re part of that experience,” she said.
Include a mobile order pickup spot for customer convenience. David Shove-Brown, partner at architecture firm //3877 in Washington, D.C., suggested having pickup windows so some customers don’t even have to enter the restaurant. These should be facing out from the kitchen and ideally near the expo station, he said, otherwise an employee has to sit at the window full-time. Pickup windows work particularly well in densely populated areas due to the large quantity of orders, he said.
Wayfinding signage is critical now because consumers want that streamlined experience.”
Evergreen’s palette. It’s subtle, but the railing separates the ordering line from the seating area and from customers picking up orders. Other wayfinding can be incorporated at eye level and above, and is often suspended from the ceiling. “Wayfinding signage is critical now because consumers want that streamlined experience,” said Dayaw. “We’re really focusing on the speed and convenience of the customer flow.”
EMBRACE COMMUNITY
Incorporating the local community into the store design is key, said Maddox. This helps retailers connect with consumers living nearby, but also makes the store more interesting to tourists and others passing through. This can be as simple as presenting imagery of local landmarks, even with small nods in graphics and signage. Retailers should also consider incorporating local materials—if you’re in an area with lots of stone or wood, for example, use those in your store design, Maddox said. Chipman also likes to include local maps, which “are something everyone identifies with,” she said. Other elements to focus on are famous locals or the history of the area— maybe it was known for a certain industry like clockmaking.
Andrew Werner
At the Smashburger in Queens, New York, a wall graphic depicts nearby Flushing Meadows Corona Park, site of the 1964 World’s Fair and home to other local attractions. Murals work well for localizing c-stores and restaurants because they’re low cost and can be refreshed, and brands can commission local artists, Chipman pointed out. Murals can be painted directly onto a wall or printed and applied to the wall. While more expensive upfront, the latter option tends to weather well; if outside it will fade less, and inside it can be wiped down as needed.
Dayaw recently worked with Smashburger and a vendor to create expansive graphic wall coverings for the QSR featuring brand colors and images of nearby landmarks.
“It’s a great tool to use in QSR designs because it gets so much impact for the amount of effort you put in,” she said. And the more these images incorporate brand colors, she added, the more cohesiveness there is from one location to another.
SIT AND STAY
Including a seating area for customers to enjoy their food “helps contribute to the story of [your store] being a food destination,” said Bona.
Seating areas tend to be small, said Maddox, with maybe four tables able to seat around 10 people total. “Even if it doesn’t get used, it can just make the customer perceive it as a space they want to sit in, and it can reinforce that brand message of cleanliness and freshness,” he said.
And he expects to see more seating areas and even lounges with soft seating as gas stations add chargers for EV drivers. He’s allocating more space for these in his designs now, sometimes even adding features like fireplaces.
Eye level signage, such as these displays used by Power Market and designed by King Retail Solutions, help direct customers to specific items.
These seating spaces can also be designated as places for customers to wait for their food or their mobile order to be ready to be picked up, Maddox pointed out.
Whether a retailer is tweaking its store design or building a brand new store, a little forethought about the customers’ experiences and perceptions could go a long way in ensuring those shoppers become repeat visitors.
Amanda Baltazar has been writing about foodservice and retail for trade magazines for more than 20 years. Read more of her work at www.chaterink.com
BY KATE BERNOT
Among all the changes occurring within the beverage-alcohol landscape, none is more important than the rise of women consumers. Women’s ascent as drinkers is literally historic: the majority of drinkers in the United States under the age of 25 are women, a shift that occurred for the first time ever five years ago. According to data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, rates of alcohol consumption among women outpaced those of men for the first time in American history in 2019. As of 2022, the survey found that more women than men report drinking alcohol at some point in their lives.
The shift came as a result of women’s economic and social empowerment. Long-term trends toward greater earning power, career advancement and educational attainment—all correlated with higher alcohol consumption and spending—have bolstered the percentage of women who drink alcohol, while percentages among men have dipped over the past 15 years. Combined with women’s role as the primary shopper in most households, it’s clear that women are the most important demographic of beverage-alcohol purchasers.
BULLISH ON BEER
They wield both buying power and influence, said Bridget Brennan, CEO of the strategic advisory firm Female Factor and author of the books “Winning Her Business” and “Why She Buys.” But convenience stores haven’t fully captured this critical demographic yet.
“When I see the NACS data that shows 43% of convenience store shoppers are women, I flip that number in my mind and think: What an opportunity this is for the industry, because that means 57% are not [women]—yet,” Brennan said. “There is so much runway for convenience stores to grow with this crucial market of customers.”
Females represent 40% of beer drinkers, and Diageo Beer Company sees growth opportunities for the category among its female customer base.
“Our data shows that the male/female alcohol consumption occasions are practically split by half (48% female, 51% male, 1% identifying as neither). When it comes to beer, it’s true that there is still an under-index among female consumers, but that has been changing over time,” said Ramona Giderof, vice president of chain accounts at Diageo Beer Company.
Specifically, Guinness continues to grow with female drinkers, adding +3% of additional female drinkers since 2018, she said.
When it comes to drinking preferences and occasions, “we believe female consumers are looking for a broader set of options across beverage alcohol,” as they tend to drink on occasions that surround a meal and connecting with others, whether they are friends, family, or both. “Therefore, they are motivated to choose drinks that are complementary to these occasions: easy to enjoy, appealing flavor or taste, and even appearance.”
The two drink types Giderof said c-stores can win female customers with? Zero sugar beverages and malt-based drinks. Women are twice as likely as men to consider zero sugar options, she said. “With nearly two-thirds of zero sugar flavored malt beverage dollars in c-stores being incremental to the category, offering zero sugar brands can be a win-win for both shoppers and retailers.”
A CRITICAL CUSTOMER BASE
Given the primacy of younger, legal-drinking-age (LDA) women as shoppers, stores’ beverage-alcohol offerings are central to attracting and retaining this customer demographic. Retailers across the board know that Gen Z represents the future. And that future—particularly for alcohol purchasers— is female. This is a marked shift from decades past, and the alcoholic beverage industry, in its many forms, is generally still playing catch-up. Historically, women haven’t been at the forefront of decision-making in the beer, wine and spirits space.
But the tide may, finally, be turning. Some of the most successful alcohol brands today— particularly in the ready-to-drink (RTD) segment—have seen their sales bolstered by women shoppers, and these companies are increasingly catering to the specific needs and preferences of women shoppers, while also recognizing that what’s appealing to them often has broad appeal for men, too. “When I’m creating campaigns, I’m trying to create the most value for someone who’s making that purchase decision,” said Kim Cuellar, director of trade marketing-chain accounts for BeatBox Beverages. Numerator data shows BeatBox convenience shoppers are 53% female, when combining purchases that women make alone with purchases that women make when shopping with men. “From that perspective, gender does matter to me because I want to provide the best experience and the best value to any customer, but in particular the beverage decision-maker, who, for BeatBox, does skew more female.”
In particular, Hispanic women are a core consumer base for BeatBox. Capturing a diverse consumer set will be critical for any beverage-alcohol brand or retailer given prevailing demographic trends. Census data shows the generation behind Gen Z, currently in their pre- and early teens, will be the first majority non-white generation born in the United States. Taking into account immigration as well as births, Gen Z will become majority non-white in 2026.
The majority of drinkers in the United States under the age of 25 are women.
“Our data model shows that by 2025, there will be 10 million additional legal drinking age consumers who are multicultural, and 33 million by 2035. So, 9 in 10 new LDA+ drinkers in the United States will come from multicultural communities,” said Ramona Giderof, vice president of chain accounts at Diageo Beer Company.
“As Gen Z continues to diversify rapidly in terms of race and ethnicity, the landscape of beverage sales is shifting. This demographic shift has significant implications for convenience stores in terms of product mix, shopper behavior and more,” said Taylor Newberry, regional account manager southwest for Pabst Brewing Company. “By 2025, an estimated 62% of the U.S. population will be millennials or younger, reflecting a more diverse and multiracial society than ever before.”
