The Global Convenience Vision Group (GCVG) has released its latest Vision Report, “Brand Differentiation: Quality is the Key,” examining how convenience retailers are growing beyond fuel through foodservice, private label, self-service technology, and a stronger brand identity.

The GCVG virtual meeting, held in September 2026, was facilitated by Christian Warning, owner of The Retail Marketeers, and featured presentations by Sandra Schütte, head of mobility at Westfalen, and Markus Schröder, CEO and owner of MS Retail. Following the presentations, GCVG members and guests joined a wide-ranging, practical discussion.

Key takeaways in the report include:

  • A Roadmap for the Future of Mobility Retail: As shared by Sandra Schütte in a case study presentation, Westfalen is evolving its 260-sites through a foodservice-centered offer with a selective roll-out of store technology while keeping close relationships with site partners, employees, and customers at the center of its model. “At some point, you have to start with new technology because you will never know unless you try,” said Sandra Schütte, head of mobility, Westfalen.
  • Rethinking Retail Differentiation: Markus Schröde’s shared in a presentation that private label should be viewed as one piece of a broader retail proposition, built on a clear understanding of why shoppers visit, disciplined category roles, and a willingness to invest in quality and freshness rather than chase the lowest cost. “Private label then is the secret sauce. It helps you to differentiate, it helps you to make your business better, it helps you to have a clear statement when it comes to your shopper, but it also helps you, in many cases, to drive margin,” said Markus Schröder, CEO/owner, MS Retail.
  • Global Shopper Needs, Local Execution: Broad shopper motivations may be shared across countries, but retailers should shape their proposition around local behaviors, market conditions, and existing brand architecture rather than force a uniform solution across an entire network. “I think each of us have to take in context what the principles are around our brands and who we’re working with and how we get into those markets and say, ‘do we need a house brand coming through those areas?'” said Joe Boyle, CEO, FreshStop.
  • Branding, Marketing, and Building Credibility: Retailers are building distinctive identities through owned coffee brands, loyalty programs, limited private-label ranges, and targeted local marketing, with product quality and consistency across every location treated as non-negotiable. “What the consumer demands is quality, quality, quality, and they want that right across each of your locations,” said Brian Donaldson, CEO, The Maxol Group.
  • Foodservice, Coffee, and the Site-Level Proposition: Foodservice and coffee create a compelling reason to visit, and some operators are separating their food credentials from their fuel heritage through dedicated food halls and recognized partner brands that have delivered materially stronger coffee and sandwich sales. “We challenged ourselves and not only created an umbrella called Lion Place as a food hall, but we also incorporated a premier, super well-recognized brand in the market for coffee and foodservice, and also we developed our own restaurant completely detach it from the field’s heritage, and the result was fantastic,” commented Claudio Reboredo, partner and owner, FGC Fuels Marketing.
  • The Future: Speed, Non-Fuel, Self-Service, Talent, and Data: Convenience retailers are more likely to win on speed, quality coffee, chilled beverages, and fresh products than on price, while self-service formats, outside talent, and better use of data drive non-fuel growth. “The non-fuel market is growing like crazy. The Czech Republic, already since January, has generated more non-fuel margin than fuel, which is really quite a lot,” said Agnieszka Bobrukiewicz, board member of Orlen Unipetrol and director of non-fuel segment, ORLEN.

This Vision Report includes the must-read GCVG Views summary, Key Takeaways, and Notable and Quotable section.

To download this and other Vision Group Network Vision Reports, please CLICK HERE.

 

The Global Convenience Vision Group (GCVG) brings together convenience retail leaders from around the world for quarterly virtual meetings. During these sessions, members identify trends, challenges and disruptions in retail as well as present possible solutions and opportunities. The group is committed to sharing its views and perspectives in order to advance the convenience retailing and mobility industry globally. GCVG is an initiative with The Retail Marketeers  and is a part of the Vision Group Network. For more information and to sign up for future Vision Reports, visit vgnsharing.com/vision-report-library