Category Trends

  • Slim Jim meat sticks at at Washington, DC. grocery store.
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    Christopher Doering/C-Store Dive
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    Deep Dive

    How meat sticks became America’s favorite new snack

    With sales reaching $3.3 billion last year, food brands such as Chomps, Jack’s Link and Slim Jim are benefitting from consumers’ obsession with protein and convenience.

    By Christopher Doering • Sept. 16, 2025
  • Hershey, chocolate
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Sheetz says Hershey price hike coming

    The Reese’s, Kisses and Kit-Kat maker announced a 26% price increase on some candies due to supply issues.

    By • Sept. 15, 2025
  • A photo of the sign over the entrance to a store. The sign reads "7-Eleven" in green, red and yellow colors.
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    Courtesy of 7-Eleven Inc.
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    7-Eleven agrees to $1.2M fine over banned vape sales

    Washington, D.C., law prohibits e-cigarette sales within a quarter mile of middle and high schools, but 16 stores near schools kept selling the devices.

    By • Sept. 11, 2025
  • Circle K
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    Retrieved from Circle K press release.
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    Column

    3 Big Numbers: Couche-Tard and the art of value

    Circle K’s parent company shared several ways it’s appealing to cash-strapped customers across North America.

    By • Sept. 5, 2025
  • Cans in Celsius Holdings' portfolio.
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    Courtesy of Celsius Holdings
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    PepsiCo ups stake in Celsius to 11% with $585M deal

    Celsius also will acquire the beverage giant’s Rockstar Energy drink brand and add Alani Nu to PepsiCo’s distribution system in the U.S. and Canada.

    By Christopher Doering • Sept. 3, 2025
  • A photo of the exterior of a travel center. A sign above the door says Wawa.
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    Courtesy of Wawa
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    Wawa opens first travel center, promises 2 more

    The 8,000-square-foot store adds another new format to the East Coast retailer’s growing store lineup.

    By • Aug. 28, 2025
  • A photo of the exterior of a convenience store. A Sign over the door says Sheetz.
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    Courtesy of Sheetz
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    Column

    3 Big Numbers: Retailers open eye-catching new stores

    Sheetz hit a milestone, Wawa debuted a travel center and Buc-ee’s partnered with Texas A&M University for a unique merch deal.

    By • Aug. 28, 2025
  • Spindrift, hard seltzer
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    Courtesy of Spindrift
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    Spindrift discontinues alcohol offering amid decline in hard seltzers

    The beverage maker will end production of its Spiked line after four years, noting it took “substantial resources and time.”

    By Christopher Doering • Aug. 28, 2025
  • A photo of a convenience store inside a building. Signs above the door say Wawa and signs on either side of the enterance show a Villanova University logo and a Wawa convenience store logo.
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    Retrieved from Villanova University on September 02, 2025
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    Wawa opens c-store on Villanova campus

    The new location near the center of the main campus is the retailer’s latest push to reach college students.

    By • Aug. 27, 2025
  • mapco
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    Retrieved from MAPCO.
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    6 major c-store players entering new states

    Whether through buying stores or building their own, companies like Wawa, Alimentation Couche-Tard and QuikTrip are testing new markets this year.

    By • Aug. 27, 2025
  • A photo of a display of merchandise inside a store. A sign on the wall says "Howdy" multiple times with a picture of a beaver in a hat in place of the "O".
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    Courtesy of Texas A&M
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    Buc-ee’s strikes first deal to sell merchandise outside its stores

    An agreement with Texas A&M University makes 45 items available for sale at three locations on the school’s campus.

    By • Aug. 26, 2025
  • Cans of Dr Pepper
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Keurig Dr Pepper to buy JDE Peet’s for $18B to boost struggling coffee business

    Once the deal closes, the company plans to separate its coffee and beverage units into two independent, publicly listed operations.

    By Christopher Doering • Aug. 25, 2025
  • A close-up photo of a person vaping.
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    Andrew Burton via Getty Images
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    FDA denies marketing for Blu vape

    While a few e-cigarette products can be advertised in the U.S., the agency said in its denial that “not all e-cigarettes are equal.”

    By • Aug. 22, 2025
  • A photo of a number of people standing on a construction site. There is a Volvo backhoe in the background. The people are holding up signs showing food items and one that looks like a license plate that reads "Wawa Tennessee wawa.com."
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    Courtesy of Wawa
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    Wawa begins construction in middle Tennessee

    The retailer’s first stores in the state are expected to open in 2026, with up to 50 locations planned by 2035.

    By • Aug. 15, 2025
  • A sign outside a gas station. The sign says "Fastrac."
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    Jessica Loder/C-Store Dive
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    Column

    3 Big Numbers: How EG Group is reshaping its global footprint

    Ahead of a potential IPO, the retailer is selling off several business units and focusing on its strongest markets.

    By • Aug. 15, 2025
  • Woman leaning against car while pumping gas.
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    istockphoto.com / Simon Skafar

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    Cary Oil adds 110 dealer locations to Upside platform

    The retailer has now grown its agreement with the digital marketplace to more than 300 stores across the U.S.

    By • Aug. 14, 2025
  • general merchandise
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    Retrieved from IWS.
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    General merchandise distributor IWS acquires Midwest rival’s delivery division

    IWS handles full-service merchandising and direct-ship programs for several convenience categories, including e-cigarettes, hemp derivatives and cell phone accessories.

    By • Aug. 5, 2025
  • An image of a person standing in front of a bar, lit with candles and neon lights. The eprson is wearing a white jaclet, gray pants and a silver shirt. there is a can of energy drink on the bar.
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    Courtesy of Monster Energy
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    Optimism rising for beverage category

    Retailers surveyed by Goldman Sachs expect 1.3% traffic gains for the full year, led by strength in energy drinks. 

    By • Aug. 4, 2025
  • A photo of the exterior of a RaceTrac site.
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    Courtesy of Disruptive Technologies
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    RaceTrac nears North Carolina debut

    The expansion, first revealed in early 2024, will start with a more than 6,000-square-foot location in Monroe, about 25 miles from Charlotte.

    By • July 29, 2025
  • Hershey milk chocolate candy bars are displayed
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Hershey to raise candy prices by double digits amid elevated cocoa costs

    The Reese’s maker said the “unprecedented cost” of the commodity is impacting many of its top sweet brands.

    By Christopher Doering • July 28, 2025
  • Juul
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Juul granted FDA marketing approval

    After initially being denied in 2022, the vaping products have been waiting in limbo while the government reconsidered the case.

    By • July 21, 2025
  • Big Beautiful Bill
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    Samuel Corum via Getty Images
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    Trump’s megabill boosts M&A outlook after slump

    The new law could provide greater tax certainty for dealmaking in an otherwise risky economic and policy environment, analysts say.

    By Alexei Alexis • July 15, 2025
  • Exterior of Circle K convenience store
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    Courtesy of Standard Cognition
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    5 big c-store industry questions for the rest of 2025

    From big acquisitions and proposals to longer-term trends that touch all parts of the industry, here are the storylines to watch.

    By , • July 14, 2025
  • A photo of a neon sign outside at night. The sign says 7-Eleven.
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    Courtesy of 7-Eleven
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    7-Eleven facing shrinking foot traffic

    Store visits have been declining for several quarters, but Seven & i is banking on more QSRs on-site to help turn things around.

    By • July 14, 2025
  • Couche-Tard
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    Retrieved from Newco Construction.
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    Circle K debuts sweeping alcohol discount program

    The initiative, which the company says is the largest in U.S. convenience retail, offers shoppers digital cashback rebates on beer, wine and spirits almost immediately after purchase.

    By • July 14, 2025