Foodservice: One System Doesn’t Fit All

SSCS pioneered software for Foodservice and remains a leader even as the concept evolves.

Industries and trades spawn new terms constantly; we’re talking phrases that become standards through gradual, consistent use.

Lots of times they’re mashups of what came before, like “onboarding,” “fintech,”  and “telehealth.” When words like these show up out of nowhere, it’s usually to describe newish developments in an industry or trade. Why some terms are more generally adopted than others is anyone’s guess.

The c-store industry has its own: “Foodservice.” Food being served. Specifically, food being served and prepared onsite, for immediate consumption.[1]

It’s a broad umbrella that covers a far-ranging assortment of approaches—from roller grills, to home-made country breakfasts, to “Urban Gourmet.”

But it wasn’t always like that.

Foodservice, before it even had that name, first emerged in the 1980s and 1990s. Though still in its nascent state, operators projected impressive margins in comparison to packaged goods. Stores remained hesitant to move forward, though, because of all the variables that needed to be managed, including the tracking and expensing of waste, which was less precise than ideal at the time.

Those first two decades ended up being largely transitional, as a result, giving rise to a first wave of structured hot food programs like those for pizza, fried chicken, and breakfast sandwiches. A lion’s share of the programs were collaborations with third party vendors, who provided procedures, guidelines, and limited support.

It was enough to entrench Foodservice as a meaningful revenue stream,[2] but it wasn’t until the 2000s and 2010s that programs morphed into the variety of options we see today. The blurring of food channels played a role— consumers got acclimated to fast service, while coming to expect better than previous quality food in the same tight time frame.

The industry adapted to demand, as it usually does. Made-to-order sandwiches, salads, and regional specialties entered the merchandise mix. Stores redesigned layouts to highlight kitchens and fresh offerings, sometimes in scaled down produce sections. Whatever the chosen approach, it’s hard to argue against Foodservice from an overall profitability standpoint:

• It accounts for ~28–29% of in-store sales but nearly 39–40% of in-store gross margin dollars—generating roughly 40% of in-store profits while representing less than a third of sales.[3]
• Foodservice alone contributes over 38% of in-store gross margin dollars. When combined with packaged beverages, it drives ~60% of total in-store profit dollars.[4]
• Prepared food margins average ~55% gross margin.[5]

No shortage of additional metrics support the benefits of running Foodservice in a c-store, so we’ll close with one more: Foodservice has more than doubled its share of in-store sales over the past two decades.

Which brings us to those challenges we brought up earlier. The good news is that the Foodservice software is more powerful than it’s ever been, SSCS’s Foodservice module in the Computerized Daily Book (CDB) back office being a good example.

“Sale Only” items like burritos and deli items aren’t single UPCs: they’re made up of many different parts without UPCs because they are portions of merchandise that have been recorded under a single UPC. It’s like a hot dispensed beverage—besides the liquid there’s a cup, cover, sweetener/creamer, and stir stick, but only the assembled beverage is rung up at the register, likely under its own PLU.

To address this challenge of “portion control,” our software can be set up to find out just how much each individual ingredient/component is costing you, whether it be four ounces of grated cheese, a tomato slice, or a tablespoon of vegetable oil.

This way, if you build, say, a crispy chicken wrap for a customer, you’ll be able to analyze the costs of the individual components to make sure the completed, bundled “recipe” item is priced correctly under its own PLU. The depth of precision this adds to inventory control is considerable. In addition, we provide a related Spoilage/Waste module to track related losses with several options.

SSCS introduced its first Foodservice software almost 14 years ago to the day in April 2012. That’s fourteen years of crafting and enhancing our approach to the Foodservice needs of the industry. If you want to tap into our expertise and see if we can make Foodservice perform for you, please give us a call at (800) 972-7727

[1] From a NACS definition.

[2] “Convenience stores borrow from the restaurant playbook, turning signature menu items into traffic drivers”; Heather Lalley; CSP.com; December 3, 2025

[3] “Foodservice was c-stores’ growth engine in 2024, NACS says;” Peter Romero, The Food Away from Home Association; April 10, 2025

[4] “C-Store Foodservice Delivered Exceptional Growth in 2024;” unattributed; convenience.org; April 9, 2025

[5] “7 C-Store Categories With Surprisingly High Margins;” Brian Sullivan; posnation; March 16, 2026