Fueling Flavor, Loyalty & Lifestyle: How C-Stores Are Becoming America’s New Grocerant Destination

 

As the Grocerant Guru®, I’ve long championed the evolution of convenience retailing into a dynamic grocerant experience—where fresh food, frictionless tech, and brand relevance converge. The latest 2025 Convenience Store Trends Report from Intouch Insight confirms what we’ve been tracking for years: the grocerant niche is not just growing—it’s redefining the retail landscape.

Intouch Insight’s data-driven analysis reveals six key trends shaping the future of convenience stores. Let’s explore how each aligns with long-standing grocerant growth patterns and consumer brand migration behaviors.

 

1. Made-to-Order (MTO) Goes Mainstream

Intouch Insight Data:

·       85% of U.S. shoppers have tried MTO food at a convenience store

·       Hot-meal purchases rose from 29% in 2024 to 35% in 2025

Grocerant Alignment:

·       Customization is King: Grocerants thrive on personalization. MTO offerings mirror the grocerant model of fresh, fast, and flexible dining, meeting consumers’ desire for control over their meals.

·       Meal Migration: Consumers are shifting from traditional grocery aisles to prepared food zones. MTO meals accelerate this migration by offering restaurant-quality options without the wait.

 

2. Value Parity with QSRs

Intouch Insight Data:

·       72% now view c-stores as viable QSR alternatives, up from 56%

Grocerant Alignment:

·       Price-Perception Pivot: Grocerants have always competed on value. As c-stores match QSR pricing, they reinforce their role as affordable meal destinations.

·       Share-of-Stomach Strategy: Grocerants aim to capture more meal occasions. Value parity ensures they’re not just a snack stop but a full-fledged dining option.

 

3. Loyalty as an Engine

Intouch Insight Data:

·       72% of shoppers are in loyalty programs; 85% would join if rewards were personalized

·       Yet 65% of cashiers failed to mention loyalty

Grocerant Alignment:

·       Digital Dining Journeys: Grocerants increasingly rely on apps and digital touchpoints. Loyalty programs deepen engagement and drive repeat visits.

·       Personalization Power: Grocerants succeed when they treat every customer like a regular. Personalized rewards mimic the neighborhood diner experience—digitally.

 

4. Retail Media Turns Screens into Salespeople

Intouch Insight Data:

·       47% noticed digital ads on-site (up from 27%)

·       Over one-third made a purchase because of them

Grocerant Alignment:

·       Visual Merchandising Evolution: Grocerants have long used visual cues to drive impulse buys. Digital screens amplify that strategy with dynamic, targeted content.

·       Brand Storytelling: Retail media allows grocerants to showcase local partnerships, seasonal specials, and chef-inspired items—building brand identity in real time.

 

5. EV Charging Drives Incremental Visits

Intouch Insight Data:

·       20% choose stores for EV chargers; 45% of millennials over-index

Grocerant Alignment:

·       Dwell Time = Dining Time: Grocerants benefit from longer visits. EV charging creates a captive audience primed for food, drink, and discovery.

·       Lifestyle Integration: Grocerants are lifestyle hubs. Offering EV charging aligns with sustainability values and positions c-stores as forward-thinking destinations.

 

6. Clean Stores, Trusted Food

Intouch Insight Data:

·       70% say cleanliness influences food freshness perception

Grocerant Alignment:

·       Freshness First: Grocerants win when they look and feel clean. Cleanliness is a proxy for quality—and a non-negotiable in foodservice.

·       Trust Building: Consistent cleanliness builds brand trust, encouraging trial and repeat visits—especially for fresh-prepared items.

 

Grocerant Guru’s Three Steps to the Future (Beyond the Report)

1.       Hyperlocal Menu Innovation:
C-stores must embrace regional flavors and seasonal ingredients to differentiate and deepen community ties.

2.       Seamless Cross-Platform Ordering:
Integrating mobile, voice, and in-store ordering systems will create frictionless experiences that mirror top-tier grocerants.

3.       Experiential Zones:
Adding seating, music, and interactive food demos transforms c-stores into social spaces—where people come to linger, not just refuel.

 

Convenience retailing is no longer about speed alone—it’s about satisfaction, personalization, and lifestyle alignment. Thanks to Intouch Insight’s robust data, we see clearly how the grocerant niche is driving this transformation. The future belongs to those who blend food, tech, and trust into every visit.