There is no way to cater to the next wave of c-store customers and beverage-alcohol consumers without putting women—and especially nonwhite women—at the forefront of decisions about the in-store experience.
UNDERSTAND THE MODERN WOMAN …
So, what do women want? More importantly, you should ask: Who is the woman shopping for alcohol in a c-store?
That typical shopper may be younger and more affluent than the woman shopper of last decade. As convenience stores prove more resilient than other forms of retail, the stores’ prioritization of well-prepared food and premium coffee have made c-stores more attractive to women.
Harvey Collins, Southeast adult beverage category manager for Circle K, said these shoppers are top-of-mind when she’s making decisions about her stores’ aisles. One of Circle K’s core shopper demographics is dubbed the “Working Wonder Woman.” She’s a woman with a job and maybe a family who juggles several responsibilities and makes purchasing decisions for her household. It’s a role Collins herself can relate to.
“I’m a female, so in everything that I do, I think about what my needs are and what I
This demographic shift has significant implications for convenience stores in terms of product mix, shopper behavior and more.”
like to see as a shopper. I basically take my desires and needs and strategically come up with ways to make the category more attractive to our female customers who shop our stores each and every day,” Collins said.
The pandemic also recategorized c-stores as a beverage-alcohol destination for the segment of shoppers who may have previously shopped at liquor stores. The desire to consolidate shopping trips and spend less time inside stores seems to have encouraged new, affluent customers to buy wine at their local c-stores, said Michelle Abdollah, category manager for alcoholic beverages at ExtraMile Convenience Stores. Given that Gallup polling shows women are three times as likely as men to consume wine as their most frequent type of alcohol, many of these new, wine-seeking shoppers are women.
“More wine drinkers are shifting to look at the c-store channel and that means we do have to have a destination for wine to attract those customers,” Abdollah said.
Diageo’s Giderof also said c-stores can capitalize on being a one-stop-shop for alcohol consumers by pairing alcoholic beverages with food for meal deals.
“Promoting meal bundles online and within retailer loyalty apps can both drive traffic and overall basket rings with consumers on their way home from work,” she explained. “Our household data shows that shoppers whose baskets contain both beer and prepared meals spend over $40 per trip in the c-store channel—that’s over $25 more than shoppers that purchase neither category.”
Whatever their preferred beverage, it’s imperative that these shoppers easily find the product mix, price points and flavors they’re looking for.
Perhaps just as important is what modern women don’t want to see: outdated, reductive advertising. Brennan suggests stores take a critical look at their current displays to make sure women are not only included in visuals, but that they’re active participants in the
action. Avoid depicting women only in family situations, she said, as women today play many roles in their workplaces and communities.
“We make sure to show our products in authentically diverse and inclusive occasions. From food, to sports watching, to enjoying a drink at their favorite bars, we ensure that our female drinkers are equally part of our brand stories,” said Giderof.
And finally, unless a store or product is explicitly raising money for breast cancer research, Brennan cautioned against relying on pink to signal products geared toward women. “Pink is not a strategy,” Brennan said. “Women play many roles in life and understanding these roles opens up more opportunities to connect [with them as customers].”
Within legal drinking-age Gen Z, there’s that important layer of the female Gen Z shopper.”
… AND WHAT SHE WANTS
Women are not monolithic in their alcohol choices. Broadly, consumers are drinking more across bev-alc categories than ever before, selecting beer on one occasion, wine the next and perhaps a malt-based RTD cocktail after that.
Circana data from 2023 shows 26% of drinkers say they consume beer, wine and spirits, while the percentage of drinkers who choose exclusively one category fell between 2019 and 2023. As drinkers move across alcohol categories, flavor and format have become increasingly important purchase motivators. And for women, flavor and format converge in unique ways.
“There’s a lot of blurriness within alcohol right now, so we have seen new segments develop—malt-based RTDs and wine-based RTDs like BeatBox and BuzzBallz exploded—and a lot of those drinkers tend to skew females as well,” said Abdollah. She says it’s a combination of convenient, single-serve packaging and bold flavor that has made these products a hit with women.
Efficiency and flavor are important to men, too, but experts say women in particular gravitate toward smaller package sizes than men do. The reasons are varied: Women may not want to carry large 30-packs of beer, they might simply want to consume less liquid overall or they’re interested in a single-serve package that provides a low-cost trial. Observing that women shoppers most frequently purchased alcohol packaged in sizes at or below 187 millimeter bottles or 16 ounce cans, Circle K has been introducing single-serve alcohol into its queue lines, driving impulse buys and sales growth.
Collins says when women come into c-stores with their families or to use the restroom, they don’t often have time to peruse the entire store, and they’re unlikely to explore the beer cave. Promotional displays of brands that over-index among women should therefore be in high-traffic areas that are within the line of sight of the entrance and register.
“I am strategic with placement of core items females typically shop for,” Collins says. “If in a door, will the door be in the line of sight for the female customer as she makes her trip to the restroom or foodservice area?”
Suppliers agreed that innovative and strategically placed displays can drive sales
SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ
Southern Champion’s single-serve BuzzBallz product has a 57% female buyer ratio. The woman-owned alcohol brand said it has a broad consumer base, with a diverse range of ethnicities and ages, including strong representation from the Black and Latino communities and females 21 to 54 years old.
The brand mostly targets Gen Z and Millennial females for its products.
“We see most of our audience coming from these generations. This can be attributed to Gen Z and Millennials’ fast-paced lifestyles as they often use the convenience channel as a stock up trip, a very different shopper compared to more mature shoppers of today,” said Tia Wines, director of marketing for Southern Champion. “They are looking for costconscious beverage options and enjoy trying new things.”
BuzzBallz packaging and advertising strategy puts women at the center of its messaging, starting by prominently promoting its womenowned status on its containers and displays.
“In our marketing strategies, primarily with organic social content, we often cater to our female audience with specific trendbased content as well as female-oriented thematic photoshoots. We want to promote the fact that BuzzBallz are able to be enjoyed by anyone for any event,” said Wines. “We see a lot of creators on Instagram that use our BuzzBallz for floral arrangements or bedazzling projects. Two things about our products that often connect with our female customers are bright colors and fruity flavors. The bright colors make our product perfect for coordinating outfits and taking photos with.”
volume. Southern Champion’s BuzzBallz uses its “novelty spherical shape that is cute and unique,” as well as “bright colors and fun, trendy messaging,” in its in-store displays to “catch attention the second someone enters the store,” explained Tia Wines, director of marketing at Southern Champion.
There may still be a major area, though, where many c-stores are missing an opportunity to connect with women shoppers: immediate refreshment. Women are twice as likely as men to make an alcohol purchase from a warm display versus a cold box, likely because they avoid the beer cave. But there is also a rise in immediate consumption: NACS data shows 83% of items purchased at a c-store are consumed within an hour. Stores would be wise to offer women cold adult beverages in cooler doors, offering the convenience of a pre-chilled item without a trip inside the beer cave.
“C-store visits are usually driven by convenience or occasion, so single-serve, full bodied and ready-to-drink cocktails fill the
inherent gap c-store customers are looking to fix with premium flavor, strength and convenience,” said Wines.
These subtle insights can unlock huge opportunities over time. Focusing on the identities, lifestyles and preferences of women shoppers is—given current demographic trends—table stakes for today’s c-store operators.
“Most of the time when we hear something about c-stores looking for more consumers, it’s always focused around Gen Z, Gen Z, Gen Z. But within legal drinking-age Gen Z, there’s that important layer of the female Gen Z shopper,” Beatbox’s Cuellar said. “They’re coming into this new phase of independence as a key decision-maker.”
Kate Bernot is a beverage alcohol reporter who regularly writes for Good Beer Hunting’s Sightlines and Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine; she is also the director of the North American Guild of Beer Writers.
