Health in a hurry
Over the last decade, convenience stores in Canada have adapted to meet Canadians’ needs for more ready-to-eat foods on the go. As such, operators are seeing their food and beverage sales shift increasingly toward food and meal occasions. The channel still makes its name on cheap ’n’ cheerful fast food, snacks and drinks, but much of its ability to grow is rooted in establishing itself as a reliable destination for healthy choices.
Since 2015, the Ipsos FIVE Consumption Tracker has monitored the shift in motivations that drive Canadians’ food and beverage choices from convenience stores. Ten years ago, the top two drivers were refreshment and convenience. In 2025, those two needs have waned. To keep things in perspective, desires for indulgence and craving remain primary drivers of choice for the channel. But convenience stores have become more competitive with grocery stores by attracting more consumers looking for items that fit their health goals.
Convenience customers are still influenced by a need for something quick and easy to consume. But this rising demand for health means they are less likely to settle for whatever is available—they can and will go elsewhere.
Contextual and generational influences
The story of opportunities in healthy eating is not new, but new chapters continue to be written. What it means to “eat healthy” and the products consumers choose to fit those goals are different now than they were for previous generations. Population forces influencing healthy eating today include:
- An elevated consciousness of physical vulnerabilities post-pandemic
- An aging population actively managing health conditions
- Middle-aged millennials who are proactive about maintaining vitality
- Generation Z (now pushing 30) making their mark on functional nutrition and mental health
The needs of millennials and gen Z are of special interest to convenience stores, as they are overrepresented among customers. The following three health paradigms influence younger generations’ food and beverage choices and are increasingly driving consumption at convenience stores. Operators should consider whether they have the right range of products to address each of these approaches to healthy eating, ranked in order of importance to the channel.
- Mental uplift
Mind- and mood-altering substances are no longer monopolized by vice, and when it comes to good-mood food, c-stores have an advantage over grocery. Younger customers are looking for more than just foods and beverages that make them happy—they’re in search of stress reduction, positivity, harmony and mental acuity.
Some of these claims may be difficult to put into words on a label, and activation comes from understanding brand positioning and consumer perception. For example, while older generations think of a coffee and doughnut as an energizing treat, gen Z may view it as a form of self-care.
- Dietary intake
Dietary intake is another health arena in which c-stores compete well against grocery. This was one of the first ways consumer packaged goods served 20th-century customers looking to consume fewer calories from fat or sugar.
In 2025, the paradigm remains strong with millennials and gen Z—but with nuance. Low-sugar has supplanted low-fat, “zero” has replaced “diet,” “low/no-added sugar” and “low/no alcohol” encourage moderation instead of elimination, and high-protein has overtaken high-fibre.
- Balanced nutrition turns functional
Nutrition, in general, is a fundamental driver of food and beverage choice regardless of age, and one in which c-stores have traditionally not competed well. It’s no wonder, as nutrition is typically associated with fresh, whole, unprocessed foods and beverages.
However, convenience stores have found their edge in functional nutrition. Led by demand from gen Z, shelves are full of packaged goods making claims about specific benefits and health impacts—for example, digestion, gut health, cutaneous function (skin, hair, nails), memory and cognition, pain and inflammation, muscle growth, blood sugar and eyesight.
Healthy destination
Goals for healthy eating do not preclude fundamental human desires for good taste, satisfaction of cravings, and solutions for lack of time, energy or access to homemade food. This is where convenience stores and their suppliers cash in.
Despite the stereotypes of previous generations, data shows millennials and gen Z perceive convenience stores as reliable destinations for mental uplift, dietary intake and functional nutrition. This “health in a hurry” paradigm is driving a fundamental change in the value proposition of the convenience channel—and will continue to shape shopper choices into 2026.
Emma Balment, is director, Ipsos, market strategy and understanding, Food and Beverage Group. Leveraging a team of industry experts and powerful syndicated data sets such as the FIVE Consumption Tracker, and the Foodservice Monitor, Emma specializes in uncovering growth opportunities for manufacturers, retailers and foodservice operators. [email protected]
