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A couple of weeks ago, we talked about post-pandemic marketing efforts, noting that companies are shifting the ways they talk to consumers as vaccination swings into overdrive. As we observed then, new ads built around perseverance (and oftentimes around sex) appear every day, as marketing tones necessarily shift.

For our last market research blog of 2020, we decided to review the year by looking through a guilty-pleasure lens, so to speak. This means looking at the year’s blogs that dealt with alcohol, junk food, and even CBD. It was a tough year, we all did what we had to do to get through it. See you in 2020. 

Just as Coke announced it’s getting into the hard seltzer business, rival Pepsi recently announced its newest product, a functional beverage stress reliever and sleep aid called Driftwell. The product will be available Direct-to-Customer (DTC) via digital channels starting in December, and will be sold at the retail level within the first quarter of 2021. 

E-Alternative Solutions (EAS), a vaping and tobacco manufacturer, has developed a line of cannabidiol (CBD) tinctures specifically for C-store impulse aisles. Branded Forth Cannabidiol (CBD), the products come in single-serving 300 and 600 milligram sizes and are full spectrum CBD (more on that later) with hemp, strawberry lemon, cool mint, citrus berry, and peppermint flavors.

It is a transitional moment for convenience stores and today’s decisions will shape the industry for the decades to come. Owing to three pivotal trends c-stores must embrace or reject (fresh food, frictionless checkout, and cannabis sales), a new crop of omnichannel grocery competitors, and continued concerns regarding safety, c-store operators have a lot to think about moving into the new decade.