BY BEN NUSSBAUM
The surge to finish Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia church echoes a retailing world where “slowly, then suddenly” resonates.
SAGRADA FAMILIA
is Barcelona’s signature building. Construction of the church began in 1882. It took 37 years to complete the first tower … leaving 17 more to build.
Chronic lack of funding, wars and Covid (not to mention anarchist attacks) have slowed or halted construction in the past. But in 2014, a new lead engineering firm joined the project and was given a mission to increase the speed of construction by a factor of 10. A suite of new technologies transformed the construction process, and the church is now scheduled to be completed in 2026.
NACS President and CEO Henry Armour likes to say that change comes slowly—and then suddenly. That’s the case with Sagrada Familia, a building that once seemed like it would permanently be under construction— until, suddenly, it was almost finished.
The idea that as an industry we’re in the “suddenly” phase across many segments was an undercurrent of the NACS Convenience Summit Europe, which took place in Barcelona over three days in June.
Here’s a look at just some of the many topics of conversation at the event.
ARE YOU DOING LOYALTY WRONG?
In his presentation kicking off the event, Armour recounted his days as a c-store operator in the Pacific Northwest. His company, West Star, was one of the first to introduce a mag stripe loyalty card. Participants received points that they could then use for a discount on fuel or in-store merchandise.
“Two years into that program, I printed out the top 10 loyalty customers from every one of our 100 stores. I sat down with every manager, and I asked, ‘Do you know these people?’ Every manager said, ‘Absolutely.’ I went, ‘Wow, this is amazing. How do you know them?’”
The answer Armour received: “They were our best customers before we even started the program.” Armour took that information … and killed the program, which was only “giving margin back to people who valued my offer to begin with.”
Just having a loyalty program isn’t an accomplishment. And now with loyalty programs being common, Armour posited that operators should be asking themselves, “What does loyalty look like when everyone has a loyalty program?”
Juan Alfonso Herrero, an executive with Spanish grocer Mercadona, shared his company’s approach to loyalty during a deep dive on Mercadona’s overall strategy. Mercadona doesn’t have a loyalty program at all. Instead, with most of its sales coming from its five
Henry Armour
private-label brands and a focus on offering low prices and a smooth shopping experience, “I think we have been able to create loyalty without having a loyalty program, because customers are very loyal to our brands and to our model.”
Tom Fleming and Christophe Schmitt from consulting firm Oliver Wyman shared an example of loyalty done wrong: A fuel retailer partnered with a grocer on a loyalty program through which a customer could use points from buying fuel to earn a grocery discount and vice versa.
Problem No. 1 was site location: 85% of the grocery stores had a partner fuel site within five kilometers, but only 20% of the fuel sites had a partner grocery store within five kilometers. “So, at 80% of [the fuel sites], this was a proprietary program,” Fleming said.
Problem No. 2 was that the grocer was adding on additional benefits when the customer checked out to encourage people to spend their points at the grocer. That meant
the fuel retailer “was paying for the points to be redeemed in the grocery store,” which was financially not sustainable the way the program was set up.
Problem No. 3 was a misalignment with the program and the fuel retailer’s primary target when it came to growth, which was light-duty truckers. Instead of appealing to truckers, the program had the most appeal to suburban women, and, in particular, suburban women who already were filling up at the retailer anyway.
The larger takeaway: c-stores that were recently in the get-a-loyalty-program phase are now squarely in the refining and rethinking phase. The Oliver Wyman duo offered five tips:
• Review performance. Review the program against its own objectives as well as the overall company strategy.
• Focus on a target segment. Simplify and focus on one or two objectives with a certain audience segment.
• Use the data across the entire company.
• Invest in the customer experience.
• Evaluate how a loyalty program fits into your business in the future. Make sure you know why you have a loyalty program. Is it possible that your customer experience is already enough of a differentiator?
What does that fourth tip, investing in a customer experience, mean? Fleming sees a third generation of loyalty on the horizon. Generation one—the type of loyalty program Armour cancelled—was about discounts or rewards, plain and simple.
Generation two became experiential. Being a Starbucks member, for example, means that you can order ahead and skip the line. “Many people who use [the Starbucks] app do not use it for the stars that you get in the Starbucks reward program. They use it because it creates a better experience, and that is, I think, where loyalty is going for fuels and convenience retailers,” Fleming said.
The third generation will be about creating great experiences that feel unique and personal to the customer. Third-generation programs built around experience reduce the pressure to cut into margins, and may even
Juan Alfonso Herrero
Tom Fleming and Christophe Schmitt
Loyalty Means Business
Returning customers create 80% of C-store future revenue
Top Store Opportunities to Attract and Retain Customers: Breakfast/Coffee Programs Hot Foods Functioning Equipment
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Why
Missed timelines and lack of scalability
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Poor customer experience
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mean the customer becomes less price-sensitive. If they associate your store with a great experience, the overall quality of your offer will be enhanced—your coffee tastes better to a customer who had a great experience, which was enabled by the loyalty program.
CHANGING PRICES DIGITALLY
For a visitor landing in Barcelona, it doesn’t take long to pick up on the fact that electronic shelf labels are widely adopted. The convenience store at the airport didn’t have electronic shelf labels … but it did have paper labels that were printed to look like they were digital. During the store tours portion of the event, attendees saw electronic shelf labels in action at retailers such as Bonpreu and Lidl.
Linnea Geiss
“I think that this is the time where we finally have all the ingredients to make electronic shelf tags a practical and viable solution,” Linnea Geiss, COO at PDI Technologies, shared with event participants.
Reducing the burden on store employees, of course, is part of the rationale. “But the real unlock that’s going to make shelf tags a valuable asset for your business is all about decision optimization,” she said. Retailers have the ability to update prices in real time, change them by time of day or by region, use price changes as tool for testing and learning and even change a price as a call to action to download a loyalty app when a customer walks down an aisle.
Jesper Østergaard
‘THE
PLATFORM IS BURNING’
Jesper Østergaard shared the evolution of 7-Eleven stores in Denmark. Østergaard is the CEO of Reitan Convenience Denmark, the 7-Eleven franchisee in that country.
Today, the stores see about 900 customers per day and sell about 600 food and bakery products per day. 7-Eleven is growing in Denmark, with the Copenhagen airport alone home to 11 stores (one of which is a 7-Eleven-branded bookstore that happens to be the largest bookstore in Scandinavia.)
In other words, things are good.
Østergaard joined the company in 2011. “We were on a burning platform,” he said. The stores were dirty, uninviting and faced a stark milestone. A national law stipulating that supermarkets could not be open after 2 p.m. on Saturdays, on Sundays or on bank holidays was about to be repealed, cutting deeply into the stores’ customer traffic. In ad-
dition, popular categories like magazines and postcards were cratering. “We were losing a lot of money,” Østergaard shared.
“So we decided that we cannot predict the future … but probably we will still need to eat and drink in 50 years,” Østergaard recounted. “So we said, ‘We have to build our business around food and beverages.’”
In 2019, Reitan Convenience Denmark won the NACS International Convenience Retailer of the Year award for completely transforming its way of doing business.
For c-stores looking to evolve towards being foodservice providers, Østergaard shared the following insights:
• Have the right leaders in place. Operating a c-store where most products have a very long shelf life is very different than operating a restaurant/grocer/traditional c-store. Relatedly, build foodservice skills at the store and the corporate level.
• Don’t hide your new and improved foodservice. 7-Eleven Denmark didn’t have a huge marketing budget, so it used what it had to spread the message: The existing stores. It did so by moving the food to the front of store, so every customer had to walk past it.
• Add healthy choices. “We wanted to have all kinds of customers and to be able to serve all kinds of needs,” Østergaard said, which meant expanding beyond c-store staples.
• Think outside the store. Delivery is generating “quite a lot of orders per store,” Østergaard said, as well as large baskets. In addition, B2B catering is a growth category he is excited about.
