Preliminary NACS State of the Industry data for 2024 shows how retailers that prioritize their foodservice programs are benefiting.  

“A solid foodservice program is critical to the future of convenience. In 2024, foodservice contributed 27.7% to inside sales, slightly more than cigarettes and other tobacco products (27.44%),” said Chris Rapanick, managing director, NACS research. Although store traffic overall was down in 2024, foodservice is enticing customers inside the store. 

The top decile of convenience operators, defined as those in the top 10% of store operating profit, excel at foodservice. In 2024, these retailers saw nearly three times more foodservice sales and four times more foodservice gross profit dollars than the bottom decile. Foodservice contributed 45.11% to the inside margin for top decile companies. 

Overall sales of the five foodservice categories of prepared food, commissary, and hot, cold and frozen dispensed beverages grew 4.2% year over year. 

Prepared food, which saw promising growth in 2024, with an average margin of 56.41% and brought in $54,961 per store, per month. 

Hot dispensed beverages sales were lukewarm, seeing only an increase of 2.3%, from an average of $6,207 to $6,353 per store, per month sales. 

Commissary saw the least growth of foodservice categories in 2024, with sales of $3,873 per store, per month. 

Cold dispensed beverage sales increased 8.9% and gross profit dollars followed suit, increasing 10.4% year over year. 

Frozen dispensed beverages typically boast some of the highest margins in the category. In 2024, it averaged a 64.60% margin, slightly more than the previous year.