The Convenience Foodservice Vision Group (CFVG) has released its latest Vision Report, “Embracing AI to Elevate Foodservice,” examining practical artificial intelligence applications, implementation strategies, and strategies for transformational opportunities across convenience stores and foodservice operations of all sizes.

The CFVG virtual meeting, held on August 20, 2025, was facilitated by Richard Poye, CEO of Food Trends Think Tank. The meeting featured guest speakers from Upshop: Mike Weber, CMO, and Steve Brask, director of business intelligence, who delivered their presentation “Winning with AI.” They discussed how businesses can approach AI transparently and understand its capabilities and journey to unlock new possibilities. A discussion followed the presentation.

Key takeaways in the report include:

  • Demystifying AI: Practical Paths for Foodservice and Retail: AI represents a transformative shift that requires a structured approach to implementation, moving beyond mystery and black box solutions to practical applications that optimize thousands of daily decisions. “AI is rewriting the rules of pretty much everything and it certainly has, and will continue to have, massive impact on foodservice and the business,” said Mike Weber, CMO of Upshop.
  • Preventing Waste with AI: AI can address data specificity challenges in convenience stores by using waste capture data to predict demand for individual product varieties even when sold under single PLUs, enabling more accurate forecasting and shrink reduction. “We sell a lot of things as a one. And sometimes being able to take that and make it actionable when you don’t actually know what was in the cup, or you don’t actually know when it was all rung up the same item…how do you overcome some of those data challenges when you’re trying to learn from what’s happening in the store?” said Bonnie Zaring, executive director of food programs and offers for RaceTrac.
  • Data Management and Sourcing: Successful AI implementation requires at least two years of historical sales data from POS systems, but external data like weather and promotions can be layered in by AI providers to reduce internal data infrastructure burdens. “As long as you have a reasonable amount of historical data, even if that data is incomplete, AI can close a lot of the gaps,” said Steve Brask, director of business intelligence at Upshop.
  • Employee Adoption and Change Management: AI systems can make jobs easier and more intuitive while reducing task overload, but successful implementation requires patience, training, and addressing resistance from long-tenured employees through communication and AI prompting skills development. “Some of my people have been doing it for 15 years, the exact same way. So for me to say, ‘That doesn’t work, that’s never worked, it’s always been wrong,’  it’s offensive. And that’s a good thing, because that means my people care, but it’s been difficult. Lots of conversations, lots of follow up, lots of questions, but we’re in the people business,”  said Stephanie Galentine, COO of Lassus Bros. Oil.
  • Implementation Logistics and Future Outlook: AI implementation can begin with demand forecasting live within 14 days, though optimal performance typically requires six to nine months of refinement, with the ultimate goal being a unified data framework connecting all business workflows. “My take on it is it’s going to change this industry more than anything ever has. We’ve had a lot of different things come and go, but we feel that it’s going to change every aspect, not just food, but how we train, how we track things and everything,” said Brandon Frampton, director of fresh food at Loop & Poppy (Loop Neighborhood Market).