For the first time since 2005, convenience has surpassed health as the primary driver of Americans' food-purchasing decisions, according to the 2026 Food & Health Survey from the International Food Information Council (IFIC). The finding lands at a moment when convenience-channel operators have been steadily investing in fresh, better-for-you offerings — and it reframes how retailers should think about their foodservice programs and center-store sets.
What the Data Shows
The IFIC survey, conducted annually, tracks the values consumers weigh when choosing what to eat or drink. In this year's edition, convenience edged out health for the top spot — a reversal that has not occurred in the survey's 21-year history. The report also highlights a sharp rise in consumer awareness and concern around ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), a category whose definition remains contested among scientists and regulators but has gained significant traction in mainstream media and, increasingly, on retail shelves where "minimally processed" claims are multiplying.
The survey also finds that Americans are navigating shifting definitions of what "healthy" means. Consumers are increasingly skeptical of front-of-pack health halos, even as they simultaneously prioritize grab-and-go ease — a tension that sits squarely in the convenience channel's lap.
Why C-Store Operators Should Take Note
For forecourt-and-foodservice operators, the timing is notable. The channel has spent the better part of the last decade trying to shed its junk-food image, building out made-to-order programs, stocking refrigerated better-for-you snacks, and expanding dispensed-beverage platforms with functional and wellness-positioned SKUs. The IFIC data suggests those investments need not be abandoned — but the framing may need to shift toward speed and ease rather than nutrition credentials alone.
The ultraprocessed foods dialogue presents a more complicated challenge. A meaningful share of conventional c-store center-store inventory — packaged snacks, candy, carbonated soft drinks, roller-grill items — falls under most working definitions of UPFs. As that conversation moves from academic journals into grocery aisles and legislative chambers, operators will need to watch whether it begins to influence shopper behavior at the pump-and-pantry level the way it already has in some grocery segments. NACS data has consistently shown that packaged snacks and candy remain among the highest-margin inside-sales categories; any consumer-driven shift in that mix would carry meaningful implications for inside-sales comp performance.
Opportunity in the Aisle
The more immediate opportunity may be leaning into the convenience finding directly. C-stores are structurally built for the value proposition consumers are now explicitly ranking first: fast, accessible, frictionless. Operators with strong loyalty programs and app-based ordering are best positioned to convert that preference into repeat visits and basket-size growth. Chains that have invested in foodservice program expansion — hot-hold cases, proprietary commissary items, branded QSR-at-cstore partnerships — can merchandise convenience and quality simultaneously without requiring shoppers to choose between them.
Single-store operators (SSOs) face a tighter path, but the data is still actionable: streamlined cooler sets emphasizing grab-and-go meal solutions, clearly signed dispensed-beverage destinations, and front-counter impulse placement all align with what the 2026 IFIC survey says shoppers want most right now.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
