Carla Balakgie’s 14-year tenure with the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA), an organization that promotes and advocates for the convenience services industry, has seen lots of change and growth. As Balakgie prepared to officially end her time as the association’s first-ever female CEO, she reflected on her leadership style and the organization’s success.

NAMA’s objectives and growth

The organization, at 90 years old, represents companies that provide food, beverages and commissary items to consumers in settings away from home, such as school, work, airports and hotels. NAMA’s members sell through in-office coffee services, pantry programs, micro markets (unattended retail environments with self-serve kiosks), vending and more.

“We serve every American,” Balakgie told CEO Update. “Every day, 40 million people a day, everywhere, all the time, 24/7.”

The convenience services industry, she said, generated over $26 billion in revenue in 2023. Its origins are in vending, which is still its biggest revenue stream. Balakgie came to NAMA from the Electronic Transactions Association, which supports merchants in accepting electronic payments. Balakgie realized only a small portion of vending machines accepted electronic payments. She recognized a missed opportunity and helped members seize it.

Self-serve stores, which saw a jump in popularity during the pandemic, are on the rise. Concepts like Amazon Go, self-serve newsstands in airports, and break room stores in workplaces now allow consumers to purchase items that go beyond prepackaged snacks to fresh food and commissary items. Incorporating electronic payment options has made it possible for consumers to pay almost exclusively electronically via kiosk, and NAMA caught the wave early.

“The industry is consumer-driven and technology-enabled,” Balakgie said. “We, as an association, saw the potential of what this new retail delivery modality could mean for the industry. We got the early adopters in, and we developed operating guidelines and merchandising strategies.”

She said self-serve micro markets could push the convenience services industry to $40 billion in annual revenue in 2028.

“The excitement I get is the ability to use the association as a way of helping the industry prosper — to see the potential of something that is in its early stages and help our operator members succeed in that,” she said.

Adjustments for a healthier industry

Swatting away unwanted government regulation has been another key objective under Balakgie’s leadership. The industry, she pointed out, is highly regulated.

“A lot of jurisdictions touch it,” she said. “You think about transportation, food safety, labor. Kind of everybody touches us at every level — federal, state, regional.”

For example, proposed calorie disclosure requirements for vending led NAMA to launch a coalition that advocated for front-of-pack nutrition content labeling on convenience foods, as an alternative to posting calorie disclosures on the front of vending machines.

Another initiative is a pilot program with that would allow vending machine operators to accept food stamps as payment for products eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“We’re looking to do that in food deserts and with other places where there aren’t grocery stores,” she said.

A public health commitment in conjunction with Partnership for a Healthier America that launched in 2019 has helped NAMA fight the stigma associated with vending machine food, make healthier options available to vending and convenience consumers, build relationships with public health organizations and keep vendors in business, Balakgie said.

Thinking and planning ahead

Under Balakgie’s leadership, NAMA’s annual operating budget has expanded from $5 million to $10 million. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the association has 23 employees and puts on an annual trade show, The NAMA Show, which serves as its biggest business line.

As part of the show, the association engages companies in beta phase product development with a conference exhibition called Imagination Way.

“You can think about robotics. You can think about artificial intelligence. You can think about freestanding fully autonomous stores,” she said. “And we’re bringing that to the show so that our members are having the opportunity to think and plan ahead — years ahead — about where they might go in the workplace and beyond.”

The exhibition has begun attracting new attendees and industry participants, including building managers, airport authorities, hospitals, hospitality and hotel companies, and government and public affairs players.

Next steps

Balakgie plans to retire from NAMA by the end of the year, and she plans to reengage with her roots in the literature world — she majored in English literature in college. She’ll be board chair and president of the North American Friends branch of the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation.

“That’s my passion, and I get to use all my gifts that I accumulated during the course of my career to help promote literacy worldwide to some of the most vulnerable populations,” she said.

As for NAMA, she feels the organization is well positioned to lead industry growth and innovation, particularly in the area of self-serve retail.

“It’s our opportunity to win or lose,” she said. “My set point is optimism.”

Balakgie’s strategic pivot from industry protection to growth has extended to her staff and continues to trickle down to members.

“It’s that opportunity mindset and the willingness to experiment and see what works,” she said. “And if you’re not thinking that way, if you’re just thinking about serving and responding, you’re missing the chance to bring new opportunity to your members.”

Sterling Martin is assisting in the search for Balakgie's successor.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that Balakgie had retired from NAMA in June. She will retire by or before Dec. 31.

An earlier version of this article stated that the SNAP pilot program was with Partnership for a Healthier America.