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Jimmy John’s Focus on Back to School and Back to the Office

 

Building top-line sales and bottom-line profits requires customer focus, seasonal timing, and relevance.  Jimmy John’s understands that with September comes back to school, and back to the office for many more this year and is focusing in on helping ease the pain of that transition. According to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® Jimmy John’s marketing messaging is on target this fall, positioning them for incremental success.

So, Jimmy John’s has expended its catering offerings and has made wraps, which were offered as limited time offers for the summer both last year and this year, permanent additions to the men. Hand held food for immediate consumption is a consumer choice for groups of any size according to Johnson.

Here is what will empower customer choice.  These new catering offerings include a Small Bundle comprised of an 18-piece assorted sandwich box, a premium side for up to 10 people, six bags of chips, and six desserts. It’s priced at $76.49 in Jimmy John’s home market of Champaign, Ill. A Large Bundle of 30 sandwiches, 12 half wraps, two sides for up to 20 people, 15 bags of chips, and 15 desserts is $196.99.

This timely program is another reason that Jimmy John’s continues to be a fast-growing restaurant chain now with more than 2,600 restaurants.  Driving the check average up these new catering / party bundles of six desserts for around $12.99, six bags of chips for around $8.49, and four beverages for around $10.79. Remember that they have a line of existing of party boxes that the new items will complement.

There are also two premium sides, pesto bowtie pasta with sundried tomatoes and potato salad made with hard-boiled eggs, celery and dill, have also been added to the catering menu in addition to the existing Jimmy Chips and Jumbo Kosher Jimmy Pickles. They’re priced at around $2.49 per order, a $1 premium to the existing sides. A new dessert, Fudge Chocolate Brownies, joins the existing Jimmy John’s Giant Cookies as an option. Both are around $2.29.

Expanding the halo of better for you, the catered items also have new packaging, including a new branded reusable canvas bag.

In case you did not know, two of the three wraps that are now on the permanent menu were introduced ahead of summer, the Chicken Caesar Wrap (chicken, Parmesan cheese, Caesar dressing, and miniature croutons in a garlic & herb wrap), and the Jalapeño Ranch Chicken Wrap (chicken, provolone cheese, jalapeño ranch dressing, fried jalapeño peppers, and red pepper flakes in a flour wrap) are now on the permanent menu. Joining them is a new Tuscan Italian Wrap, which is based on one of the chain’s top selling sandwiches, the Jimmy John’s #9 Italian Night Club, made with salami, capicola, ham, and provolone cheese. The wrap is slightly different, made with salami, capocollo, ham, Parmesan cheese, oil, and vinegar in an oregano-basil & garlic wrap. All of the wraps are priced at around $9-$10.

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Foodservice Drives Wawa’s Winning Ways

 

Success does leave clues and Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® believes, “one company has picked up more clues than any ‘right’ clues than any other and the numbers prove it out.  That company Johnson says is convenience store / restaurant Wawa.”

Currenlty operating in only seven states, Wawa is the East Coast chain many local consumers think of when they are looking for fresh fast food with flavor.  Even though the company has been on the top of the convenience store food chain for a while, with gourmet publications Food & Wine and Saveur extolling the chain’s culinary offerings, the past few years have seen its popularity soaring.   

How much so, when Wawa is one of 10 brands with a winning strategy for 2023, according to Placer.ai, which tracks retail foot traffic and provides location analytics.

Although inflation, rising gas prices and the threat of recession made 2022 a tumultuous year for retail, the changing economic and consumer landscapes are also creating new opportunities for businesses.

Now according to the new white paper "10 Top Retail Brands to Watch in 2023," which draws on layers of geospatial, psychographic and foot traffic data, Wawa is the "c-store darling of dining" as the channel itself appears to be taking market share from quick-service restaurant locations.

Not only has Wawa's foodservice program been praised by gourmet publications like Food & Wine and Saveur in recent years, the convenience store chain's popularity with customers is also soaring. Overall foot traffic to Wawa is on the rise, with average visits per store growing across all seven states in the retailer's footprint, Placer.ai pointed out.

Check out these numbers! The largest increases in average visits per store from July to November 2022, compared to the same time period in 2019, occurred at Wawa stores in New Jersey (up 48 percent), Delaware (up 42.2 percent) and Washington, D.C. (up 50.1 percent). The remaining states in Wawa's operating area all saw average visit per store grow between 34.3 percent and 41.2 percent.

