In the latest episode of CSP 's "At Your Convenience" podcast, Vice President of Content Strategy Abbey Lewis sits down with Marc Walkin, Head of Marketing at Qsic. Walkin makes a compelling case for why convenience stores represent an ideal environment for strategic audio: "What makes c-stores so unique is first, they're highly impulse-driven relative to other channels," Walkin explains. "Any audience that is more impulse-driven is obviously more susceptible to ads that could change behavior."...
Jul 10, 2025•21 min
Sandie Deas Ray, Nadine Lim and Elsa Storts are three consumer-packaged goods (CPG) leaders who are all at different stages of their careers. They’re also all part of the same power team, a group of industry members who attended CSP’s Convenience-Store Women’s (CSW) Event and who meet throughout the year to solve challenges that women in the workplace face. In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” Lim, e-commerce manager at Temple, Texas-based McLane Co. Inc.; Deas Ray, vice president of foodse...
Jul 08, 2025•20 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Chuck Ulie talks with Liza Salaria , merchandising and foodservice practice lead at Chicago-based W. Capra, from CSP’s C-Store Foodservice Forum in Schaumburg, Illinois, in June. Salaria discusses correcting foodservice margin leakage, touching on gross margins, open rings, known loss, unknown loss, supplies and more....
Jul 03, 2025•13 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Diane Adam talks with Mitch Morrison , vice president of retailer relations at Informa Connect, about the latest news and trends in the tobacco category. The two talk about staff changes at the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), how artificial intelligence might speed up the agency's premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) review process, growing illicit vape sales and more....
Jul 01, 2025•19 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Rachel Gignac talks to Neha Nayyar, senior director of loyalty, personalization and shopper marketing at 7-Eleven, and Mario Mijares, vice president of marketing, loyalty and monetization platforms at the Irving, Texas-based chain. The conversation about 7-Eleven’s retail media network took place in April at CSP’s Retail Media Network Forum in Dallas. Nayyar and Mijares discuss the convenience-store chain's ad channels, retail media partnershi...
Jun 24, 2025•20 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Chuck Ulie talks with Kathy Williams, senior category leader at Minuteman Food Mart , Elizabethtown, North Carolina, owned by Campbell Oil Co., from CSP’s Cold Vault Forum in Lombard, Illinois, in May. Williams , a CSP 2025 Category Manager of the Year winner for center store, small chain, talks about the importance of watching trends, Minuteman’s love of innovation, the importance of leveraging vendors to get insight on consumers and more....
Jun 17, 2025•12 min
The tobacco industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by scientific research and innovation in non-combustible alternatives. With more than 1 billion adult smokers globally and nearly 30 million in the United States alone, understanding the principles of Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) has become increasingly important for both industry stakeholders and consumers. In a recent "At Your Convenience" podcast, we explore the science behind potentially reduced-risk tobacco products and...
Jun 16, 2025•13 min
There has been an explosion in THC beverages in the past six months, and Melissa Vonder Haar, managing director of TradeWorks for St. Louis-based display solutions firm iSEE Store Innovations, said convenience retailers must capitalize on this emerging segment so they don’t get left behind. But, to do that, retailers must educate themselves and their consumers about cannabis, while also lobbying for clearer regulations within the industry, Vonder Haar said during the latest episode of CSP podcas...
Jun 10, 2025•29 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Diane Adam talks with Peter Rasmussen, who is an industry advocate, convenience and energy veteran, and CEO and founder of Convenience and Energy Advisors. The two spoke in May during CSP’s Cold Vault Forum in Lombard, Illinois. Rasmussen shares how retailers can unlock digital’s potential to drive packaged beverage profit. He also discusses the importance of in-store signage and how c-store shoppers notice promotions. “At Your Convenience” br...
Jun 03, 2025•11 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Rachel Gignac talks to Whitney Johnson, senior vice president of marketing at EG America, Westborough, Massachusetts, about her involvement in launching both a retail media network and a new loyalty program in the first few months of the year.
