As I write this editor’s note for May, I am fueled by Gushers Watermelon and Sour Apple, AriZona Sour Watermelon Fruit Snacks and Wiley Wallaby’s Soft and Chewey Classic Minis in Classic Red—they had a watermelon flavor, too, but I didn’t happen to grab that one.
Watermelon was everywhere at the Core-Mark Expo Midwest, which I attended March 27 in Schaumburg, Illinois. Another flavor in snacks that stood out to me and my colleagues as we walked the show floor—dill pickle. Giants and Wonderful both have Dill Pickle pistachios now.
All the sampling I did reminded me of how fun this industry is. Who doesn’t want to taste (and write about) candy and snacks for a living?
As other spring and fall tradeshows approach, I’ll be keeping an eye out to see if these trends continue. What trends are you seeing as tradeshow season picks up again?
State of Foodservice Report
Also at the expo was Core-Mark’s foodservice options—the taco I had from Contigo Taqueria was my favorite.
Foodservice is the focus of our 2025 State of Foodservice report, which you can read here and in our May magazine issue. Along with hearing from industry experts, we got some great feedback from convenience-store retailers in our annual State of Foodservice survey.
Eighty-two percent of respondents said their foodservice sales were up significantly or up slightly in 2024 compared to 2023. And 80% said they expect foodservice sales to greatly or somewhat improve in 2025.
And what are c-store consumers looking for when it comes to foodservice? Value and quality, experts say.
I couldn’t agree more—I’m looking for value in food, too.
My coworkers and I were in our office downtown Chicago this week talking about lunch and how much food prices are increasing. One remarked how the price of a rice and bean burrito at Taco Bell has risen over the years.
And I swear my favorite sandwich shop puts less meat on its sandwiches than it did two years ago—which matters when I’m still paying a whopping $15 for it. It’s worth it for me, when I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth.
I told my colleagues how I’m not even sure if I’m saving more by buying more groceries or buying fewer groceries and eating out more lately because it’s expensive either way.
The best ways for c-stores to compete with QSRs will be to show off the value of their foodservice items. Are they cheaper? Are they still restaurant quality? In my opinion, that’s the challenge that they need to overcome. Creating cheaper, quality products and then shouting it to the world so consumers think of them for a lunch, or any meal, stop.
Some c-store retailers are already doing a really good job of this—and you’ll hear from them in our report.
Hannah Hammond is executive editor at CSP. Reach her at hannah.hammond@informa.com.
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