For years, “gas station food” was code for compromise —something you grabbed because you were out of time, not because you actually wanted it.  But in the past year the category crossed a line that’s hard to walk back. In a clear sign that c-stores are being reclassified as meal destinations, dunnhumby’s 2025 Retailer Preference Index (RPI) – QSR Channel Edition ranked Buc-ee’s #1 and Kwik Trip #2—ahead of In-N-Out Burger (#3), Raising Cane’s (#4), and Chick-fil-A (#5). And the framing is the point: dunnhumby includes convenience chains in the QSR set when a clear majority of their shoppers use them as meal destinations—not “snack stops.” Consumer sentiment is catching up, too. Datassential describes a “reputation revolution” in c-store foodservice: 40% of consumers say offerings are improving (up from 38% in 2023), with perceived gains in quality (35%) and freshness (33%)—even as 31% say prices are getting worse, keeping value perception a live pressure point. So, the 2026 story isn’t “c-stores are adding food.” It’s that foodservice is becoming the growth and profit engine of the box —and the winners are building stores that behave like neighborhood kitchens that happen to sell fuel.

How operators and manufacturers can scale execution, build customer satisfaction, and drive growth It starts before sunrise—and it doesn’t let up. On a college campus, the dining team is already recalibrating stations, staffing, and service flow around a day that will swing with class schedules, events, and demand spikes. In a corporate café, “lunch rush” is now a forecast problem—hybrid attendance makes traffic unpredictable, but expectations are not. And in healthcare, a trayline is moving because nutrition orders are part of care delivery, while a K–12 director builds menus inside a tightening compliance timeline. This is self-operated, on-site foodservice: mission-driven, high volume, and operationally unforgiving. And the “why now” is measurable: Colleges & Universities (C&U) are raising the bar on dining as a driver of student experience, belonging, and retention —which means programs must deliver variety , flexibility, and consistent execution across concepts, dayparts, and dietary needs without adding labor complexity. In this environment, manufacturers must understand campus scale, student diversity, and sustainability culture—and win by co-creating with operators through menu R&D collaborations, test kitchens, LTO trials, and student engagement that advance global flavor discovery, clean-label expectations, waste reduction, and brand impression. K–12 is at an inflection point: the scale is massive (in FY2024 National School Lunch Program provided more than 4.8 billion lunches at a total cost of $17.7 billion), while standards and reformulation pressure are accelerating. USDA updates phase in starting SY 2025–26 through SY 2027–28, with product-based added sugars limits beginning July 1, 2025—raising the stakes: if reformulated items lose flavor appeal and satisfaction dips, participation can fall, squeezing the reimbursement-driven economics behind the program. In healthcare , food is tied to outcomes and cost. Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (AHRQ HCUP) shows malnutrition-related stays have longer lengths of stay and higher costs—so foodservice consistency moves closer to clinical and financial accountability, where variation starts reading like risk. Senior living is under compounding pressure. NIC highlights reimbursement changes, workforce shortages, and regulatory complexity—creating a hard filter: “extra steps” get eliminated first. Demand is also climbing; senior housing occupancy increased in 2025 while construction stalled, intensifying throughput expectations with constrained labor. Workplace dining is being redesigned around hybrid reality . Return-to-office culture is pushing more customization and pop-ups , but attendance patterns are less predictable; “microshifting” signals fragmented schedules. Meanwhile, more workers bringing lunch from home raises the penalty for weak execution and undifferentiated offers—operators have to earn the occasion. In a cautious planning environment, ROI, simplicity, and adaptability matter more than ever. For operators, this pressure narrows the margin for error—every added step, every compliance miss, and every “just-okay” item risks participation, satisfaction, and cost. For manufacturers, it creates a clear opening: show up with compliant, execution-ready solutions and the support to make them work in real kitchens. When operators and suppliers align on measurable outcomes and validate through pilots, change becomes scalable—and the channel becomes a durable growth engine. Here’s the hard truth: traditional foodservice selling breaks in self-op environments. Features don’t scale. Confidence does. Below are six strategies that consistently separate manufacturers who trial from manufacturers-who-expand —and help operators and suppliers build programs that are compelling, compliant, executable, and built to scale.

Reinvention wins attention in 2026. Experience wins belief.

Kinetic12 Predictions: The 6 Forces Reshaping Food & Hospitality in 2026

As 2025 comes to a close, the foodservice industry finds itself at a pivotal intersection—one shaped not only by economic pressures and shifting consumer expectations, but by the choices operators and suppliers made this year to adapt, accelerate, or stand still. When we released our 2025 Predictions: Elevating Foodservice in a New Era , we challenged the industry to rethink what it means to lead: to build for resilience, innovate with purpose, and strengthen the connections that matter most. A year later, the question isn’t whether the landscape changed. It’s whether we changed with it. And if we did—did we change in the right ways? This Year in Review examines where our predictions proved prescient, where progress stalled, and where new momentum is taking shape—supported by the most recent Emergence® Q3 & Q4 operator data . More importantly, it reveals the throughline that defines the brands winning today: clarity of purpose, disciplined execution, and the courage to challenge what “good enough” looks like.

The Foodservice Landscape Has Changed—Permanently

The 7:45 a.m. Test

Kinetic12 Named the Top Foodservice Management Consulting Firm by Food Business Review

The playbook is changing—and the old rules aren’t working.

Why Relationships Matter in Business

In 2025, spice is no longer a fringe flavor—it’s a frontline strategy.