This growth may be a contributing factor in Wawa's growth plans, which include entrances into multiple new states and the opening of new stores in areas adjacent to existing markets.

Wawa is also a brand to watch based on its loyal customer base, which includes "Wawaholics." Some Wawa fans have gone as far as to get married at the Wawa where they met or to get an arm tattoo of the Wawa goose from its logo, according to Placer.ai.

Similar to foot traffic, Wawa loyalty is on the rise compared to 2019. Between July and November 2022, the share of loyal customers (those who return to a Wawa store more than twice in a given time period) increased by 4.5 percent vs. the same time period three years ago.

Do you want a Larger Share of Stomach?

Mix and Match Meal 

Bundling Drives Top-Line Sales

and Bottom-Line Profits 

This juxtaposition of strong loyalty, expansion plans and food that is celebrated by both foodies and regular joes can help position the Wawa brand for success into the new year, according to the report.

Wawa operates nearly 1,000 c-stores with sales now averaging $5,000,000 per store according to recent reports. Are your customer counts year over year growing.  Is your fresh food garnering rave reviews?  Are you selling fresh food fast?

Success does leave clues. One clue that time and time again continues to resurface is “the consumer is dynamic not static”.  Regular readers of this blog know that is the common refrain of Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Our Grocerant Guru® can help your company edify your brand with relevance.  Call 253-759-7869 for more information. 

For Some it Makes ‘Goodcents’ to Add More Meat

 

With a wing supply shortage again this year for super-bowl weekend it makes a lot of sense to offer plant-based wings, as a point of differentiation. On the other hand, if you know your customers core desires you just might want to do what Goodcents Subs did.  They added 30% more meat to their subs according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, that is a great point of visceral and texture differentiation that will complement core consumers price, value, perception.

NRN recently reported that Goodcents franchisees are excited about a menu change that added 30 percent more meat to its popular sub sandwiches – and potentially draw a lot of new customers. Goodcents, known for its freshly baked bread and hand-sliced deli meats and cheeses, is increasing the amount of meat on subs of all sizes and party trays. The consumer is dynamic not static and restaurants need to evolve with relevance.

That change comes in response to guests who have expressed interest in getting more protein into their diets. Goodcents has been testing the new menu at two corporate locations since September to rave reviews.

Jami Bond, vice president of franchise development stated, “Our guests have overwhelmingly loved the sandwiches with 30 percent more meat,” … “And our franchisees love it, too, because they know customers will be excited to taste the new sandwiches.”

One franchise owner, Holly Trice, who took over an existing Goodcents location in Apple Valley, Minnesota, in November, rolled out the 30 percent more meat menu then. “Our customers have just been wowed by the change – especially people who were unaware of the new menu,” she says. “We’ve had guests who ordered online and were so surprised when they got home. The next time they come in, they say, ‘I just got a sandwich here last week, and boy, did it have a lot of meat on it.’ They all love it.”

Bond continued saying “the corporate team is proud of the support provided to franchisees in advance of this menu change. For any new menu rollout, Goodcents provides franchisees with suggested prices based on cost analysis and competitor comparison. The company also gives each franchisee a location-specific projected change in profit based on the location’s current mix of product sales. Franchisees control their prices, because they must be able to adjust for cost differences, such as minimum wage differences in various states, Bond said.

Bond went on to say “that adding 30 percent more meat is a terrific marketing opportunity, but she is more excited about the consistency it brings to the brand. “This will solidify that the sandwich you get at a Goodcents in Phoenix is the same as one you get in Kansas City,” she says. “Without consistency, we cannot grow as a brand.”

The menu change comes at an exciting time for Goodcents. This month, the brand also began launching the Goodcents Certified Clean Program, which equips every restaurant with a no-contact temperature check device and sanitization program for the safety of guests and crew members.

“Between the menu change and Certified Clean, we are really leaning in to support our franchisees,” Bond adds. “Our corporate team is in six to seven restaurants every day to lend our support. 2021 is starting out so strong, and we think the menu change will bolster sales even more."

How are you evolving your brand in 2021?  What is your point of differentiation? Does your messaging have the ‘halo’ of better for you’?

Success does leave clues. One clue that time and time again continues to resurface is “the consumer is dynamic not static”.  Regular readers of this blog know that is the common refrain of Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Our Grocerant Guru® can help your company edify your brand with relevance.  Call 253-759-7869 for more information.