The NACS Show’s expo hall was, per usual, an overflowing buffet of snacks, candy, energy drinks and all sorts of other food and beverage items. From fresh pizza and fried chicken to meat sticks and caffeinated milk, it’s everything craveable, quenchable and “Did I really just see that?” under one roof.
So what stood out from the crowd? After hours spent sampling our hearts out and walking several thousand steps, we’ve come up with some top observations across four key in-store categories.
Foodservice
Eye-catching handhelds
C-stores are leveling up in foodservice, but a lot of items like noodle bowls and whole pizzas aren’t easy to eat on the go. There seems to be a growing opportunity to serve up portable foods that make for a quick bite or a dashboard meal.
Several companies at the NACS Show served up sweet and spicy options that cover a range of dayparts. Rich’s showed off its soon-to-release cinnamon batter French toast sticks, while Home Market Foods’ RollerBites brand highlighted its new spicy tequila lime chicken sticks. There were innovative formats, as well, like Tater Kegs, which are hashed potato snacks stuffed with flavors like buffalo chicken and bacon jalapeno. The King’s Hawaiian booth featured a “walking taco” made with its soft pretzel bites and featuring mustard, everything seasoning and scallions.
Pizza and fried chicken take center stage
These familiar hot food categories are incredibly popular in c-stores — a fact that was very apparent to anyone who spent any time perusing the foodservice section of the expo floor. Hunt Bros. Pizza had long lines for its personal pies, and a similar dynamic played out at the Chester’s Chicken and Krispy Krunchy Chicken stations.
Competition is fierce, and innovation is on the menu. PFS Foods debuted a new pizza crust while Krispy Krunchy detailed its $1 million investment in franchisee marketing. Chester’s Chicken, meanwhile, debuted a new “express” format at NACS that allows small stores that don’t have enough space for a commercial fryer and other equipment, to offer the company’s fried chicken. Operators just need to heat up pre-prepared chicken in an oven — no fryer required.
William Culpepper, Chester’s vice president of marketing, said the company hopes the express format will help it expand to more stores run by existing customers, which are mainly small and medium-sized operators.
“Now we’re able to serve those operators in all of their footprints,” he said in an interview.
Candy
Spicy and sweet get together
Spicy flavors have proliferated across snacks, with chip companies in particular locked in an arms race over who can bring the most heat. Now, spicy has made its way into candy, particularly gummies, as consumer demand for “swicy” flavors heats up.
Jolly Ranchers’ Heat Wave Gummies were on display at NACS, as were the Trolli brand’s spicy crawlers. Skittles came out with “fuego” gummies not too long ago, while the Hot Tamales brand showcased some added variety with new flavors tropical heat and cinnamon apple.
New textures and experiences to target young consumers
Gen Z consumers don’t just want sweetness and bold flavors — they also want candy that gives them a unique experience, said Mike Gilroy, vice president of industry engagement and sponsorship with Mars Snacking.
That’s the thinking behind the company’s new Skittles Gummy Crystals, which have a crunchy exterior and a chewy inside. Mars plans to launch the new variety on TikTok Shop in early November.
“It comes back to unique twists on familiar classics and what we would classify as ‘newstalgia,’” Gilroy said in an interview.
Other candy companies have similar ideas. Bubblicious is rolling out Gummy Gum — gummies with gum on the inside. Mash1Up has latched onto the TikTok trend of “candy salad” with a customizable candy salad kit, which recently won an innovation award at the Sweets & Snacks Expo.
Snacks
Protein everything
Just when we thought this trend couldn’t possibly get any bigger — well, it did. Protein was in seemingly everything at this year’s NACS Show, and the snack category had some notable entries.
There were protein-infused chips, snack bars, pudding, cookies, pretzels, popcorn and rice crisps. The PepsiCo booth featured protein varieties from its Doritos, Pop Corners and Quaker brands, while J&J Snack Foods showcased protein-packed SuperPretzel soft pretzels that were released earlier this year.
It’s hard to imagine the protein trend expanding further. Then again, we aren’t willing to bet the trend will slow down any time soon.
Pickle offers an offbeat alternative
Amid all the spicy, sweet and salty options at the show was the humble pickle. We noticed this flavor showing up in all sorts of products at last year’s show, and that momentum has continued.
At this year’s NACS Show, we spotted Cheetos Flamin’ Hot snacks with dill pickle favor, pickle-flavored balls from Vlasic and pickle-containing snack packs from Reichel Foods’ Go2Snax and Pro2Snax brands. Van Holten’s is all in with its Pickle in a Pouch as well as a pickled egg snack that’s marketed as “on the go fuel.”
New looks in meat snacks
The meat snack category has become really crowded, and the protein craze has only added fuel to the subcategory’s expansion.
It was interesting to see the ways both established brands and new entrants are jockeying for attention. There were several companies sporting co-branded offerings. Sidari Brands featured Guiness Steak Cuts made with the world-famous brew and seasoned with vegetables and spices, according to the brand’s website. Bridgford served up beef jerky seasoned with Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce while Conagra Brands’ Slim Jim featured a chicken stick co-branded with Buffalo Wild Wings.
With so many offerings on the market, major players like Jack Links are upping the ante with their branding and messaging. Earlier this year, Jack Links came out with Carnivore Bites that tout lots of protein bang for shoppers’ buck. A promotional sign for the new sub-brand at the show seemed to say it all: “So. Much. Meat!”
Beverages
Soda continues to evolve
Better-for-you soda brands like Olipop and Poppi have put a charge into the category, while the dirty soda trend and zero sugar varieties have kept big names chugging along.
These market forces all seem to be pushing traditional full-sugar sodas brands to up their flavor game. At the NACS Show, we noticed numerous eye-catching offshoots from popular brands. 7 Up had a Shirley Temple flavor while Pepsi sported a strawberry shortcake variety. Coca-Cola’s Mr. Pibb brand, which relaunched last year, had new flavors like “Thrillin’ Vanilla” and “Punchin’ Peach” along with a berry-forward LTO, and PepsiCo’s Mug root beer brand sported a “Vanilla Howler” flavor that the company said was inspired by the dirty soda trend.
Functional benefits galore
Protein was definitely the most prevalent functional benefit on display at the show. But there were plenty of others as well, and the beverage category was home to the widest and most intriguing variety.
Drinks to offer relaxation, hydration, sparkling energy and focus were all on display. Some of the most interesting options were in the new exhibitors section. Cirkul had a hydration soda made with electrolytes, while Melting Forest offered “functional d-stress” drinks featuring its signature mushroom ingredient.
Zero is the hero
The success of zero-sugar sodas and energy drinks seems to have trained consumers to expect enticing flavors without compromising health. Now, pretty much every major beverage company and up-and-comer has zero sugar, zero calorie and zero alcohol drinks.
Beyond all this, zero has become a rallying cry for companies looking to tout their clean ingredients, as well. Riot Energy seemed to sum up the ethos on its cans, which advertise “Zero artificial anything.”
