Watch out restaurants—convenience stores are increasingly becoming meal destinations.
That’s according to mobile food ordering and delivery marketplace Grubhub’s 2025 Delivered Report, released earlier this month.
In 2024, made-to-order hotdogs, bananas and sodas topped the list as the most popular items ordered from c-stores. But 2025 saw a shift, Grubhub said, with the top items ordered from a c-store being hot, protein-forward, grab-and-go foods like taquitos, chicken rollers and, again, hot dogs.
“Convenience got strategic,” Grubhub said.
It’s a trend that’s been ongoing throughout 2025. Eighty-five percent of consumers have tried made-to-order food from c-stores, Cameron Watt, president and CEO of Intouch Insight shared at CSP’s Outlook Leadership event in August.
And c-stores are constantly upping their food game. Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven has said its 1,300 new U.S. c-stores will have a food focus. Powell, Tennessee-based Weigel’s opened its first commissary to support its stores' foodservice programs. And Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s reported an increase in prepared food and dispensed beverage sales in its latest fiscal quarter.
Diners want flavor, function out of their food and beverages
Another highlight from the report: Diners in 2025 craved more than just flavor in their food, they also wanted functional benefits out of what they ate. Grubhub called this “foodmaxxing,” or a cultural shift where meals, snacks, drinks and grocery orders were designed for maximum nutritional value, functional payoff and extra aesthetic appeal for their social feeds.
Some examples of this included a spike in gut-healthy bean salads. Grocery bean orders on Grubhub jumped 135%, totaling more than 1.5 tons of legumes delivered nationwide.
Protein-labeled grocery items were up nearly 20%, popping up in unexpected places from cookies to popcorn to cinnamon rolls, Grubhub said. Diners also ordered more than 750-plus chicken nuggets, tenders and strips from restaurants every single hour.
In beverages, cold foam orders surged 75% on Grubhub this year. Matcha orders were up 34%. Grubhub also delivered more than 76,000 electrolyte drinks per month.
Chicago-based Grubhub’s trend report analyzes millions of orders placed throughout the year on its platform. Insights are based on order data from Jan. 1 through Oct. 15.
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