7-Eleven Inc. has named 26 “purpose-driven” brands to participate in the 2026 Brands With Heart showcase. Now in its seventh year, the program connects emerging brands with the opportunity to enter a new retail channel and a chance to place their products on the shelves of 7-Eleven,Speedway and Stripes convenience stores throughout the United States.
The retailer selected the 26 finalists from a pool of more than 700 applicants through an application process from its 7-Ventures and Emerging Brands team.
“This year's cohort reflects the company’s continued focus on brands that offer clear differentiation and strong consumer appeal,” the Irving, Texas-based retailer said in a statement.
Leading up to the Brands with Heart showcase, finalists joined a series of virtual session to gain insights into 7-Eleven’s retail ecosystem. During the showcase held at the 7-Eleven Store Support Center in Irving, Texas, founders presented and sampled their products and participated in one-on-one pitch meetings with category teams. They also engaged in educational discussions focused on merchandising strategy and scaling within convenience retail.
Brands with Heart participants will be invited to launch regional in-store tests beginning in the first half of the year, providing an opportunity to further evaluate performance and consumer response, the retailer said.
“At 7-Eleven, we see emerging brands as a key driver of what's next in convenience retail," said Jesus Delgado-Jenkins, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at 7-Eleven. “Programs like Brands with Heart allow us to partner with entrepreneurs who are rethinking products and business models in ways that resonate with today’s customers.”
All of the brands selected for the program this year bring a “clear sense of differentiation,” whether through functional ingredients, unique formulations, packaging innovation or brand storytelling, the retailer said.
2026 Brands With Heart:
Bum Energy
COBA
Flerish Hydration
Focus Fuel
G2G Bar
GoMacro
Good Candy
Gorilla Mind
Hormbles Chrombles
Incredifulls Pizza Cupcake
Life Raft Treats
Loco Coffee
Loom Brands
Low and Slow Snacks
Nantucket Crisp
Noka
Nutcase Milk
Popcrunch
Shameless
Slate
Smash Foods
So Good So You
The Anabar
The Only Bean
Toom
YAW Snacks
- 7-Eleven is No. 1 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 13,000 convenience stores in the United States and Canada. It also operates and franchises operates and franchises Speedway and Stripes c-stores and the Laredo Taco Company and Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits restaurant brands.
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