• Embrace innovation and novelty. “From the very beginning, we were focused on introducing products that we, at least for some period of time, could say were ‘only at 7-Eleven.’”
On the last point of innovation, 7-Eleven Denmark has supported local entrepreneurs. One example Østergaard gave was of a company named, appropriately enough, Banana. It removes bananas from stores when they are past peak and turns them into banana bread, which is then sold at those same stores.
everywhere—even this yoga studio.
SEPARATE FUEL AND FOOD BRANDS
In the three days that c-store leaders gathered in Barcelona, it was often noted that in this city, great food is everywhere. It’s a culture of dining out, where the main meal takes place in the mid-afternoon and is frequently accompanied by wine and conversation.
At fueling sites, meanwhile, the stores tend to be small and in-store sales are traditionally dwarfed by forecourt sales.
So how do you convince customers to get food at your site—when they’re not used to doing so—while there are many other options nearby?
One answer is to create a separate foodservice brand.
Cepsa has embraced that idea with R’spiro, which curates a high-end, Starbucks-like
vibe inside Cepsa stations. The layout and branding make it clear that consumers aren’t getting “gas station food”—they’re getting their food from a charming café that happens to be inside a convenience store that also happens to be behind a forecourt.
Jo Hayward, vice president, mobility and convenience retail at BP UK, shared that BP took a similar approach with its Wild Bean Cafe that it started 20 years ago. The subbrand is now common throughout the UK at BP outlets. In addition, BP has extensive partnerships across the UK with Marks and Spencer, which is known for its larger
department-store style outlets. Marks and Spencer also has small outlets at about 300 BP locations. Hayward said that the Marks and Spencer locations substantially outperform other UK locations.
THE CONFUSED CONSUMER
Bartosz Jesse, a partner at McKinsey & Company, shared some of the considerations consumers make when purchasing food. One key point: Consumers are confused.
In the UK, 46% of consumers agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement, “I find it hard to understand what I should do to be more healthy.” A full 53% of consumers in the UK agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement, “I find it hard to understand what I should do to be more sustainable.”
This means retailers need to do more than just offer healthier or more sustainable options. They need to take the next step, which is to educate the consumer about the in-store offer.
AN AI-POWERED FUTURE
This article was written by AI. Well, not really. Instead, AI-powered software created a wonky, but still useful, transcript of all the presentations delivered at the event. (For example, “franchisee” becomes “French I see.”)
Still, any transcript is an improvement over no transcript, and the AI transcription is totally workable when paired with a recording. AI offers a change in terms of efficiency, but not a revolution. A human still needs to be at the keyboard.
AI was a huge topic of conversation at the event. At the same time, specific use cases for retail remain elusive.
The next NACS Convenience Summit Europe takes place in Copenhagen from 25-27, May 2025, and registration is open at convenience.org/CSE . By then, the conversation around AI should be much more concrete.
Ben Nussbaum is the editor-in-chief of NACS Magazine.
Bartosz Jesse
The future’s looking up for adult tobacco and nicotine consumers looking for spit-free, smoke-free nicotine satisfaction. ZYN makes 23 of the nation’s top 25 selling nicotine pouches which makes your top shelf the most logical place to find it.
On April 30, 2024, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) formally submitted a recommendation to move marijuana from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III. This move, known as reclassification or rescheduling, would officially acknowledge that marijuana has medicinal benefits and a low potential for abuse. The announcement came after President Biden called for a full federal review of marijuana laws in October 2022. “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana,” Biden said in December. “It’s time that we right these wrongs.”
There will still be a review by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and of public commentary before the rescheduling could become official. But it would mark major reform for the cannabis industry—the first substantial change to marijuana’s federal legal status since the Controlled Substances Act was passed in 1971.
“Federal policy on marijuana has essentially been the same since the seventies and this would be a material change,” said Jonathan Havens, a partner and co-chair of cannabis law and food, beverage and agribusiness practices at Saul Ewing. “It is a great first step.”
Meanwhile, the long-overdue draft of the next Farm Bill included no material change to an area where convenience stores play: hemp-derived cannabinoids.
“There are certainly arguments to suggest that certain of these intoxicating hemp cannabinoid products are legal but it’s far from clear,” Havens said. “The legal status is murky.”
Here’s a deeper look at what is—and isn’t— happening with the federal legal statuses of marijuana and hemp, two plants in the cannabis species.
WHAT MARIJUANA RESCHEDULING DOES
On the surface, marijuana rescheduling is important from both a medical and societal level. Schedule I drugs represent the most serious, most threatening substances on the DEA’s Controlled Substances list and include heroin, ecstasy and quaaludes.
Schedule III drugs, meanwhile, are defined by the DEA as presenting “a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence” and are therefore allowed to be prescribed by physicians. Schedule III substances include anabolic steroids, ketamine and Tylenol with codeine.
What does this mean for retailers? While remaining a Controlled Substance means that mainstream retailers still will not be able to sell marijuana, the formal acknowledgement of cannabis’ possible medical benefits and lower risk of dependence will hopefully further destigmatize not only marijuana, but cannabis products as a whole—including hemp-derived cannabinoids found in some convenience stores.
Rescheduling marijuana does not legalize it federally. Only removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances list would accomplish this.
For businesses, the biggest immediate implication of rescheduling is on the tax side. Section 280E in the Internal Revenue Code prohibits anyone “trafficking” in Schedule I or Schedule II drugs from taking advantage of credits and deductions other than those for costs of goods sold. Havens, and others, have estimated this has resulted in a 70%-plus effective tax rate for cannabis businesses.
“These companies are paying an insane amount of taxes, more than any company should pay,” he said. “The most immediate impact of rescheduling to Schedule III is that 280E no longer applies.”
The taxing savings could be huge for the cannabis industry: a study conducted by the cannabis data and research company
WANT MORE?
Check out the October 2023 issue of NACS Magazine, available at NACSmagazine.com, for a look at how Minnesota retailers are adjusting to their state’s policies around selling hempderived THC products.
Whitney Economics found that only 24.4% of U.S. cannabis businesses were profitable as of June 2023. An infusion of capital would mean more money for advertising, new product development and other investments in growing the market.
“Time will tell how much better things get and for folks to understand where we go from here,” said Havens. “Unfortunately, Congress is going to need to unravel some of that messy ball of yarn.”
WHAT RESCHEDULING MARIJUANA DOESN’T DO
There are a lot of misconceptions about what the DEA’s announcement would and wouldn’t do. To be clear, rescheduling marijuana does not legalize it federally. Only removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances list—declassifying or de-scheduling it—would accomplish this.
Rescheduling marijuana as a Schedule III drug still leaves a lot of challenges on the table: challenges that, as Havens stated, almost certainly need to be solved by Congress.
One such challenge rescheduling doesn’t solve: the issue of interstate commerce, which remains prohibited—meaning even though both states have passed adult use marijuana laws, it’s still illegal to take a marijuana product made in California and sell it in Illinois.
“A lot of people don’t understand that this is not forced federal legalization,” said Havens. “Idaho doesn’t have to allow marijuana to be sold within its borders, for example. Congress would need to create rules to carry forward the regulatory scheme.”
The lack of interstate commerce has limited the cannabis industry thus far. Imagine a brewery that could only sell beer in the state where it brews the beer. To grow, it would have to set up breweries in every single state in which it wished to sell. Growth gets very expensive very quickly.
Which brings up another major issue not solved by rescheduling: banking. Because marijuana remains illegal federally, major financial institutions have been hesitant to allow cannabis businesses to access loans, bankruptcy protections or even bank accounts due to the risk of punishment by federal regulators.
I think mainstream retailers have been wanting to get off the sidelines—but it’s currently a complete impossibility from a regulatory and logistics perspective.”
Intoxicating cannabinoids have proliferated in a serious way and people assume availability equals legality.”
The Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act (SAFER) seeks to provide protections to banks serving state-licensed cannabis businesses, but has failed to pass since it was first proposed in 2019 (it did pass in the House when the Democrats held control, but failed to pass in the Senate).
Advocates hope the rescheduling announcement will fuel long overdue action on banking.
“Now is the time” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California) told Bloomberg Television in May.
“Upon rescheduling, there would be even more of a need for banking reformation now, frankly, because there are more mainstream capital needs,” Havens said. “I’m cautiously optimistic that will happen.”
Of course, the biggest issue facing convenience retailers is that marijuana remains federally illegal and mainstream retailers are still prohibited from selling it.
Jon Taets, NACS’ director of government relations, said NACS is a member of the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation and supports the STATES ACT 2.0. If passed, the STATES ACT 2.0 would require the DEA to de-schedule cannabis entirely, establish federal regulatory guidelines on cannabis and authorize interstate commerce.
“It would allow for a responsible, regulated market in these products,” Taets said. “That would be the best outcome for the country and the industry.”
Allowing mainstream retailers in the convenience channel to participate in the marijuana market wouldn’t just require an overhaul of federal regulation, but a complete change in how state markets operate as well. Current state marijuana laws require that marijuana operators only allow adults into the store and only sell marijuana products—nothing else.
“I think mainstream, non-cannabis retailers have been curious about the space, wanting to get off the sidelines,” Havens said. “But it’s currently a complete impossibility from a regulatory and logistics perspective.”
THE ‘GIANT MESS’ OF HEMP CANNABINOIDS
Getting into the cannabis—as opposed to the marijuana—space, however, has become less of an impossibility in the wake of the 2018 Farm Bill.
Much like rescheduling, there was a lot of confusion about what the 2018 Farm Bill did and didn’t do. The 2018 Farm Bill did remove hemp from the DEA’s schedule of Controlled Substances provided the hemp had less than 0.3% THC. But the 2018 Farm Bill also specifically maintained the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) oversight over any ingestible hemp products due to its mandate to regulate the safety of food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics in the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act.
The FDA has repeatedly maintained that any cannabinoids—be it CBD or intoxicating cannabinoids like Delta-8—are “unapproved food additives in any human or animal food product.” The agency has also determined that a new regulatory pathway would need to be created by Congress for CBD (or feasibly other cannabinoids) to be approved for use in food or drug products.
Internal communications from the DEA suggest the agency considers synthetic cannabinoids, namely Delta-8, as not exempted by the 2018 Farm Bill. “Any quantity of Delta-8-THC obtained by chemical means is a controlled substance,” DEA drug and chemical evaluation section chief Terrence Boos wrote in 2021.
It seems fairly unlikely we will see much on the cannabis space in the eventual Farm Bill. It would be another contentious provision to include in a bill that is already late.”
Despite the stances of the FDA and DEA, a robust market for hemp-derived cannabis products—especially intoxicating or psychoactive hemp products—has developed. Though the FDA has taken some action, mainly in the form of warning letters, Havens said it’s a “drop in the bucket compared to what’s on the market.”
“There’s this big question: why aren’t these agencies being more aggressive?” he said. “Intoxicating cannabinoids have proliferated in a serious way and people assume availability equals legality.”
Havens said he’s cautioned clients about the risk of selling a Delta-8 or Delta-9 hemp beverage at mainstream retail—absent states affirmatively allowing it—because of the potential enforcement risk. Those markets have developed without too much enforcement interruption … but Havens warns that could change.
“If the enforcement priorities shift, or one of these sleeping giants wakes up, there could be a change overnight,” he said.
HEMP CANNABINOIDS: NO FIX ON THE HORIZON
In theory, the next iteration of the Farm Bill could provide some clarity. Many believe that when writing the 2018 Farm Bill, legislators did not anticipate the loophole wherein hemp could be grown with 0.3% THC, but then intoxicating cannabinoids could be extracted or synthesized from that hemp to create psychoactive products—and now hope the new bill will address it.
Some retailers and manufacturers were also hoping for some form of clarity on consumer hemp products: manufacturing, testing and labeling requirements, flavor limitations, any kind of framework for responsible actors to play by.
“Just some regulatory uniformity is what some stakeholders are looking for,” Havens said.
Unfortunately, the reality of divided government suggests little action will take place.
“It seems that it is fairly unlikely we will see much on the cannabis space in the eventual Farm Bill,” Taets said. “It would be another contentious provision to include in a bill that is already late. It has been difficult to come to bipartisan consensus around [hemp regulations].”
Indeed, initial drafts of the 2024 Farm Bill—which was already pushed back a year— made no mention of Delta-8, Delta-9 or any intoxicating cannabinoids.
Though it’s rare that retailers ask for regulations, the gray space in which hemp cannabinoids currently operate has hampered the ability of some risk-averse retailers to participate at all, and has left other retailers that are selling hemp products at possible peril.
“The hemp market remains a largely unregulated space,” said Taets. “Responsible retailers who are participating in the market have put a lot of resources into things like verifying the authenticity and safety of the products. Regulation should make that easier than it [currently] is.”
Only time (and Congress) will tell the regulatory future of these two cannabis plants.
Melissa Vonder Haar is the marketing director for iSEE Store Innovations. Follow her on Twitter at @iSeeMelissaV.
Smile-worthy. Bold. Craveable.
The bold Latin flavor of the new Chickpea Puffs from GOYA® will have your customers smiling. They offer the unique Latin flavors your shoppers want, like Chile Limón, Elote, or Churro, with the authenticity only GOYA® can deliver. These Chickpea Puffs are available in 1 oz. and 4 oz. sizes, catering to different preferences and ensuring convenience for your customers.
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Photo & Video
Terry Gallagher CEO and chairman, Smoker Friendly
Terry Gallagher of Smoker Friendly discusses the future of tobacco, family businesses and the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival.
BY BEN NUSSBAUM
Now in its third generation of family ownership, Colorado-based Smoker Friendly has 342 stores under different banners across 13 states and has evolved from a typical convenience retailer to one that CEO and Chairman Terry Gallagher said is “definitely not traditional. We still have fuel and convenience, but we emphasize the tobacco and nicotine category in a big way.”
With an expansive selection of tobacco and nicotine products—including its own private-label line—and more than 40 stores with cigar lounges for customers to stay and enjoy their products, Smoker Friendly takes a service oriented-approach.
Gallagher spoke with NACS Magazine about the company’s decades of evolution since its founding in 1984, future plans, how he successfully runs a family business and Smoker Friendly’s annual cigar festival, which he called “one hell of a party.”
SMOKER FRIENDLY HAS POSITIONED ITSELF IN THE MARKET TO BE UNIQUE AND DISTINCTIVE. HOW DID YOU ACCOMPLISH THAT?
Some days I sit back and am a little surprised about the direction we ended up taking for the business. We became a family company in 1984 as Gasamat when my dad bought 96 operating locations in a leveraged buyout. The intent at the time was to take this mix of gas stations, which were a few-hundred-squarefoot buildings with two to three fuel pumps, and evolve into convenience stores. But a couple of things happened in the ’80s—there was the savings and loan crisis that really impacted us in Denver in a big way, and there was also an oil bust in 1984 that struck Denver and Houston pretty dramatically.
That was the year we had made the purchase, and we had a heavily leveraged loan when our bank got taken over by new management. We went from having friends in the bank to having a mark against us. That was around the same time the underground storage tank laws went into effect, so we dumped all our money into underground storage tanks to comply with the new laws. We were a single-commodity company that lived and died on gasoline margins, which at the time were slim, and found ourselves with no banking relationship and no cash.
So we asked ourselves what we could do with what we had, and that’s when we started
putting cigarettes in our facilities in a much bigger way than just offering standard packs. That started our evolution into total tobacco, from cigarettes into moist, snuff and machine-made cigars. When the premium cigar boom hit in the mid ’90s, we were one of the first ones to jump into that business.
