Dirty Sodas & Mini-Marts: Brands Bring Experiential to NACS 2026

Pepperoni pizza drizzled with scorching honey? Kraft Cheesy Ramen? These and different trending flavors, together with tech and providers, captivated attendees on the National Association of Convenience shops (NACS), which returned to the Las Vegas Convention Center Oct. 6-9, bringing collectively over 1,100 exhibitors and over 24,000 comfort and gas retailing professionals.

Here’s how manufacturers leveraged a B2C-grade experiential strategy at a legacy present flooring to get retailers enthusiastic about their services.

Hershey

The upcoming “Hershey” function movie, coming this November, was the star of the model’s sprawling exhibit. Attendees might “take a bite out” of the long-lasting sweet bar on the photograph activation or get a wrapper customized with their favourite image on the “That’s a Wrap! Pick Up Happiness Here” activation, strolling away with their very own piece of Hershey historical past. (Exhibit Partner: MC²)

Kraft Heinz

The Kool-Aid Man and a Wienermobile welcomed attendees to the Kraft Heinz exhibit, which invited them to “Fuel Up on Flavor” with a lineup of the most recent merchandise. From scorching canines to tacky ramen, samples had been served on one facet of the walkthrough, whereas fridge partitions showcased packaged merchandise on the opposite. 

“Our biggest goal for this show was making it relatable for C-stores. We service restaurants and grocery, so because we represent both sides of the business, we wanted to bring it together with a holistic approach,” says Marit Kruger, senior planning and gross sales supervisor at Kraft Heinz. (Exhibit Partner: Encore)

Electrify America

Electrify America’s exhibit aim was to assist C-store retailers see the way to construct, function and develop a branded charging community with confidence. For that, the corporate recreated the expertise of getting EV charging stations to a T.

“We wanted the retailers to visualize exactly what it would be like to have these chargers in their parking lot and how it would be part of their customer experience,” says Misti Murphey, director of promoting at Electrify America.

From custom-wrapped chargers to landscaping to a “Charge On” storefront serving espresso and snacks, every element introduced this idea to life. The exhibit was a part of an built-in advertising and marketing marketing campaign that additionally included LinkedIn advertisements, Uber advertisements in Las Vegas and pre-booked conferences, amongst different parts.

The workforce measures engagement throughout all these touchpoints, together with QR scans on the sales space, and tracks conversations to make real-time technique changes to satisfy their KPIs. (Exhibit Partner: Exhibit Works)

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C4 Energy

Anchored by the “Innovation Station,” the place attendees might sip nostalgic Cereal Killer flavors or get pumped up with a 300-mg-caffeine C4 Ultimate, C4’s exhibit showcased how the model is increasing past its conventional athlete-centric roots and right into a broader energetic way of life.

The exhibit was a part of bigger experiential marketing campaign, with over 1 million cans given away over the summer time at activation places starting from races to festivals and surf competitions.

“We want to make sure we show up where our community is, moving toward the athleisure active lifestyle that takes us out of just the gym and sporting events to these other cultural moments,” says Marquel Carter, vice chairman of native built-in advertising and marketing at C4 Energy.

In the autumn, the motion shifts to varsity campuses, the place college students can pattern the brand new All Hopped Up, a beer-flavored drink for youthful customers who might want a substitute for alcohol. 

Monster Energy

High-octane angle dominated Monster Energy’s exhibit, designed to show up the amount on the model’s increasing portfolio and product innovation. Circular bar within the center, product vignettes on the edges, superstar meet-and-greets in opposition to the again wall LED display screen—all motion on a regular basis.

Our favourite activation was tucked on the facet: Monster drinks starring in a grimy soda bar, served by a robotic bartender. (Exhibit accomplice: EDE)

Verifone

“Our concept is that your site is always on, which is our core promise,” says Amy Tennison, vice chairman of North America petro and accomplice advertising and marketing at Verifone. “So with our booth, we’re playing up this idea of light. You’ll see it in the LED lights, our rebranded Cafe, even our giveaways—LED hats and lanyards—are about never going dark.”

To expertise the brand new Commander foodservice sub-brand, attendees might order drinks on the cafe by means of a contact kiosk, whereas demos across the sales space showcased different options. Measurement included monitoring conferences, SMS marketing campaign opt-ins, rebate marketing campaign opt-ins, and the “Your Voice Matters” NPS survey. (Exhibit Partner: MC²)

Barebells Candy

Barebells invited attendees right into a retro-inspired comfort retailer dubbed the Barebells Mini Mart, mixing the model’s distinctive Swedish aesthetic with vintage-style signage. Once inside, attendees might pattern their method by means of the increasing portfolio within the atmosphere the place they had been meant to be found and bought.

An enclosed atmosphere captured attendees’ full consideration, delivering anticipation and engagement.

Spindrift

Spindrift leaned into “a chic roadside farmstand” aesthetic, augmented by deep inexperienced and wooden tones, heat lighting, and actual fruit. Two sampling bars supplied sips. Attendees are customers, and subsequently biased, and it was arduous to not cease by and breathe out.

Sally Denapoli, senior supervisor of design at Spindrift advised us: “Our booth stands out because of the refreshing change of pace and aesthetics on a very loud floor. We wanted it to be minimal and clean, like our products, and let them speak for themselves.” (Exhibit accomplice: Good Time Creative)

Have a narrative thought? Want us to cowl your sales space? Reach out to EM’s editor-at-large Anna Huddleston.