New dietary guidelines tighten sugar limits for snacks and drinks

Beyond those examples, many operators and suppliers offer their own healthy convenience strategies. For instance, many micro market operators use open shelving and coolers that allow customers to read and compare nutritional labels before buying. Others use signage and dedicated sections to highlight “fresh finds” and other better-for-you offerings.

How the guidelines could affect convenience services operators

So why should operators care about the new guidelines? Federal nutrition programs — and many institutional food and beverage standards in schools, healthcare, government buildings and workplaces — will be updated to align with the new federal dietary guidelines. For those reasons, convenience services operators should understand the new guidelines.

1. Consumers should choose “real food” and minimally processed options

The guidelines define “real food” as whole or minimally processed foods that are recognizable as food, prepared with few ingredients, and are free of added sugars, industrial oils, artificial flavors or preservatives. The USDA’s Eat Real Food website explicitly highlights the “dangers of highly processed foods” — so dangerous, in fact, that they do not have a place on the pyramid. Instead, the inverted pyramid suggests that consumers get most of their calories from vegetables and fruits, protein, dairy, healthy fats and whole grains.

2. Consumers should eat protein during every meal or snack

The guidelines instruct Americans to “prioritize protein foods at every meal,” recommending “nutrient-dense protein” from both animal and plant sources. The guidelines also recommend that consumers consume 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Recommended protein sources include eggs, poultry, seafood, red meat, beans, lentils, legumes, nuts, seeds and soy.

Convenience services can respond to this recommendation by:

• Stocking ready-to-eat protein items like hard-boiled eggs, meat-and-cheese snack packs and minimally processed jerky with little or no added sugar.
• Adding nut, seed and legume snacks.
• Offering higher protein meal solutions in micro markets, including salads and grain bowls with substantial protein portions.

3. Consumers should choose full-fat dairy and whole-food fats, not just low-fat options

The new guidelines also recommend full-fat dairy with no added sugars and “healthy fats” from whole foods, including meats, eggs, Omega-3-rich seafood, nuts, seeds, full-fat dairy, olives, and avocados.

• Convenience services can respond to this recommendation by:
• Increasing their offerings of full-fat, no-added-sugar yogurt and cheese snacks.
• Featuring nuts, seeds and avocado- or olive oil–based items as premium options.
• Reassessing any low fat, high sugar dairy products.

4. Consumers should avoid added sugars, often found in snacks and beverages

The new guidelines urge consumers to avoid sugar-sweetened beverages such as sodas, fruit drinks and energy drinks. Instead, they recommend consumers stick to water and unsweetened beverages.

The USDA’s prohibitions regarding sugar go beyond beverages. The guidelines recommend that consumers eat no more than 10 g of added sugars at any snack or meal. They suggest consumers review ingredient lists to find hidden added sugars such as corn syrup, fructose, sucrose, and honey.

 In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's packaging guidelines — which specify when products may use a “healthy” claim on packaging — are being cited in the USDA's food recommendations. For instance, grain snacks should not exceed 5 g of added sugar per 0.75-oz whole-grain equivalent, and dairy snacks should not exceed 2.5 grams of added sugar per two-thirds cup equivalent.

The guidelines also recommend that consumers avoid foods and beverages with artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.

Convenience services can respond to this recommendation by:

• Evaluating your beverage offerings and be prepared to respond to shifts in demand for water, unsweetened coffee, tea, and flavored seltzers.
• Adding shelf tags or digital signage in micro markets and pantries to flag items that meet or exceed the new low sugar guidelines.

5. To fight chronic disease, consumers should look for lower carbohydrate options

The guidelines also point to the increasing number of Americans with chronic disease, noting that 50% of Americans have prediabetes or diabetes, and 75% of adults report having at least one chronic health condition. The report also notes that a lower-carbohydrate diet may help some consumers improve their health. For companies looking to control their rising health costs, they may also ask their convenience services operators to expand low carb options to improve their employees’ health.

Convenience services can respond to this recommendation by:

• Highlighting low carbohydrate offerings in their smart stores, micro markets, pantry and vending offerings.
• Designing clearly labeled low carb, high protein meals or bundles for micro markets or vending, particularly for employer wellness, hospital and government accounts.
• Coordinating with client wellness teams to help them accomplish their goals.

Review the guidelines at Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 PDF.