We’ve had this constant evolution of becoming better and better tobacco merchants, and learning the tobacco business and what our footprint within the four walls of a store really looked like. We’ve worked with manufacturers to create private label products under the Smoker Friendly brand, and now more than 40 of our stores have full cigar lounges. That’s pretty unique to us that we provide a space for our premium cigar customer to enjoy their products in a space with like-minded consumers.
Over the last six or seven years as we’ve expanded our footprint, we’ve also migrated to some combo tobacco-liquor convenience stores. We have over 70 liquor licenses, which is new for us since a lot of the mountain states we operate in had fairly onerous liquor laws. We will continue to expand in that space because it’s a very good blend for our customer base—there’s a lot of crossover between tobacco/nicotine users and liquor consumers, and that definitely expands our in-store baskets.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF ABOUT YOUR COMPANY?
We are now in our third generation of a family business and have 10 family members within Smoker Friendly. I am proud of that, and a lot of our employees are too. It’s amazing to me how many convenience retail businesses are family owned and become multigenerational. People do such a good job of succession in our trade.
On that note, I’m also proud of our retention, especially among our managers, and that is a testament to the culture that we’ve created within our company. We have a lot of employees that have been with us 10 to 30 years and have stayed on through acquisitions, and they all make us stronger as a company. We can’t run our stores without good people, and we make it very clear from the beginning when we acquire a company that we believe people are a company’s best asset. Even though we’ve grown, we’ve continued to act like a family company and live by the creed of treating people the way we want to be treated, which is something I stress within our company.
When the premium cigar boom hit in the mid ’90s, we were one of the first ones to jump into that business.”
ARE THERE ANY LESSONS YOU’VE LEARNED ABOUT SUCCESSFULLY RUNNING A FAMILY BUSINESS THAT HAVE ALLOWED YOU TO BECOME A THIRD-GENERATION COMPANY?
We didn’t have a formalized plan when we became a family business. My dad had purchased the retail end of a public company, and then my brother, sister and I went to work for him right away. We had some bumps in the road here and there, but one of the things that we found out in that first and second generation is that you have to be pretty transparent and vocal. You can’t let things build up, and we did a good job as a family of getting things out on the table and not letting issues fester. We always sat down and worked through whatever problems there might be, and we made sure that we continued to have really good lines of communication. If we blew up our business somehow, then we would blow up our family. We’ve tried to take that same rule into that next generation.
WHAT ARE YOUR EXPANSION PLANS AND FUTURE GOALS FOR SMOKER FRIENDLY?
We’ve been successfully growing through acquisitions, which we think is the best way to grow these unique types of stores—it’s much faster than organic growth, and that’s a somewhat unique perspective given how much new store growth you see in the convenience industry. We have had 10 acquisitions since 2016. We are very opportunistic in terms of where we can go with further acquisitions. There are about 10,000-14,000 unique types of tobacco stores [similar to ours] around the country, many of which are family owner-operated, single generation stores whose owners might not have a good exit strategy. We feel like we have built the platform for that type of business and can be an exit strategy for them.
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE OF THE TOBACCO CATEGORY LOOKS LIKE?
I’m a firm believer that the convenience channel will continue to own this category. There are so many good operators out there, and it’s still a very important category within the four walls of a convenience store. Where we will see further erosion of tobacco is within drug, grocery and mass retail as they continue to deemphasize those products. That will continue to create opportunities for convenience stores because we know how to sell these products and we own the tobacco and nicotine channel.
YOU STARTED A FESTIVAL FOR DEALERS THAT GREW INTO ONE OF THE LARGEST CIGAR FESTIVALS IN THE UNITED STATES. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CIGAR FESTIVAL?
We have a Smoker Friendly-authorized dealer program where we co-brand with other tobacco stores and some convenience operators to sell our private-label products. There are about 700 licensed Smoker Friendly retailers out there, and we started bringing them together in Colorado for a summit almost 30 years ago. It’s a two-day business meeting where we share ideas, do roundtables, talk about the brand or legislative issues, have panels with speakers, that sort of thing. It would always end on Friday afternoon with a tobacco festival street fair that had about 100 vendor tents. It was a buying show but had a little bit of a party atmosphere.
As the event and our business continued to grow, the tobacco festival evolved about 15 years ago into a consumer event. Our premium cigar guys were like, ‘Hey, you’ve got all this awesome merchandise already here, let’s open it up.’ That’s when we started the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival. It’s probably one of the largest cigar festivals in the U.S., with 2,500 consumers and about 135 cigar, spirit, craft beer and other lifestyle product vendors all within the same street fair we used for the business event the day before. The diversity of the show is amazing, I think last year we had 43 states and 74 countries represented. It’s one hell of a party.
Ben Nussbaum is the editorin-chief of NACS Magazine.
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PDI TECHNOLOGIES CAN HELP OPERATORS AND CPG COMPANIES COMMUNICATE. LET’S BREAK THAT DOWN. WHAT SORT OF RELATIONSHIPS DOES PDI HAVE WITH SMALLER OPERATORS IN PARTICULAR?
PDI works extensively across the c-store industry, and that includes smaller retailer operators, whether they’re multi- or single-site operators or even small- to medium-sized chains. We have a number of products and solutions that are tailored to this specific group. One that I’ll point out is called CStore Essentials. It’s a product specifically tailored to smaller operators to help them better manage their business. That’s inclusive of their back office system, price book and financial management of their business. It includes elements like a scanned data solution, which allows single-site operators to activate transactional data to unlock trade dollars with certain consumer packaged goods companies. We currently partner with about 35,000 sites nationally, which represents a significant amount of the market. If you look at those sites on an individual basis, each is quite small from the standpoint of a large supplier. But if you look at that entire collective group we partner with in aggregate, it represents about $43 billion in c-store sales in the United States. When you talk to a consumer packaged goods company in those terms, the smaller sites have a completely different context. Access to that data helps fill a big need for CPGs. At the same time, we really think we can help those retailers build stronger relationships with the CPG companies.
WHAT SORT OF INSIGHTS CAN SUPPLIERS
GAIN FROM YOUR SMALL
OPERATOR NETWORK?
Suppliers have very strong relationships with all of the large chains, which is great. However, it’s simply not cost effective for these same suppliers to try and replicate that large-chain approach with smaller retailers. And that’s really where I think PDI can help. We can help the CPGs gain visibility into what has historically been a very opaque channel.
With our network, suppliers can understand basic trends, like overall sales trends for their brands, the category, overall price distribution and out-of-stock items, all the way down to helping them understand return on investment for promotional campaigns that we deploy on their behalf. It could even be inclusive of things like loyalty data where that’s applicable.
WHY ARE THESE DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS SO ESSENTIAL?
Anybody can grow share, but can they do it profitably? Helping these groups understand simple measures like return on investment helps them make better business decisions overall so they can optimize their overall marketing spend in a much more comprehensive, data-driven way.
WHAT’S AN EXAMPLE OF HOW CPG COMPANIES CAN WORK WITH PDI TO SPEAK MORE EFFECTIVELY TO SMALL OPERATORS?
Most CPG manufacturers look to new product innovation as a key way to drive growth year over year, but there’s a channel of business that’s difficult for them to access. We can help them drive adoption and acceptance of these new products. And we can do that in an efficient manner. Perhaps most importantly, we can help these brands understand the actual performance of these new products once they go into market.
WHAT VALUE DOES THIS UNLOCK FOR SMALLER OPERATORS?
It’s a little bit of a David and Goliath kind of scenario, isn’t it? If you’re a small, medium or single-site operator, you don’t have access to the same trade dollars that the biggest companies do, so you’re at a competitive disadvantage. We think we can help CPG companies increase their coverage across all sites, and we can help retailers get access to those trade dollars so they can compete with the biggest retailers on an equal footing. There’s a clear opportunity for PDI to be the bridge between retailers and suppliers.
