When I’m traveling, I much prefer stopping at a food-forward c-store to a QSR.

There are a lot of reasons, but the main one is that at a c-store, I have a better shopping experience. There are more options.

Not sure what you want? You can check out the menu … then walk over to the roller grill … then see if grab-and-go looks tempting. Maybe you decide you want to combine a few snacks.

C-stores offer exponentially more options for breakfast, lunch and dinner than a QSR.

Especially as mealtimes get scrambled and people aren’t on a shared breakfast-lunch-dinner schedule, if I have multiple people in the car, a c-store is a far better choice. Person A may want a full meal, person B may want a yogurt and a bag of chips for later, and person C may opt for juice and a bakery item.

Of course, people in the industry already know that c-stores are great places to stop and shop, but the consumer is still figuring it out. I know that firsthand from when I have to twist someone’s arm to get them to try “gas station food.” (They’re inevitably impressed afterwards.)

My two cents: The industry can do a better job telling the story of how c-stores have so many more choices than a QSR. For example: At my local c-store, a quick, unofficial count revealed 22 juice options and 42 meat snack options. Even if a customer only wants juice and beef jerky, that’s 924 combinations to choose from. A customer could mix and match and try a new combination every week … for almost 18 years.

For this issue I thought it would be fun to count the options more scientifically, with help from the NACS research team and our partners at NIQ. You can see the results on page 59. It’s part of a story on foodservice leakage, which NACS defines as when customers leave your store with plans to visit a QSR within the next half hour.

Other foodservice content in this issue includes a look at the dinner daypart—a huge growth opportunity for c-stores—and what experts suggest for growing your share; new innovations in foodservice equipment; trends in bakery; and an article on the c-store staple of cold dispensed and how retailers are freshening the offer.

Inside NACS we’re gearing up for our annual State of the Industry Summit, where you’ll be the first to hear how foodservice is performing in our industry, as well as many, many other trends and watchouts. This year’s event is in Dallas April 8-10. Register now.