This interview is brought to you by International Food Solutions.

Foodservice is an ever-growing category in c-stores—and is increasingly important. Do you have any advice for retailers who are looking to expand their sales during the dinner daypart?

First, figure out a way that works in your community and your organization. There’s no cookie-cutter plan that’s going to work in every location or every company.

Second, the company has to put together a plan and marketing strategy that helps drive the business. Retailers need to educate their customers to make sure they know that dinner is available. One idea would be to use a loyalty app to send out texts or emails with messages like, “Hey, what’s for dinner tonight? We’ve got a great idea: tangerine chicken and fried rice for the family.”

What are today’s consumers looking for from their meals?

People’s palates are changing, so what we ate 10, 15, 30 years ago is not what consumers are looking for today. What they are looking for is high-quality global foods that make them go “wow.” They want food that is going to spark their taste buds.

You mentioned global foods. Why should retailers offer international foods and flavors as part of their foodservice programs?

I think the number one reason is that customers are demanding it. According to the 2024 NACS Convenience Voices survey, 37.9% of consumers wanted food that the convenience store did not offer. And the national foodservice leakage rate in 2024 was 28.7%, which means nearly 30% of shoppers who left a convenience store planned to purchase quick-service food within 30 minutes. Of those shoppers, 18.0% said they planned to go to a Mexican fast food chain and 10.4% said they were going to an Asian fast food chain.

From your perspective, what are the current trends in international meals and global flavors?

Overall, the No. 1 and No. 2 categories for growth are Asian and Latin, and so any flavors from those two regions are immensely popular. Indian food is also gaining popularity across the United States, especially along the East and West Coasts—it’s in what I would call the infancy stage of a flavor trend.

Continue reading “Flavor Focus: International Trends,” in the August 2025 issue of NACS Magazine.