At New Trade Media’s Partners in Success event, an insight was shared that immediately struck a chord with me. Their data confirmed something I’ve believed for 20+ years:  <1% of convenience stores operate as true influencers in our sector.

Connecting again with so many brilliant people across the industry – former colleagues, current clients, retailers, suppliers, and trade press – reinforced something essential:

Influence in convenience retail has always existed. We just understand it better now.

And it’s time we gave it a name.

For a while now, I’ve used – and I believe coined – the term C-Influencer. Recently I’m hearing it more and more, and it’s clear the idea is starting to catch on. Not because it’s a trend or fad, but because it finally gives language to a phenomenon that has shaped our sector for decades.

 What exactly is a C-Influencer?

A C-Influencer is a retailer with genuine industry influence – a small but mighty group representing <1% of convenience stores.

They are:

  • Aged roughly 25–55
  • Digitally savvy and often active on social
  • Comfortable stepping away from their business for industry activity
  • Early adopters
  • Well-networked and positive in outlook
  • Trusted and featured by trade press
  • Regularly featured in supplier campaigns or case studies
  • Sought after for panels, partnerships, and pilot trials
  • In demand by suppliers and wholesalers
  • Natural leaders within the retailer community

They might be the retailer posting daily on socials, the owners running a handful of community centric stores that have become local institutions, true entrepreneurs, engrained in supplier relationships, sitting on wholesaler advisory panels or the trade-show, trade press and podcast regulars shaping conversations and trends long before anyone else catches on.

They are industry thought-leaders. They are peer-to-peer connectors. They are catalysts for change.

And critically – they are retailers first and foremost.

Influence in convenience isn’t new – but our understanding of it is.

Long before “influencer marketing” became fashionable, convenience retailers were already shaping behaviours across:

  • Their local communities
  • Their fellow retailers
  • Supplier strategies
  • Wholesaler decisions
  • Trade associations and government conversations
  • Innovation trials and category development

For over 20 years, I’ve had the privilege of working closely with these retailers old and new, incredible brands, and some amazing colleagues in some fab agencies and I’ve seen their impact and passion first hand.

From my work on P&G ShelfHelp, GlaxoSmithKline Live, United Biscuits Better Biscuits Better Business, KP SnackPartners, Müller Make Pots of Profit, Heineken Star Retailer, Walkers Crisps Must Stocks, and creating agency-led initiatives like Retailer Inner Cirkle, through countless ACS collaborations, retailer trials, case studies, and partnerships – C-Influencers have always been at the centre and continue to be so through the work we do ongoing with our clients at jellybean

It’s through these relationships, across thousands of hours of in-store projects and industry conversations, that the idea of the C-Influencer was shaped.

Not invented – recognised.

Why the C-Influencer matters today more than ever

The term matters now because:

  • Influencer marketing has made “influence” a mainstream concept
  • Social media gives retailers a bigger voice and bigger reach
  • The sector is more complex, interconnected, and fast-moving
  • Supplier collaboration is more strategic
  • Retailers understand their role and power more clearly
  • More retailers aspire not to be influencers – but to be better, do better and drive meaningful positive change.

And crucially, C-Influencers aren’t driven by self-interest.

They’re driven by:

  • Improving their business
  • Supporting the sector
  • Strengthening supplier relationships
  • Raising standards
  • Building community
  • Influencing government for positive change
  • Ensuring the convenience sector not only survives – but thrives

This is why the C-Influencer is not a trend. Not a gimmick. Not a buzzword.

It’s a deeply rooted, long-standing reality of our industry. We simply have the clarity and language to recognise it now.

You may ask why I’m pushing this conversation forward. My goal for the term C-Influencer is simple:

To draw attention to the talent within convenience retail and the role these individuals play in shaping the entire ecosystem – from shoppers to suppliers, from trade media to government.

To finally acknowledge the influence that has always existed. To celebrate it. To understand it. To collaborate with it more effectively. And to help the next generation of retailers, wholesalers, suppliers, colleagues and clients learn from it.

For years, I have embraced this idea – working side-by-side with C-Influencers and partnering with the trade media that amplifies their stories. I’m proud that so many of these relationships continue today, and proud of how the sector continues to evolve through them.

This is just the beginning.

This is a conversation worth having – and a movement worth nurturing.

The C-Influencer isn’t new. But recognising them formally is. And it’s time.

Neil Brenson
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