Convenience stores, often considered a destination for indulgent, unhealthy snacks, could offer a new growth opportunity for better-for-you brands as the channel’s core audience begins shifting slightly towards more health-conscious shoppers, according to research from the Hudson Institute and Natural Marketing Institute.
“The consumer health and wellness push towards better-for-you foods has moved further into the mainstream – impacting retailers from restaurants to grocery stores, and now increasingly, the convenience store retail sector,” Hudson Institute writes in a white paper commissioned by the National Association of Convenience Stores. Traditional snack offerings have long dominated the c-store retail channel, but "in the past five years, the importance of natural foods and beverages to c-store shoppers has nearly doubled, with 62{845d44a2f09c0018d802e19e78941a85dc2180e4ed7410cee0b34e8cb134ecea} stating natural foods are important to maintaining their health,” according to the paper.
In addition, 75{845d44a2f09c0018d802e19e78941a85dc2180e4ed7410cee0b34e8cb134ecea} of c-store shoppers say they are eating healthier than they used to and are more likely to take any means necessary to control their own health, according to the report.
“The consumer health and wellness push towards better-for-you foods has moved further into the mainstream – impacting retailers from restaurants to grocery stores, and now increasingly, the convenience store retail sector,” Hudson Institute writes in a white paper commissioned by the National Association of Convenience Stores. Traditional snack offerings have long dominated the c-store retail channel, but "in the past five years, the importance of natural foods and beverages to c-store shoppers has nearly doubled, with 62{845d44a2f09c0018d802e19e78941a85dc2180e4ed7410cee0b34e8cb134ecea} stating natural foods are important to maintaining their health,” according to the paper.
In addition, 75{845d44a2f09c0018d802e19e78941a85dc2180e4ed7410cee0b34e8cb134ecea} of c-store shoppers say they are eating healthier than they used to and are more likely to take any means necessary to control their own health, according to the report.
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