Customers aren’t leaving the dispensed beverages category, they’re leaving inconsistent experiences.
This insight comes from Jenna Mesirow, senior category manager, foodservice and dispensed beverage, at Loop Neighborhood Markets and Poppy Markets, Union City, California. Mesirow spoke Tuesday at CSP’s Dispensed Beverages Forum in Lombard, Illinois.
“Are we evolving fast enough to stay relevant?” Mesirow asked.
Inconsistent execution equals lost repeat visits, she said.
“One in three consumers cite inconsistent quality as a reason for skipping fountain,” she said, referencing Datassential.
- Loop Neighborhood Markets is No. 52 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
In addition, innovation is lagging behind consumer expectations, and consumer expectations have shifted, she said.
“Seventy percent of Gen Zs say they want customizable foods and beverage options,” Mesirow said, citing Datassential, “and we are not giving that to them.”
Execution drives results, Mesirow said. The company in May 2025 did a full fountain reset that included brixing—or testing the sugar content by weight in a liquid—every machine at its locations, calibrating equipment, updating schematics and moving to regional pricing. In upscale areas, they raised the price to capitalize on that consumer, she said.
The company had an average 28% same-store growth in sales since the reset, and its annualized gross profit was up almost $164,000, Mesirow said.
Consistency is one of the top drivers of repeat purchase in beverage programs, Mesirow said, citing CSP sister research arm Technomic.
“We really want to make sure that when you go into one of our stores, you’re going to get that same experience no matter what store you go to,” she said.
Back to basics still wins, but basics alone won’t unlock future growth, Mesirow said.
“You have to have the basics, which is what we did with the fountain reset, because your stuff has to be up and running,” she said. “You can’t have out-of-order signs on everything in order to get the customers to come back.”
Value lives
Value isn’t dead, it just needs energy, Mesirow said, adding that price-driven promotions still matter.
“People still care if you have low retails. That’s what gets them in the door,” she said, citing NACS consumer insights data that 68% of consumers say value influences where they buy beverages.
Value has several functions, including driving traffic, she said.
She said Loop and Poppy are planning a “Summer of 6 7” promotion, with any size fountain drink selling for 67 cents as a loss leader for 100 days of summer to increase transactions. “6 7” is a nonsensical expression used especially by teens and tweens, according to Merriam-Webster.
“If you have teenagers, I’m sure you know what 6 7 is,” she said.
One hundred days is enough time not only to evaluate the promotion but to create habits and patterns of new customers, she said.
“Essentially, buying customers,” she said.
Loop expects this to lead to repeat visits.
“Once we win those customers and get them into our stores, the goal is that they will want to keep coming back,” she said.
However, Gen Z expects value plus experience—not just low price, Mesirow said, citing Mintel Beverage Trends.
“Value works best when paired with fun,” she said.
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