May 27, 2025•6 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Chuck Ulie talks with Josh Campbell, dispensed beverage category manager at La Plata, Maryland-based Dash In , owned by the Wills Group. The two spoke in April during CSP’s Dispensed Beverages Forum in Lombard, Illinois. Campbell , a CSP 2025 Category Manager of the Year winner for dispensed beverages, small chain, talks about finding a way to have a dispensed beverage not only work as a complement to a food program but be able to stand on its...
May 20, 2025•12 min
In this special edition episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Rachel Gignac talks to Helena Yasmine, director of sales for convenience and retail at coffee equipment company SEB Professional, and Joy Landis, senior customer business manager at snacks and candy manufacturer Mars Wrigley. Yasmine and Landis are on a Convenience-Store Women (CSW) power team, an ongoing initiative of the CSW event where groups of convenience-store industry women meet throughout the year to address root causes...
May 13, 2025•8 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Diane Adam talks with Taylor Bromley (pictured third from right), senior manager third party implementation at Altria, and Christine Loukota, director of emerging technologies at Alimentation Couche-Tard/Circle K , regarding the annual 2025 Women’s Leadership Summit . Navigating the evolving landscape of leadership in today’s business climate was the topic of discussion Feb. 28 at the annual 2025 Women’s Leadership Summit hosted by Richmond, V...
May 13, 2025•15 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Executive Editor Hannah Hammond talks to Todd Fangman, senior food and dispensed beverage manager at the Dash In convenience-store chain . The Wills Group Inc., La Plata, Maryland, owns the c-store chain, which has about 60 stores. The Wills Group is No. 120 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count. Fangman shares his strategy behind Dash In’s menu and how he’s focusing on nailing core items this year, rather than...
May 06, 2025•17 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Rachel Gignac talks to Paul Singh, vice president of operations at Grab-N-Geaux, a convenience-store chain based in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Safi Modi, head of growth at Modisoft, a technology software provider based in Sugar Land, Texas. They talk about Grab-N-Geaux's integration of Modisoft services throughout its stores. The chain uses the tech inside the store, in the forecourt and for its restaurant. “At Your Convenience” brings indus...
Apr 29, 2025•15 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Chuck Ulie talks with Rachel Toner, owner of Taste Strategy, Chalfont, Pennsylvania, at CSP’s Dispensed Beverages Forum , which took place in April in Lombard, Illinois. Toner talks about the trendy dirty soda, which is a carbonated soft drink with added flavor syrups or creamers. Toner discusses the catchy name, the history of the beverage and its resurgence today. The majority of retailers already have the ingredients needed to make these dr...
Apr 22, 2025•13 min
With consumers expecting everything on-demand, digital commerce has become table stakes. But scaling delivery while maintaining margins isn’t easy—especially in a business built for speed and efficiency. On a recent episode of the CSP "At Your Convenience" podcast, CSP's Vice President of Content Strategy Abbey Lewis sat down with Justin Jackson, president and chief revenue officer at Lula Commerce , to talk about what works, what doesn’t, and how to build a digital strategy that drives results....
Apr 15, 2025•27 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Diane Adam talks with Deena Doyle (second from right), the executive director of Women in Energy, during the M-Pact 2025 tradeshow in Indianapolis, April 1-3. Doyle talks about her excitement of the Women in Energy organization whose goal is to create a community for energy professionals focused on education, mentorship and growth. She also touches on advancement tools for women currently working in the energy industry....
Apr 08, 2025•13 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Rachel Gignac talks to Fidaa Mohrez, senior director of operational systems at H&S Energy, Orange, California, and Mehdi Mahmoodi, co-founder of LottoShield, San Ramon, California. They talked about H&S Energy's experience with LottoShield during CSP ’s Convenience Retailing University (CRU) event in February in Nashville....
Apr 01, 2025•15 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Senior Editor Hannah Hammond talks to Mark Buonomo , senior category manager for beer, wine and liquor at Global Partners. Buonomo was a finalist for CSP’s 2025 Category Manager of the Year awards. Click here to see the 2025 CMOY winners. The two talked about trends in packaged beverages and alcohol during CSP’s Convenience Retailing University (CRU) event in February in Nashville, Tennessee. Global Partners LP, Waltham, Massachusetts, operates 364 c...