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 2023. The products featured here also can be seen in the Cool New Products Discovery Center at www.convenience.org/coolnewproducts
NEW FLAVORS
Goya Foods, Inc.
GOYA® Chickpea Puffs
GOYA® INTRODUCES CHICKPEA PUFFS
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For more details, contact your GOYA® representative or email salesinfo@goya.com
Manufacturing
NEW TO THE INDUSTRY
Utilizing pharmaceutical-grade synthetic nicotine, NIC-S offers an incomparable, 100% tobacco-free experience. NIC-S revolutionizes nicotine enjoyment by only using pharmaceuticalgrade, non-tobacco synthetic nicotine, meticulously crafted to isolate S-type molecules. NIC-S delivers a consistent and unparallel premium quality in flavor and nicotine experience with every pouch. Every flavor is thoughtfully blended to satisfy the most demanding connoisseurs. Prior to packaging, each NIC-S Nicotine Pouch is delicately moistened with water, ensuring the ideal level of moisture for maximum enjoyment. Savor the flavor and enjoy your nicotine moment. NIC-S is smoke-free, sugar-free, discreet, comfortable and does not impact your surroundings. Available in six flavors: mint, wintergreen, cinnamon, berry, orange and flavor free in 3mg, 6mg and 9mg strengths. NIC-S represents a pioneering
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HEALTH WELLNESS
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Dr. Smoothie Refreshers®
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Keep your customers refreshed and revitalized with our Dr. Smoothie Refreshers® line. Infused with green coffee extract, these juices offer a natural energy boost, making them a perfect beverage for all day parts. We offer 8 flavors in 46oz Bottles and 2 flavors in 3-gal BIB. Contact Sunny Sky Products for samples!
Tater Kegs are shredded potato mixed with delicious flavors. All the best parts of a baked potato in the perfect handheld package. From the freezer, to the fryer, to the customer. Serve them in a variety of different ways and in many different applications. Great for to-go. Tater Kegs have a hold time of up to 4 hours under heat lamps.
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GAS STATION GOURMET
Burgers on the Beach
A North Carolina retailer gave up its forecourt and focused only on its restaurant after a hurricane.
BY AL HEBERT
Kanwar Singh and his brother Ajay bought a gas station in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, in 2012. The Sunoco station on the coast near Wilmington was your average fill-up stop for five years, until the Singh brothers added foodservice in 2017.
“We played around with ideas for what direction to go in. Being on the beach, we wanted to cater to the masses and do a simple concept. My brother Ajay said, ‘Let’s do burgers, Philly cheesesteaks and hot dogs,’” recalled Kanwar. “We rebuilt the kitchen from scratch and had to redo
a small section of the store.”
Just a short year later, after a devastating storm took out one of the store’s canopies, that burger concept would become the best—and only—thing the store offered, transforming the gas station into the Island Burgers & Bites restaurant that now has a line around the block.
A STORMY CHANGE
In September 2018, Hurricane Florence made landfall on the coast of North Carolina. The large and slow-moving Category 1 hurricane produced re-
cord-breaking rainfall and flooding across the eastern part of the state, and 100-mile-per-hour winds destroyed buildings—including one of the Singh brothers’ canopies. “We took the canopy down and just ran gas with no canopy for a year,” said Singh.
But the store’s food concept was becoming more successful, and parking had become an issue as customers flocked to Island Burgers & Bites. So instead of replacing the canopy, “We took the fuel out. We’d had two canopies with gas and a small diesel aboveground tank. We capped the fuel dispensers off and added a big outdoor deck that overlooks the marina,” Singh explained.
For the small site, the payoff was big. “Removing the fuel canopies totally opened up the whole site. It was a bold and risky decision, but we like to gamble,” he said.
The move did come with a cost.
“Initially it slowed things down and we lost gas customers, many of whom were tourists filling up before leaving town,” said Singh. “But in the grand scheme of things we gained more customers—a lot more than we lost. We had about five parking spaces before, and now we have about 15.”
CAROLINA-STYLE MEALS WORTH THE WAIT
Tourists and beachgoers already pack Carolina Beach in the summer, and the line around the building at 111 Carl Winner Drive no doubt piques the curiosity of visitors.
“We typically have people waiting in line before we open. A lot of locals know that once we open, the wait times will be long. A lot of our blue-collar guys who have limited time for lunch know to come in early before we open to give us their orders,” said Singh.
What are they waiting for? Custom burgers and other classic fare like Philly cheesesteaks and loaded hot dogs.
“We have no premade burgers here, you build your own and everything is made-to-order,” said Singh. The grill offers single or double patties, cheese options and all the toppings are free, from basic condiments to chili and slaw. “Whatever the customer wants is what they get. We literally build this exactly how they like it,” he said, adding that the bacon cheeseburger is the number one menu item.
One of the reasons the bacon cheeseburger is so popular might be because the store’s bacon is special. “Our bacon is candied with a unique kick from spices, and we bake it each morning. We don’t do it on a flat top. We started out with that on the menu and it’s one of the
A Fun Place to Work
things that sets us apart. People come in and ask for just bacon,” said Singh.
It’s also no surprise that Carolina-style is popular, meaning sandwiches are topped with mustard, beef chili, coleslaw and onion. “Slaw is popular down here. It’s a Carolina thing,” Singh explained. If customers are not in the mood for a burger, the next choice is the Philly cheesesteak. “We’re from D.C. and we wanted to bring a good Philly here. We use thinly sliced ribeye and our buns are made in Philadelphia,” said Singh. The sandwich comes with Cheez Whiz, which many Pennsylvanians would argue is the authentic way to make a cheesesteak. “It gets into all the meat and the bread and mixes well,” Singh said.
The menu is fairly straightforward. “From the time we opened to now, we’ve made the menu smaller. We used to do chicken wings and gyros, but we got so busy. We wanted simple items and to do them well,” Singh explained.
The building is small and there are no walk-in coolers. “We run everything off one two-door freezer and a double-door fridge. We have three to four deliveries per week because we only order what we can store with that space. That’s how we keep things extremely fresh,” he said.
And keeping things simple means the brothers don’t serve breakfast at Island Burgers & Bites. While there is
Island Burgers & Bites employs about 25 people.
“Labor is the biggest hurdle,” said Singh. “It’s hard to find and keep good employees, but we have good crew, including a manager that’s been with us for 13 years and employees that have been with us 10 years.”
The majority of the restaurant’s kitchen staff start working at Island Burgers & Bites in high school and come back to work during the summers when they’re in college.
The Singhs have created a work environment that attracts young employees.
“My brother and I never wanted to have a big corporate feel or one like a fast-food restaurant. We want it to be fun and for everyone to feel comfortable. We’re right on the beach, so kids are listening to music in the kitchen, joking around and there’s a loose vibe, and the customers feel that too.”
Removing the fuel canopies totally opened up the whole site.”
demand, the lunch and dinner rushes require significant prep time to keep everything fresh. “We already have staff coming in at 6 a.m. to roll patties, and all of our vegetables and ingredients are cut fresh that day,” said Singh. “We don’t want to add another product just to do it. If we don’t feel like we can put out an extremely good product, we’re not going to do it. It has to be up to our quality standards. And plus we’re on the beach, so in season breakfast is not a big thing.”
BEYOND THE BURGERS
Singh said there are a lot of factors that draw customers to the location for meals. “It’s a little bit of everything. The food has to be great, and we have a great classic smash burger that’s good quality and fresh,” said Singh. “But we are also located in an old gas station building, which has a cool factor to it. It has that old-school convenience store vibe and people love that. They come to town and want to bring their friends to the old gas station.”
The store also isn’t “fancy,” said Singh, and caters to the beach crowd that makes up its core customer base.
“The way we operate is quick and friendly. People come in off the beach with no shoes. It plays into the old gas station feeling. We do no marketing and no ads, just rely on word of mouth.”
For now, there’s no plan for expansion—the focus is on operations and riding the wave of success in this Carolina beach town.
