Foodservice accounted for 28.0% of in-store sales in 2025, according to the NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2025 Data. The impact of foodservice on profitability is even greater, contributing 38.9% of in-store gross profit dollars in 2025.
“What I want you to take away is that every single customer that visits your c-store and goes up to the pump—that is a foodservice opportunity for you,” said Caitlin Root, executive vice president, customer experience at Datassential, on stage during the 2026 NACS State of the Industry Summit.
Multiple times per day, customers are making deliberate choices about what and where to eat. With foodservice demand evolving and consumer expectations rising, operators who rethink their approach—from menu strategy to daypart expansion—can unlock new traffic, higher margins and greater long-term relevance.
Play to Your Strengths
Across the broader foodservice industry, year-over-year growth in 2026 is expected to be modest at around 1%. But c-stores are projected to outpace the total market (1.7%), including quick-service restaurants (QSRs), which are projected to grow by 1.2%.
C-stores have two key advantages for capturing foodservice share: value and variety. “Customers are leaning on you because you’re convenient and you provide value. Those are the two pillars of your value proposition,” said Root.
According to research from Datassential, consumers are also consistently opting for prepared over packaged food, especially when it comes to impulse purchases. Nearly four out of five consumers are already purchasing prepared food at c-stores at least occasionally. Packaged goods make up 47% of impulse purchases at c-stores, down 6 points compared to three years ago, while prepared food purchases (38% of impulse purchases) are up 9 points.
“Consumers are going into your store and instead of buying a bag of chips, they’re leaving your store with a sandwich, a specialty beverage or a slice of pizza,” said Root. “Top performing operators are recognizing the incredible profit margins that can be obtained from foodservice. It’s a huge opportunity, and there’s a ton of profit available for you in this category.”
‘Value’ has a New Meaning
Value has defined retail foodservice trends for the past several years as inflation, economic headwinds and cost-conscious behavior impact consumer buying habits. “No matter what industry you’re in, value is top of mind,” said Root. “We are in a value wars era right now. Everyone is trying to steal traffic by promoting value.”
Value has always been synonymous with a low price, but expectations are changing. “Consumers are becoming more selective about the money that they’re spending. Selective doesn’t mean that they’re eating less. It means that they’re choosing more carefully,” Root said. According to Datassential, 64% of consumers say they want a good deal, but not at the expense of food quality or experience.
“We want it to be cheap, but we want the quality to still be there,” Root noted. “Taste now is more important than price. We’re not willing to give up quality, experience or freshness for price.”
Consumers are looking for affordable options where they feel like they’re getting the most bang for their buck. C-stores are already well positioned to meet this demand, said Root. Consumers perceive c-stores as a value-driven channel—and importantly, they perceive less price inflation there than at QSRs. In a recent survey, 57% of consumers noticed price increases at QSRs versus 41% at c-stores.
That 16-point perception gap is a “massive competitive advantage that c-stores have over every other restaurant site,” said Root. “Your value proposition is that you already offer value. So what we need to do is highlight the quality, the freshness and the uniqueness of your foodservice program to home in on how valuable your products are. Lean into that more.”
Filling the Daypart Void
C-stores can thrive in the morning and mid-afternoon snacking dayparts.
While Root’s data showed QSRs still dominate lunch and dinner, mid-morning and afternoon are two of the lowest-traffic periods for QSRs—making them prime opportunities for c-store operators to fill the gap.
These dayparts align with growing consumer behaviors like snacking, the desire for small indulgences and little treats and beverage-driven visits. Root said operators can capture this traffic by offering snackable prepared foods, grab-and-go meal components and beverage-led bundles.
“You can add in prepared food items during that mid-morning snack time. In the afternoon, think about what type of prepared food you can offer that will lead to additional purchases,” she said. “We also know that impulse purchasers are now getting more prepared foods. What type of items can you now offer during these timeframes? Is it prepared or specialty beverages?”
Lean into Little Treats
One of the most impactful trends reshaping foodservice is what Root calls “little treat culture,” where consumers are replacing larger, more expensive indulgences with smaller, more frequent ones as a form of self-care.
“They decide, ‘I’m going to buy that $5 latte because I deserve it,’” Root said. According to Datassential, 50% of consumers snack regularly, 70% of Gen Z say they replace meals with snacks at least once per week and nearly one-quarter of consumers have a treat daily.
She added that the key is not necessarily adding new items, but repositioning existing ones—snacks, beverages, baked goods and hot foods that c-stores already have—as affordable, everyday indulgences.
“C-stores already have everything that consumers are looking for,” Root said.
Bank On Beverages
Consumer interest in specialty beverages—from cold brew coffee and bubble tea to energy refreshers and dirty sodas—is rising rapidly.
“We cannot underestimate beverages right now. It is everywhere and it is a huge opportunity,” Root said. According to Root, operators expect beverages to become even more important in the next few years and are targeting a few key areas of growth, including cold brew, bubble tea, matcha, fresh juices and agua frescas—an area where 37% of consumers say they want more options.
Developing Menus and Driving Innovation
In the competition for traffic, value-based limited-time offers (LTOs) can draw in consumers with fresh and exciting twists on menu favorites. More operators are leaning into LTOs—from January 2025 to January 2026, the number of LTO launches across major chains and c-stores doubled, according to Datassential.
“When it comes to flavor innovation, you don’t need to create something totally new that you’ve never done before. You can stick with your staple menu items … and play with innovation around sauces or toppings,” Root said. “This allows operators to maximize the customers they can reach—and foodservice profitably.”