Mar 25, 2025•11 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” Fidaa Mohrez, senior director of operational systems at H&S Energy Group; Kumeil Hosain, founder and CEO of Xenia; and Abbey Lewis, vice president of content strategy, discuss what the partnership means for H&S Energy. With beer caves, car washes and various formats across different regions, H&S needed a platform with store hierarchy capabilities and customizability across its portfolio of locations....
Mar 24, 2025•16 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Diane Adam talks with Damian Wyatt, vice president of retail, purchasing and merchandising for Greenfield, Indiana-based Leo’s Market & Eatery. The podcast was recorded inside the retailer’s new c-store location in Lafayette, Indiana. Other Leo’s are located in Greenfield, Noblesville, McCordsville and Indianapolis, Indiana. Wyatt talks about the new store’s features, including chef-prepared meals, a drive thru and Leo’s signature kolaches...
Mar 18, 2025•18 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Chuck Ulie talks with Mary Ruiz, center store category manager at Global Partners , Waltham, Massachusetts , which owns the Alltown Fresh convenience-store chain. Ruiz talks about excitement in the category with the influx of new items—and, in this role for just seven months, discusses what has surprised her so far. Ruiz also touches on trends she’s watching. “I see in a lot of global cuisines, people going after new flavors, frozen foods,” sh...
Mar 11, 2025•11 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP editors Hannah Hammond, Heather Lalley, Rachel Gignac, Diane Adam and Chuck Ulie share highlights from CSP’s Convenience Retailing University (CRU) conference. The event took place Feb. 24-26 in Nashville, Tennessee, and was filled with educational content in all convenience-store categories, from tobacco to center store to packaged beverages and more. Also, Hammond interviews five of the 2025 Category Manager of the Year winners : Foodservice, large...
Mar 04, 2025•17 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Chuck Ulie talks with Ali Beydoun , foodservice director at Chillbox, owned by New Haven, Michigan-based Bazco Oil. Beydoun talks about the launch of the first quick-service restaurant, BirdBox , launched in November by Chillbox in one of its Warren, Michigan, locations. “It was definitely one of those, ‘Let’s make it happen,’ Beydoun said on the podcast. “We were all hands on deck and were able to do it in about a month and a half. It’s been ...
Feb 25, 2025•12 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience”, guest host Art Sebastian sits down with Renee Caceres, head of retail media at StackAdapt, for a discussion on the evolution of retail media networks. Sebastian is the founder of NexChapter, host of CSP’s Retail Media Network Forum and C-StoreTEC advisory board chairman . The two talk about the evolution of retail media networks and dive into how StackAdapt’s programmatic advertising platform empowers convenience retailers to unlock new opportunities in ...
Feb 19, 2025•27 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Diane Adam talks to Olivia Parker, outreach and communications manager at Parker’s Kitchen , Savannah, Georgia. They discuss the success of the second-annual Convenience-Store Women (CSW) Event held Nov. 4-6 in Charleston, South Carolina. They also talk about working in the family business. Parker shared her career path on stage at CSW. Parker now serves as the outreach and communications manager for the retailer overseeing planning and implem...
Feb 11, 2025•12 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Rachel Gignac talks to three convenience-store retailers from Midwest Petroleum, Southwest Georgia Oil Co. and Loop Neighborhood Market, along with the managing director of Conexxus. First, Kristina Anderson, chief services officer at Midwest Petroleum talks about how the company is striving to make better use of artificial intelligence (AI). Then, Glennie Bench, president and COO of Southwest Georgia Oil Co., shares her perspective on women i...
Feb 04, 2025•16 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Chuck Ulie talks with Richard Poye , founder of Nashville-based Fresh Foods Think Tank. Poye talks about the importance of execution and maintaining trust with one’s convenience-store customers—and ensuring messages are clear, concise and translatable. Poye also discusses flavor trends, from the early stages to proliferation to going mainstream. Finally, he dives into the importance of food photography—lighting, angles and more—and how a custo...
Jan 28, 2025•13 min
In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Senior Editor Hannah Hammond talks to Mike Lawshe, the former president and CEO of Paragon Solutions, and Paragon’s new president and CEO Austin Burns . The father and son-in-law talk about their leadership transition and how the Fort Worth, Texas-based retail design firm helps convenience stores boost their brand and sales.
Jan 21, 2025•23 min
