VisionR at the National Convenience Show 2026

We attended the National Convenience Show in Birmingham from April 13th at the National Exhibition Centre and it was clearly a day for the brands. Some of the biggest brand names in the UK were out in full force, displaying the latest changes and twists to their product ranges. Along with big players like Nestlé, Kellanova, and Unilever, there were many new brands trying to establish themselves, make an impression, and break into the market.

It was a celebration of products wanting to get out onto the nations shelves. The free samples were omnipresent, myself having sampled cheeses, chocolates, sweets, crisps, muffins, ice cream, Cornish pasties, juices, flavoured water, coffee, milkshakes, and even bone broth from Freja, which attracted a lot of curious guests. The likes of Spar, Morrisons, One Stop, Co-op, Nisa, and more household names in convenience were in attendance looking for business people with which to create franchise opportunities.

I found myself hovering around the Convenience Store Stage as there were back to back talks all centred around the biggest issues of the moment. A lot of economical and sociological factors were covered early on, like Millennial and Gen Z delays to home ownership and starting families, meaning this demographic will shop more like people in their twenties. This elongated period of “mid-twenties” shopper trends has created a wider market for luxury indulgence products, as the childless consumer will happily spend more in this area. 

The economics of buying centred around value and its meaning. Does value mean low-price? Does it mean buy one get one free? The sentiment amongst consumers is that value is less about price and more about quality of ingredients,  flavour, and consistency. Does the product taste good uncompromisingly, and is it good for you? If it is more expensive than the alternatives, the product is still perceived as being of better value. 

At 11.45am, Alice Leader, the Senior Wholesale and Convenience reporter with The Grocer magazine, hosted a panel talk which included women in very high up positions within well-known UK retail groups, including Vicky Hennessy with Penny on the Move, Trudy Hills, trading Director at Spar UK, and Deborah Robinson, Chief Executive of OurCoop. Natalie Lightfoot also on the panel, who owns a Londis in Glasgow, speaking very much as a woman at the coalface in brick-and-mortar retail, and detailing all the highs and lows that can occur day-on-day. 

Natalie’s presence gave the panel a very grounded feeling as any words of wisdom from the corporate level panellists could be echoed, challenged, or corroborated from her in her position as a single store operator. A question from an audience member was answered excellently by the panel when asking their individual opinions on the retail environment as a “third space”, as in not just a place where transactions occur by hoppers and the retailers. 

Natalie spoke about the responsibility she has in her community, as she was aware that sometimes she would be the only person a shopper would speak to in an entire day, as they paid for their items at the till. She spoke further on the home delivery service she operates, where groceries are delivered to certain housebound people, and how much her service is appreciated, reminding the audience that any one of us could find ourselves in a situation like that, if disabilities effect our lives later on, or when age eventually catches up with us. 

Trudy, Deborah, and Vicky all spoke on the importance of empowering women in the retail work space, how they’ve each experienced their own respective challenges, and how those challenges were overcome. Deborah spoke a lot about belief and how if you don’t believe in yourself, how would you expect anyone else to believe in you? She equates this with the fact that she was overlooked for a position in her youth but fought and ultimately succeeded in getting the role. 

Vicky emphasised that she knew as the CEO of Penny Petroleum (Penny on the Move) that she was very much in the spotlight and being watched by other women in her company who may aspire to be in her shoes someday. Trudy focused on the leadership qualities that make a good organiser and how she attempts to raise the confidence levels of her teams day-on-day, whatever their gender. 

Issues of maternity, cost-of-living, the unpredictability of dealing with the public, the dangers and the support structures necessary to carry out their work were all brought up. Natalie made reference to her store being broken into and wiped clean of all goods, being let down by insurance, and needing to rebuild herself and with the help of friends and family. 

Vicky told us of a similar incident during her early days as a store manager, when her team at B&Q were held hostage by armed robbers, until all the money in the safe was cleared out. She said this experience fundamentally changed her approach to the profession and that you never know when that type of incident could happen again. 

Deborah mentioned the “£200 rule” and how it still disappoints her that nothing as of yet has been done about it. She only briefly mentioned it, but I’m well aware of the 2023 report by Co-op, Stealing with Impunity, which asks police to please revise the law where a retail crime will only be investigated if more than £200 worth of good have been stolen. The argument retailers make is that since thieves are aware of this law, they know if they walk into a store and steal a few cases of beer, the crime won’t even be investigated afterwards. 

This talk was by far the best I’ve heard in my last year of attending events across Europe and North America. It will stick in my head for a long time to come and the women of the panel should be proud as it also drew the largest crowd of the day from what I remember, too.