Convenience-store chains are seeing growth in the back bar in 2026, especially with alternative nicotine products.
- Weigel's is No. 84on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. Englefield Oil is No. 59, Parker's Kitchen is No. 73, Pilot Co. is No. 16 and Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is No. 15.
CSP Daily News editors spoke with some of the top leaders in convenience to find out what innovations are coming from this category for 2026. Here are their responses.
These answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Doug Yawberry, president and CEO, Weigel’s
“The tobacco industry is probably one of the most resilient industries out there. I’ve been in this business, what, almost 30 years now, and we always think tobacco’s going away, but it never goes away, and it holds that percentage of total throughout. I think there’s a lot of excitement there. I think the biggest issue right now is the illicit vape deal. That’s tough on us. So, that’s a challenge cause that’s eroding away at, from a c-store standpoint, when you got a lot of vape stores out there, they pull a lot of that business. But I think the pouch business—we've done well with that. I think we see a lot of growth there. And I think tobacco definitely has a future, and it just changes as we go about. But Jessica [Starnes], who you know, Jessica runs tobacco for us and she does an outstanding job of keeping us on the cutting edge of what we're doing. So, when there’s changes or something that’s shifting, she’s got us out there, out front so we don't lose ground.” —Hannah Hammond
Ashley Englefield DeWitt, president, Englefield Retail
“Tobacco is still a high-volume category for us, even though it’s declining. It continues to drive a lot of trips, and when we manage the backbar well—clean, organized, in-stock—it supports the rest of the store.” —Chuck Ulie
F.W. (Will) Englefield V, president, Englefield Energy
“In our market, specifically, there have been many months of tumultuous regulatory changes. A flavor ban has negatively impacted sales for tobacco products at many of our Columbus, Ohio, sites. While we hope that it is reversed, we have realized we need to be strong in our strategy of fuel and other sales to combat these regulatory issues that we have no control over.” —Chuck Ulie
John Rhine, CFO, Parker’s Kitchen
“I’m most excited about the continued growth of new modern oral (NMO) products. I really believe this category represents the future of nicotine consumption. Nicotine pouches are viewed as a much more socially acceptable delivery system—there’s no smoke, no smell and no spitting, which removes many of the barriers traditionally associated with tobacco use. As we’ve seen the trend of working from home decline and more employees return to office environments, NMO products have become an attractive alternative for poly-tobacco users. They’re discreet, they align with changing social norms and they offer a cleaner, more convenient way for consumers to meet their nicotine needs. From a retail standpoint, it’s one of the most promising growth categories in the store.” —Diane Adam
Patrick McLean, chief marketing officer, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores
“We’ve been operating in a relatively steady state there. I think I would say that there seems to be a lot of innovation coming from that category and so we're very much staying close to our partners there, both in terms of the pivots that we're going to need to make over the next 18 to 24 months on everything from shelf space to just how the category shows up in the store. But then also how we go to market and how we position these new products as they come into the franchise. So I think it’s actually a pretty exciting time in that category in particular because there’s just going to be a lot of new things happening, and new regulations, and I think new opportunities for us to introduce new products that are different from the products that we’ve had in the past, which is always exciting when you see a category that’s in that kind of transitional phase.” —Hannah Hammond
Brad Anderson, president of Retail, Pilot Co.
“As a retailer, I’m excited about our ability to deliver a complete and convenient assortment across all categories that our drivers rely on. While our primary focus is on driving our fresh food and digital services, the back bar is essential to a quick and frictionless transaction. There is a lot of growth in this category, especially with nicotine alternative products. We're leveraging our digital and merchandising teams to ensure we utilize sophisticated category management and data analytics, offering the right mix and speed of service for every quick impulse purchase. This enables drivers to easily grab exactly what they need and get back on their journey.” —Chuck Ulie
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