Pizza Reigns Supreme, but Hawaiian Tops The Charts Pizza is a ubiquitous c-store favorite and Conaghan noted that consumers surveyed reported pizza as the last prepared food they purchased at a convenience store. Sarah Jenks , senior director of solutions consulting for CFVG Ally Supporter member Upshop and guest of Mike Weber , Upshop’s CMO, asked whether there are trends Conaghan is tired of seeing, particularly on pizza menus, given how central and profitable pizza is in foodservice. Conaghan admitted she personally feels hot honey should have peaked by now, but Datassential’s data shows it’s still on the rise with much room to grow. Despite her own preferences, she empha- sized that pineapple, especially when paired with upscale cured meats like prosciutto, is actually growing in popularity, joking about the potential of a “hot
Claire Conaghan shared several charts with rankings for the popularity of pizza, beverages, and more in her presentation. The complete presentation and video are located online, alongside the full transcript. You can find that here at the Vision Group Network Vision Report Library: vgnsharing.com/ vision- report - library .
Jon Cox , vice president of retail foodservice at Ally Supporter member McLane, pointed out how resilient some classic flavors are, like buffalo, which persists in pop - ularity despite predictions it would fade. Conaghan agreed, saying that while some niche items like mortadella appear to have had their moment, nothing
significant is falling off pizza menus. Curby’s Express Market COO Richard Cashion added a
honey pepperoni pineapple pizza” making its way to convenience stores. From a broader industry view, Conaghan noted that pizza is thriving, topping the list in menu innovation and penetration growth, which means restau- rants are continuously leaning into it and may pose competitive pressure on convenience stores.
regional insight, explaining that dill pickle pizza is the third-highest performer at his store in Texas sharing: “We took it off the menu and got threatened by some customers if we didn’t bring it back . We had to bring dill back and thought the Nashville hot had to go off the menu, so I would say in this part of Texas, they took dill pickle pretty seriously.”
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