Food & QSR Environment Integration

Design Food Concepts That Fit Every Store—and Perform at Scale

Food concepts work best when they're integrated into the store experience from the start, not added on. Imagine helps operators align layout, wayfinding, and execution so concepts launch smoothly and perform consistently across every location.

Schedule online How it works ↓

The OPPORTUNITY

Why integration drives food concept performance

Customers need to feel the change.

A new food concept only drives growth when customers notice, understand, and choose to engage with it. Layout, signage, merchandising, and wayfinding help turn a new offer into a visible, compelling part of the store experience.

The store has to support the experience.

A great food concept can lose momentum if the store isn't designed to support the it. Customer flow, visibility, operations, and execution all shape how the experience is delivered. Successful concepts feel like part of the store – not something added on later.

Case Study: Integration turns concepts into repeatable experiences.

See how Bojangles partnered with Imagine to align brand standards, production, and rollout execution across multiple locations – creating a more consistent experience, store after store.

Read case study →

trends report

Food, freshness, and the future of c-store

In the latest trends report, Vice President Andy House and the Imagine Studio team explore the shifts reshaping food in c-stores and beyond. Inside, the team unpacks how:

- Food freshness is becoming a cultural sign of quality, trust, and value

- Prepared food and grab-and-go options are capturing demand once reserved for restaurants

- Convenience stores are emerging as one of the fastest-growing food formats

- Store environments – including layout, signage, and atmosphere – all influence whether food feels visible, credible, and worth returning for.

This report also kicks off Andy's blog series, where he takes a deeper look at the trends defining what comes next for c-store food.

Read Andy's blog series →

Want the full insights from the Trends Report? Dig in below.

Read the report →

Production specialist reviewing food environment panels at Imagine Group manufacturing facility

how it works

How Imagine helps operators turn food experiences into a competitive advantage

Create food environments designed to perform in the real world.

Imagine helps foodservice, operations, and store design teams bring brand experience, customer flow, production, and rollout planning together early, so food concepts are designed to perform in real stores from the start.

Studio, engineering, production, and rollout connected from day one.

Account for what makes each store different.

Every store has its own layout, fixtures, traffic patterns, and operating needs. Dotti™, Imagine's proprietary execution management system, helps centralize those details so teams can plan and execute food environments with more accuracy across varied locations.

Store-level profiling for more precise rollout planning.

Build store experiences that are fast, clear, and easy to run.

In convenience retail, time shapes the customer experience. Imagine designs food environments that support intuitive ordering, better visibility, smoother flow, and efficient throughput even in peak demand.

Layouts built around speed, visibility, and day-to-day operations.

Move from planning to rollout with more control.

Large food programs require constant coordination across creative, production, logistics, and field execution. Dotti™ connects those workflows, giving teams clearer visibility from concept through store delivery.

One connected workflow from planning to field execution.

The integrated model

Three connected capabilities, one model for better in-store execution

Think

Design food experiences that work in every store, before a single fixture is built.

Imagine’s Studio team works with marketing, operations, store design, and foodservice leaders to align the brand experience with real store conditions. Layout, flow, throughput, and operational needs are considered early, so concepts are easier to execute consistently across the network.

Make

Produce the elements that bring the experience to life at scale.

With 2M+ square feet of production and creative space, 67+ printing presses, and 348+ pieces of manufacturing equipment, Imagine produces signage, fixtures, branded elements, and store-ready kits with the quality and repeatability complex food programs require.

Scale

Manage rollout store by store with Dotti™.

Dotti™ brings store-level profiling, localization, and compliance visibility into one workflow, helping teams manage variation, improve coordination, and keep food experiences consistent across locations.

Infrastructure investment designed to strengthen execution at scale.

The Imagine Group recently invested more than $11 million in advanced production and manufacturing technology across its operational network, expanding digital press capacity, laminating and mounting systems, and precision-driven production equipment. The investment strengthens throughput, quality consistency, and rollout reliability across high-volume retail and food environment programs operating under demanding timelines.