Pilot in March introduced two new food concepts, Pilot eats and Pilot eats Express. | Pilot and CSP Staff
Convenience-store retailers are continuing to shift foodservice approaches, investing more heavily in quality, value and operational consistency as they position stores as more than quick-stop outlets, said Mendy Meriwether, vice president and principal of foodservice at NexChapter, a Des Moines, Iowa-based c-store consulting firm.
“What I’m seeing most clearly is that c-stores are continuing to move from ‘convenience-only’ to ‘food-and-beverage destinations,’” she said. Operators are putting more resources into the category because “industry data shows foodservice clearly is the growth engine, especially in the c-store space; hence, retailers are leaning more intentionally into the category.”
Retailers are increasingly leaning into “restaurant-like prepared foods, stronger breakfast and lunch offers, expanded made-to-order platforms and more attractive meal bundles,” she said.
Food personalization also continues to gain ground, Meriwether said.
“I continue to see a growing number of customizable formats such as build-your-own pizza and burritos coupled with a beverage—quality coupled with affordability,” she said.
For its annual State of Foodservice issue, CSP talked with Pilot, OXXO and InConvenience—three retailers who are all in different stages of their foodservice journeys—and consultants for an overview of the category and the latest insights.
- Click here for the results of the annual State of Foodservice survey, which examines retailers’ thoughts on the growth potential in various food and beverage segments, key strategies in foodservice operations in the next year and more.
New concepts take flight at Pilot
Pilot in March introduced two new food concepts, Pilot eats and Pilot eats Express, the latter of which is designed to fit some of the company’s smaller travel centers. The concepts are rolling out in phases and aim to add more consistency across locations in how its food looks, feels and travels, Pilot said.
“We’re relaunching exceptional products that have already been in the marketplace and delivering them in a way that is recognizable for people that go to Pilot,” said Kari Irons, vice president of brand and marketing at Knoxville, Tennessee-based Pilot, which has 688 stores.
The Pilot eats full hot deli menu will be available in about 400 locations, offering items such as a Southern Chicken Sandwich, Hand-Roped Pizza and freshly prepared deli entrees including homestyle meals such as meatloaf, roasted chicken and mac and cheese. The chicken sandwich is new to the menu and is a meatier and crispier chicken breast filet, the company said.
Pilot eats Express, meanwhile, will focus on grab-and-go items like artisan pizza, chicken wings and tenders and snackable sides at about 200 locations.
There’s a lot of menu innovation such as this going on at c-stores, said Donna Hood Crecca, a senior principal at CSP sister research arm Technomic.
Foodservice-forward operators strive to present offerings that rival restaurants in being trend-forward and also hitting on relevant elements of both health—such as Wawa leaning in on functionality in beverages—and indulgence, like Rutter’s recent release of a Spam roller-grill item and grilled cheese lineup, Crecca said.
Pilot’s new concepts aren’t a wholesale change in what the company has been doing but rather are more about bringing consistency and elevating its minimum offerings, said Sean Marrero, senior vice president of food and beverage at Pilot.
“It starts with understanding our guests, who are on a journey from somewhere to somewhere, and we’re a part of that journey,” Marrero said.
“We have lots of data and history that tell us what guests are buying the most, and we want to make sure we deliver more of what they crave to them,” he said.
Deciding which concept a Pilot location will offer includes considering physical constraints, Marrero said. “We wanted to make sure we could deliver our best products regardless of the store size,” he said.
Pilot eats builds on the concept that Pilot is “your home away from home on the road,” Marrero said. It caters to Pilot’s many professional drivers who look at Pilot as a place to stop, rest and shower—and in those locations Pilot wants its full meal offerings available, he said.
With Pilots eats Express, the company wants to make sure its best offerings are available, such as pizza and chicken, but to do so with a focus on grab-and-go so customers can get back on the road quickly, Marrero said. Planning such as this always must be done with attention to customers’ needs, he said, noting the popularity of Pilot pizza and the importance of coffee and the “beverage experience.”
“Guests are focused on where they can meet their needs for proteins, and chicken in general is having a moment.” -Sean Marrero, Pilot
“Chicken is becoming an increasingly important part of our portfolio,” he said. “Guests are focused on where they can meet their needs for proteins, and chicken in general is having a moment.”
The rollout began in March in Chicopee, Massachusetts, and Ponce de Leon, Florida. Irons said marketing’s job is to get people to try the food, whether it’s through meal deals, bundles or through the app.
“Whether it’s third-party delivery or mobile ordering, we’re watching how many new guests are trying our food,” Irons said.
Pilot will be watching customer metrics to see if people are coming back—and coming back more—and whether they’re now buying pizza or chicken when before they were shopping the cold case or simply grabbing a beverage, she said.
OXXO revamping foodservice program
A recent newcomer to the U.S. market is OXXO, owned by Monterrey, Mexico-based Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA). FEMSA acquired Delek US Holdings Inc.’s 249 c-store locations in October 2024, marking its entry into the United States.
