Margins are tightening across forecourts and convenience. Costs are up. Labour is stretched. And yet, many operators are still leaking thousands of pounds a year from their food-to-go offer without realising it. Not because of poor execution, but because of how the model is built commercially.
The problem no one is really looking at
Across the sector, there’s a familiar pattern. Operators try to drive sales and profit by:
• Launching new ranges
• Investing in equipment
• Refreshing concepts
All of which are important, but very few take the time to properly interrogate what sits underneath. It’s something we see a lot at FTG Navigator:
- What they are actually paying suppliers
- Where margin is being lost across the mix
- How delivery charges, waste and production assumptions are impacting profit
- Whether the model itself is working as hard as it should
- How many hours of staff were needed to produce the ranges
The result is a position many will recognise:
• Strong sales – but underperforming profit
• Busy stores – but weak return on space
• Good products – but poor commercial structure
The hidden profit leaks
In most food-to-go operations, profit isn’t lost in one big decision. It’s lost in dozens of small ones.
Supplier pricing is a common example. The same product, from the same supplier, can vary significantly in cost between operators and often even within the same estate over time. These differences are rarely seen and challenged, and over a year can quietly erode margin by thousands of pounds per site.
Delivery models are another. Too many sites are operating with inefficient drop frequencies or unnecessary charges that don’t reflect their actual volume. A simple adjustment here can deliver immediate savings without any impact on availability.
Then there’s waste. Production is often driven by habit rather than data. Teams overproduce to avoid running out, but without clear guardrails, this leads to consistent daily loss. Small percentages add up quickly across a week, let alone a year. Or running it way too light in order to hit an absurd waste KPI and in turn restricting sales.
None of these issues are dramatic in isolation. Together, they can materially undermine the profitability of the entire category.
Busy doesn’t always mean profitable
One of the biggest risks in food-to-go is becoming what I often describe as a “busy fool”.
High transaction volume can create a false sense of success. Queues look good. Sales feel strong.
But if margin is weak, waste is unmanaged and costs are creeping, the operation is working hard without delivering the return it should.
In many cases, operators would be better off simplifying the range, tightening execution and improving yield, rather than chasing dreams through additional complexity.
What good looks like
The strongest operators take a different approach. They treat food to go as a commercial engine, not just a retail offer.
That means:
- Regularly reviewing supplier pricing and terms
- Understanding margin at a category and product level
- Setting clear production frameworks to balance waste, as an availability tool.
- Designing pricing that balances value with profitability
- Continuously refining the range based on performance, not assumption
Importantly, they focus just as much on what not to do as what to add.
The opportunity
The reality is that, in many cases, operators don’t need to invest in new concepts to grow profit. They need to fix what is already there.
A well-structured food-to-go operation should deliver strong, consistent margins. Not just top-line sales. And for many forecourts, there is significant untapped profit sitting within the existing model, waiting to be unlocked.
The challenge is that it often isn’t visible until you take the time to properly step back and review it.
And in a market where costs continue to rise, that visibility is becoming more important than ever.
About the authors
Matt Cundrick – FTG Navigator – managing director is a leading food-to-go consultant and founder of FTG Navigator, a specialist platform supporting operators with operational improvement, commercial optimisation and profit growth.
Nicki McCarthy – FTG Navigator – sales director (formerly of Delice de France and Country Choice) adds significant commercial expertise, strengthening the business’s ability to help operators identify margin opportunities and improve overall performance