Al Hebert is the Gas Station Gourmet, showcasing America’s hidden culinary treasures. Find him at www.GasStationGourmet.com.
Packaged Sweet Snacks Snag Steady Sales
Consumers continue to seek out snack cakes, pastries, muffins and more.
BY SARAH HAMAKER
There’s no shortage of tempting baked goods at convenience stores. “Consumers continue to seek convenient, affordable, indulgent snacks,” said Chris Balach, vice president of marketing, sweet baked snacks, for J.M. Smucker Co. “Hostess research with heavy users of convenience stores—young males—has shown they are looking for craveable, hearty, handheld sweet snacks.”
$1,625
The average gross profit dollar contribution of packaged sweet snacks per store, per month.
Source: NACS State of the Industry Report ® of 2023 Data
That interest keeps packaged sweet snacks in the top 10 merchandise categories at convenience stores. “The category snagged the final spot in 2023,” said Emma Tainter, NACS research analyst/writer. “While unit sales may need to be boosted, it’s a popular purchase for consumers.”
According to the NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2023 Data, packaged sweet snacks saw a year-over-year increase of 5.7% in sales, with 2023 sales coming in at $3,620 on average per store, per month. “Gross margin for the category dipped slightly from 45.19% in 2022 to 44.89% last year,” Tainter said. “However, gross profit per store, per month rose a bit to $1,625, up from $1,547 in 2022,” a year-over-year increase of 5.0%.
“While CSX data shows packaged sweet snacks sales steadily grew yearover-year, this might be an effect of inflation, rather than true growth,” cautioned Tainter. “When compared against NACS Research Merchandise CPI of 5.7% (meaning that a merchandise category only outpaced inflation if sales growth was higher than 5.7%) packaged sweet snacks barely realized true sales growth.”
“We’re seeing positive gains in packaged sweet snacks, but overall very marginal increases compared to last year,” said David M. Bogese, COO of the six-unit Breez-In stores headquartered in Prince George, Virginia.
“We believe the demand for packaged sweet snacks will continue to grow,” said Elizabeth Sommer, customer marketing manager for Rich Products. “Consumers are snacking throughout the day and are continually looking for grab-and-go items that are convenient while they are on the go.”
SWEET TRENDS
Industry Sales
1.63%
1.65%
While consumers enjoy traditional packaged sweet snacks, innovative flavors and new products drive more category sales. Recent flavor trends include traditional Hispanic-style desserts as well as new spins on familiar brands coupled with baked goods, according to Rich Products. For example, Rich Products recently introduced a tres leches cake and a Funfetti cheesecake slice.
J.M. Smucker sees texture as the new flavor trend in sweet snacking, as well as mashups of favorite snacks. For example, Hostess Meltamors blends flavors and textures that are “inspired by warm restaurant desserts … with gooey melting centers,” Balach said.
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.
vice president, snacking business unit, Flowers Bakeries. For example, the company launched lemon blueberry and chocolate in Tastykake Dipp’n Sticks and brown sugar cinnamon in Mrs. Freshley’s Donut Sticks. “Our brands will continue to innovate around key flavors like salted caramel, up-and-coming flavors like s’mores and emerging flavors like brown sugar.”
Individually wrapped cookies have become a staple in c-stores, including displays at coffee stations, beverage areas and checkout. “This is a simple way for c-stores to offer delicious cookies where consumers are picking up something to drink,” Sommer said.
SEASONAL SWEETS
Rich Foods provides seasonal flavors to help spur impulse buys. “We offer some limited-time flavors in packaged sweet snacks, such as Our Specialty Treat Shop Lemon Sweet Middles cookies,” Sommer said.
Bringing in seasonal flavors in packaged sweet snacks can spark additional interest in the category as consumers often look forward to sampling different flavors as the calendar changes.
“Consumers are extremely receptive to trying new seasonal flavors,” said Brown. “In the spring and summer, they tend to gravitate to lighter, fruit flavors and shift to warming, comforting flavors in the fall and winter.”
Hostess also uses the calendar as a guide to limited-time flavors for its packaged sweet snacks. “Our seasonal program delivered more than $50 million in retail sales last year,” Balach said.
“Seasonal and limited-edition flavors are a great opportunity for Hostess to test and learn more about innovative and ontrend flavors that could have a place in our line permanently, such as Pumpkin Spice Twinkies and Candy Cane Wafers” from the Voortman brand.
INSPIRED BY SEATTLE COFFEE LOVERS
CATEGORY CLOSE-UP PACKAGED SWEET SNACKS
Subcategory Data
Same-Firm
Consumers of packaged sweet snacks continue to show a willingness to try new and exciting flavors in familiar product forms.”
Source: NACS State of the Industry Report ® of 2023 Data
that are convenient, high-protein and energy-boosting—and packaged sweet snacks can still meet those needs.”
Bogese has tapped into the freshbaked trend at some locations. “At some of our stores, our fresh-baked, then packaged muffins and cookies are doing very well for us,” he said. “Customers enjoy the convenience of prepackaged items that are still very fresh.”
At Breez-In stores, seasonal and other limited-time offerings boost packaged sweet snack sales. “For example, we’ll sell a lot of banana nut and blueberry muffins in the summer and pumpkin spice muffins in the fall, as well as lemon cakes in the summer,” Bogese said. “Also, piña colada is a new flavor we’ve seen this year in baked goods that has been popular with customers.”
SWEET CHALLENGES
The main challenge to packaged sweet snacks is “competition from prepared foods,” said Sommer. “Freshly made or freshly baked foodservice items are stealing some share from the packaged space. However, packaged sweet snacks still have a place in c-stores because consumers are looking for snacks
Because packaged sweet snacks is an impulse buy for most customers, where the category is in the store is key to its success. At Breez-In, Bogese studied the flow of customers through the store to determine where best to put packaged sweet snacks. “We wanted to make sure the customer passed through the section to get to the coffee station and energy drinks to further grab those impulse buys,” he said.
A SWEET FUTURE
These suppliers and retailers see the future as strong for packaged sweet snacks in convenience stores because, as Brown puts it, “There is no better way for consumers to fill up on all their favorite snacks than stopping into their neighborhood convenience store.”
“True indulgence continues to outpace the other snacking segments, and baked goods are in the top five of the most frequently purchased snacks,” Balach pointed out. “Add to that trend that 91% of consumers seek quick and convenient solutions to meet their snacking needs,
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CATEGORY CLOSE-UP PACKAGED SWEET SNACKS
and convenience as a channel remains well positioned to meet consumer needs for sweet snacking.” For Breez-In, packaged sweets snacks will remain a staple. “I think the future of packaged sweet snacks
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is pretty bright because of the variety and seasonal flavors of the products in an easy, grab-and-go format,” Bogese said.
Sarah Hamaker is a freelance writer, NACS Magazine contributor and award-winning romantic suspense author based in Fairfax, Virginia. Visit her online at sarahhamakerfiction.com.
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The convenience industry reported $859.8 billion in sales in 2023, according to the NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2023 Data.
While this is an impressive result for the industry, overall sales decreased by 5.1% year over year—mostly as a result of declining fuel prices. This is the first drop in total industry sales since the industry took a major hit in 2020.
Fuels’ impact on overall industry sales highlighted the importance of fuel sales on the convenience operators’ bottom line, but inside sales metrics were just as vital. Industry in store sales hit a 20-year record of $327.6 billion in 2023, an increase of 8.2% year over year.
The increase in inside sales was not enough to counteract the decrease in fuel sales of 11.8% year over year, but it did bring some good news in terms of increased basket size.
The average consumer basket—a combination of merchandise and foodservice—was $7.80 in 2023, up from $7.36 in 2022.
This is a vast improvement from 2022 when retailers lost 7 cents per basket—the average convenience operator was losing money on each transaction and had to pay the difference using fuel profits. A twelve-cent swing may seem insignificant, but each penny makes a difference in a multi-billiondollar industry.