In the U.S., OXXO is revamping its foodservice program to offer a more appealing selection, starting with the Texas markets of Midland, Odessa and El Paso, said Carlos Garcia Montemayor, OXXO’s director of marketing.
The company’s strategy includes strengthening its hot grab-and-go and roller-grill offerings—and expanding the hot menu to include higher quality and more diverse options, he said.
“As part of the evolution of our own brands, we are introducing andatti, our widely recognized coffee in Mexico and Latin America, now available in Midland and Odessa,” Montemayor said.
OXXO also is expanding the selection of fast-food restaurants with the addition of Doña Tota and Ditsch, the latter with products imported from Mexico and Germany, he said, adding that this complements existing offerings from Sbarro and Subway.
- Pilot Co. is No. 16 on CSP’s 2026 Top 40 update to the 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. OXXO is No. 38. Watch for the full 2026 Top 202 ranking in June.
“In recent months, we have conducted a strategic review of our product portfolio and programs with the aim of strengthening those that truly generate value for our customers,” Montemayor said. “As a result, we have optimized and expanded our offerings based on consumer preferences and the feedback we continually receive from the market.”
InConvenience finds food is essential
When c-store chain InConvenience Inc. began opening stores in February 2024, it initially had no plans to offer foodservice. However, after learning from the first location in Pattonsburg, Missouri, it quickly recognized that foodservice was essential and added it in December 2024.
But the c-store chain continues to learn what works in the category.
“We got to a point where we added too many side items, and it was taking focus away from our core menu,” said Erin Slater, category manager of foodservice and tobacco. “Employees were spending more time making these lower-dollar appetizer items, and it just wasn’t cost-effective.”
So the team looked at the top sellers and cut the sides back to a few core items.
“But the only way we knew that was by trying it,” Slater said.
InConvenience, which is partnered with PFS, a Holts Summit, Missouri-based foodservice provider, offers Wingman Pizza and Cooper’s Express chicken on an open-stock basis—meaning the chicken products are sold under InConvenience’s own brand. The c-store chain also offers burgers, breakfast items and more.
InConvenience has 20 operating locations of The Gas Spot and The Goods Spot c-stores in Arkansas, Iowa and Missouri, though it is based in Chicago. It has another five locations that are currently closed. The stores were picked up from shuttered Mountain Express and SQRL Service Station locations.
Eight of the 20 locations offer foodservice, and the chain plans to add it to every store.
The breakfast daypart has been successful for InConvenience, specifically breakfast burritos, breakfast pizzas and breakfast sandwiches. The chain offers personal pizza pies instead of individual slices. It cuts down on the labor of cutting up a large pizza and prevents waste, and it has a higher price. InConvenience also sells large pizzas that customers can call ahead to order.
Costs rise, but consumers still want deals
Like all foodservice operators, c-stores face rising costs for labor, food and beverage items/ingredients and packaging, Crecca of Technomic said. Meanwhile, consumer expectations of quality are rising, but they still expect to see below-restaurant prices when buying prepared food and beverages in c-stores, she adds.
“That puts the pressure on to tighten up operations and prioritize efficiency in menu engineering and execution,” Crecca said.
At OXXO, Montemayor said that customer demands have increased significantly and their preferences are constantly changing, forcing the company to remain agile and innovative.
“To cope with this dynamic environment, we are constantly working to gain an in-depth understanding of their needs and anticipate their expectations,” he said.
However, OXXO also continues to identify significant opportunities, he said.
“Consumer trends are creating space for more varied food offerings, authentic products and distinctive flavors that can position us as the best option in convenience stores.” -Carlos Garcia Montemayor, OXXO
“Consumer trends are creating space for more varied food offerings, authentic products and distinctive flavors that can position us as the best option in convenience stores,” Montemayor said. “In addition, new technologies and loyalty programs allow us to strengthen customer relationships and offer personalized benefits.”
He adds that OXXO’s main advantage of its foodservice program is its ability to combine quality, accessibility and variety.
“We have a robust offering of high-quality snacks at competitive prices, designed to meet different needs throughout the day,” he said. “We also have a diversified portfolio of fast-food restaurants with widely recognized brands, which increases the options available to our consumers.”
At InConvenience, nearly every entree item on the menu is part of the meal deal menu the chain has offered for the last two months, Slater said.
The chain’s meal deals include $6 breakfast, $7 lunch, $8 dinner, $9 super value and $18 family deal options
“We decided to do it by price point and try and keep it as simple as possible,” Slater said. Early results showed sales picking up, which is helping increase the average check—another area they’re focused on as a company.
Crecca adds that operators are implementing basic best practices like cross-utilizing ingredients and products to streamline inventories and sharply optimizing assortments across key categories and service formats. Operators are also bringing tech-driven rigor to key areas like managing waste.
“The heavy lifting is happening behind the scenes, and that will set many operators up for success in 2026 and beyond,” she said.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.
