It’s clear: Guests crave simplicity.
This insight comes from Kyle Drenon and Kesha Alexander (pictured), co-owners of Springfield, Missouri-based ad agency Supper Co., speaking at CSP’s C-Store Foodservice Forum on Tuesday.
Simple menus win because they reduce operational complexity, labor training and inventory sprawl; improve consistency, speed and customer experience; make it easier to market, price and promote; and enable stronger limited-time offers and seasonal fixtures, Alexander said.
Restaurant chain Chili’s reduced its number of menu items from more than 100 to less than 75, she said. It went from a variety of categories to focusing on best-sellers, from many complex or niche items to streamlined, core offerings, and from a full to limited dessert menu.
This boosted same-store sales growth, which was up 14% in 2024 and up 31% so far in 2025, according to CSP sister research arm Technomic, Chicago, Alexander said.
“Guests crave simplicity,” Alexander said, citing Technomic data. “Even after COVID, one-third of operators cut menus further in 2024."
When simplifying a menu, don’t compromise on variety, Alexander said.
Convenience stores should continue to audit their menu with sales and margin data, cut slow sellers and redundancies, reuse SKUs in different dayparts or formats, and keep snack, drink and limited-time-offer (LTO) space flexible.
However, they shouldn’t eliminate all customization, she said. They also shouldn’t assume that fewer items equals less innovation, and they shouldn’t overcomplicate names with unfamiliar terms.
Craveability
Turning to craveability, Alexander recommended doing this by focusing on five areas:
Exclusivity: Make it feel like a product is something they can only get here, such as “Roadhouse Classic” or “Kwik Krave Original.”
Quality Cue: Evoke craftsmanship, freshness or sourcing, she said, citing the terms “smoked,” “handcrafted” and “slow roasted.”
Size/satiation: Drive value perception with terms like “double stack,” “XL wrap” and KFC’s “Big Bite Box.”
Flavor/adventure: Use this especially with global twists, such as “Korean BBQ,” “chili crunch,” “tandoori,” and “Baja.”
Brand/Collaborative Layer: Have co-branded or limited drops to create buzz, such as “with Tabasco” or “Doritos Crust.”
“Value must be present with key offers,” Drenon said. “The perception of value will draw them in, and they’ll be more apt to increase basket size.”
Snacking
The average person eats 2.6 snacks per day, according to Chicago-based Mondelez International’s 2024 Stack of Snacking Report, Alexander said.
“Guests crave snacks,” she said.
The snacking report also noted that 60% of consumers prefer multiple meals throughout the day over three larger meals.
While a traditional meal pattern is breakfast at 7 a.m., lunch at noon and dinner at 6 p.m., a snacking meal pattern adds snacks at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
However, the “snackification pattern” plays out with snacks at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., followed by a light lunch at noon, snack at 3 p.m., evening bite at 6 p.m. and night snack at 9 p.m., Alexander said.
Snacking offers high-frequency and high-margin opportunities for c-stores by lifting ticket size, increasing visits, attracting Gen Z and millennials, and expanding dayparts.
Twenty-seven percent of those in an April 2024 survey said they buy a freshly prepared item more than a year ago. The survey was from Jacksonville, Florida-based Acosta Group’s Freshly Prepared Foods Shopper Insights Study.
For snacking, make it craveable, innovate on signature items, bring value an make it share-worthy, Alexander said.
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