Framing the Future of C-Stores

A global FMCG client needed to anticipate behavioral and market shifts in the convenience retail space. But instead of a typical trend list, the goal was to build a strategic report — one that could organize signals into coherent narratives, highlight underlying tensions, and offer clear paths for conversation and action across business units, marketing teams, and commercial partners.

I contributed the creation of this report — from research synthesis and concept framing to narrative structure and visual direction — ensuring that each signal wasn’t just observed, but made useful.

CHALLENGE

1. How do you turn scattered signals into something useful?
2. How do you build a shared language between different teams, without reducing complexity?

The challenge wasn’t to predict the future — but to make the future talkable, and actionable.

APPROACH

1. Research synthesis across macro and micro trends (culture, retail, tech)
2. Attended the NACS Show 2024 to identify meaningful shifts in convenience retail
3. Prioritized tensions and signals with strategic relevance over isolated trend listing
4. Structured insights into key themes with clear implications for business and marketing teams

IMPACT

1. The report was adopted across multiple business as a strategic reference
2. Helped marketing and trade teams reframe local plans using shared themes
3. Triggered internal discussions around innovation, and evolving shopper behavior

WHAT I LEARNED

1. Trend work becomes valuable when it creates alignment — not just when it detects signals
2. Strategic clarity often depends more on how insights are framed than on what they are
3. Narratives are not just containers for ideas — they are tools for action