When it comes to beverages, the best innovation is usually in the cold vault, not in dispensed beverages.
That’s according to Jon Cox, vice president of retail foodservice at Temple, Texas-based McLane Co., who spoke on a panel at CSP’s 2025 Convenience Retailing University, held Feb. 24-26 in Nashville, Tennessee. Shayna Snyder, product marketing director at McLane; Miranda Reid, chief marketing officer at Petone, New Zealand-based Shott Beverages Group; and Melissa Mackay, senior vice president of marking and insight for Little Rock, Arkansas-based Westrock Coffee Co., also joined Cox.
The group discussed how convenience retailers could help bridge the gap between the cold vault and dispensed beverages.
“What we're trying to do is extend what's cool in the cold vault back to the beverage bar,” Cox said. “Extending that innovation beyond what's in the cold vault is going to be the biggest obstacle.”
One way to do that is through customization, Reid said.
“We've already discussed how the cold vault has got innovation … and there is just constant innovation but in the dispensed bar, it’s just a little bit lacking,” she said. “And there are just some really easy opportunities with customization.”
This goes beyond just adding some form of sugar or dairy to coffee. The younger generations, like Gen Alphas or Gen Zs, want something more extensive and personal, “and they’ll pay a premium for it as well,” Reid said.
For ideas, look to QSRs (quick service restaurants), she said. They are using small spaces, toppers, alternative dairy and other means to allow consumers to build from a base and make a drink their own based off their health preferences, flavor preferences or what they’ve seen on social media. C-stores can implement modular systems in the dispensed beverage area to take advantage of these customization options.
“They allow your existing customer base to still go in and find the drink that they love that they're familiar [with], that you're known for. But it widens your catchment for the younger generations,” she said.
She gave the example of dirty sodas, or flavored sodas. Adding a modular system can allow c-stores to add syrups, fruit purees and more to customize sodas.
Mackay said retailers could also flip this idea and consider what they can bring from their dispensed set into the cold vault.
“How can you create some consistencies? Because if you have a shopper coming in and you're known for a signature blend, or a unique flavor, a regional profile, how can you then incorporate that into a cold vault for yourself?” she asked.
The cold vault is a space that a retailer can leverage what they’re known for, Mackay 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.