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What Is National Family Meals Month?

National Family Meals Month (NFMM) is a nationwide initiative created to encourage families to enjoy more meals together. While the idea of a family dinner might sound simple, the reality is that many busy families struggle to find the time and energy to plan and prepare meals. This is where your store comes in. You can become the go-to destination for quick, healthy, and easy meal solutions.

For a long time, the convenience store industry has focused on single-serve items and quick snacks. While there’s still a place for that, the modern consumer is looking for more. They want convenience, but they also want to feel good about their purchases. They are increasingly drawn to brands that show a commitment to their community and social causes. This month provides a perfect, authentic reason for your store to demonstrate that commitment. It’s a chance to show your customers that you care about their well-being and their families.

What You Should Be Doing

So, how can you make the most of this? Here are five actionable strategies you can start thinking about right now that we’ll explore in detail throughout this series.

• Become a Community Partner: Forget the idea of just being a place to grab a coffee and a lottery ticket. Your store can be a valued community asset. By partnering with local schools, food banks, or family resource centers, you can show your commitment to the community. This builds trust and loyalty. A competitor can’t beat this trust and loyalty. It makes your customers less likely to be swayed by a lower price elsewhere. In our next post, we’ll explore the benefits of this shift from a purely transactional to a relational business model. This change can give you a significant competitive edge.
• Increase Foot Traffic with Events: People love a reason to visit a store beyond a simple transaction. Hosting a family-friendly event, like a “Taco Night” tasting or a “Kids’ Cooking Corner,” can create a memorable experience. Combining these in-store events with targeted digital ads can drive a significant increase in store visits. In the third post, we’ll look at strategies to catalyze growth through a multi-channel approach that effectively drives in-store performance.
• Boost Basket Size with Bundles: One of the easiest ways to increase your sales is by getting customers to buy more in a single trip. Product bundling is a proven strategy for this. Think about it: instead of selling a pack of tortillas and a jar of salsa separately, why not create a “Taco Night Kit” that includes everything from the meat to the sour cream? This simple strategy can significantly increase your average transaction value and reduce customer decision fatigue. In our fourth post, we’ll give you a toolkit to help you do this.
• Unlock New Revenue Streams: Many convenience stores are already seeing success by introducing healthier food options. The Healthy Corner Store Initiative demonstrates that stores adding fresh produce experience a substantial increase in sales. Nutritious items also boost their sales significantly. This campaign provides the perfect excuse to introduce new products and meal kits that can open up entirely new revenue streams for your business. We will discuss this more in the fifth post.
• Measure Your Success: You can’t improve what you don’t measure. In our sixth post, we will provide you with a framework for evaluating your campaign’s success. This framework covers four key metrics: community perception, foot traffic, basket size, and sales. We will also discuss how to sustain your growth beyond the month of September.

The Bottom Line

National Family Meals Month is more than just a marketing gimmick. It’s a strategic, purpose-driven opportunity that can help you build a more resilient, profitable, and community-centric brand. Focus on the family. This way, you can build authentic relationships with your customers. These relationships will last long after September is over.

Next time, we’ll dive into the first point: The New Retail Imperative. We’ll explore the shift from a transactional to a relational business model. We will show you how building trust can be your greatest strategic advantage.