Lindsey Kueffner, executive director of the Carolinas Food Industry Council, is in the midst of a busy legislative season in North Carolina that got under way April 21. Nevertheless, she took time to respond to questions from The Shelby Report of the Southeast’s Lorrie Griffith about the state’s grocery industry and some of the challenges and opportunities they are facing in 2026.
The industry, and the country, are going through a lot of change … grocery prices are high, government shutdowns continue to loom, SNAP delays/changes are a concern, pennies aren’t being minted any longer, etc. What impacts are these – and any other challenges you would like to mention – on your members and the North Carolina grocery industry as a whole?
There are a lot of changes going on in our industry right now, and I think of them in two buckets: one is regulatory and legislative changes (i.e., the things that grocers have to comply with); the other is the changing consumer needs.
Grocers are committed to complying with laws and regulations, but navigating changes to SNAP and issues like penny scarcity can be a real challenge.
Then there are changes that impact how a customer shops: high gas prices, the ubiquity of GLP-1s, increased awareness around product ingredients and higher prices on everything. All of these factors change how much a customer buys, what product attributes they’re looking for and how frequently they come to the store. It’s a lot to keep up with.
All of these changes mean it can be very difficult to predict sales and make business decisions based on past data.
What are your top grocery-related legislative concerns in 2026?
The North Carolina General Assembly convened on April 21 and as always, our lobbying team is working on a mix of issues that advance … and protect the industry. We have one of the largest legislative agendas of any industry because of the number of issues that impact retail grocery: Pharmacy, adult beverages, food ingredients, food safety, WIC and SNAP, transportation, and general business issues all intersect at the grocery store.
We continue to advocate for retailers to be able to sell spirits-based ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs) and are working diligently to ensure that SNAP remains fully funded.
With the changes in H.R. 1, North Carolina will need to appropriate $85 million this year just to stay in the SNAP program. And, looking ahead to 2027, with our 2024 SNAP error rate at 10.21 percent, the state would have to pick up 15 percent of SNAP benefits – or approximately $420 million, which are significant dollars, particularly with the other demands on the state budget.
It seems that North Carolina is getting a lot of new food stores, with companies like Publix, Wegmans and Food Lion opening new stores, and we just recently learned that Walmart is remodeling 37 stores and opening one new one in the state. Is the growth concentrated in a particular area or all over the state?
North Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states in the country and grew by nearly 150,000 [residents] between 2024 and 2025. Officials estimate that we’ll see over 500,000 new residents by 2030.
Most of that population growth is concentrated in urban, suburban and exurban areas, so that’s where you see most of the new grocery stores going in, regardless of if those areas are in mountain communities, the coast or the population centers in between. If you drive 20 minutes outside of any major city in North Carolina, you’ll find whole communities that didn’t exist five years ago. That kind of growth is great for grocers.
What are the top reasons food stores are targeting growth in North Carolina?
Seven percent population growth since 2020 is reason enough for grocers to target North Carolina. However, when you dig a little deeper, you see that most of the folks moving to North Carolina come from outside the Southeast. That means that these new residents don’t have existing loyalty to any of the many regional chains here. Those new residents are really attractive to any grocer.
Conversely, are there areas of the state where stores are closing? Are there many food desert areas in the state?
Fortunately, we haven’t seen widespread areas of closures. However, we know that grocers in the rural parts of the state are under fierce pressure. They simply don’t have the population base that the more densely populated areas have, so competition gets even more tough.
Once you start piling on the growing compliance needs, changing consumer preferences and tightening wallets, business becomes tough. Our team at CFIC hopes to ease some of the burden by helping our retailers comply with legislative and regulatory changes.
What are the current population and employment numbers/trends in North Carolina?
North Carolina has a lot of economic opportunities, a lower cost of living compared to other states and high quality of life, so it’s no surprise that it’s now the ninth most populated state.
We have seen a 7.2 percent population increase since the last census in 2020 and, as of February, the unemployment rate was 3.8 percent.
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