C-STORE REPORT
INNOVATING CONVENIENCE CONVENIENCE STORES ARE MAKING DRAMATIC STRIDES IN THE PRIVATE LABEL SPACE — WITH NO PLANS TO SLOW DOWN By Dan Ochwat
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he image of the convenience-store channel has historically been tied to teenagers popping in for a Mountain Dew and a bag of Doritos, maybe toss in some gummy sour worms and, of course, a Slurpee and some smokes. However, retailers in the channel seem to be on a health kick going into 2021, as well as on a path to build out their assortments overall, and they are leveraging their store brands to do it. Casey’s, for example, is undergoing a complete overhaul of its private brand portfolio, more than doubling its store brand SKU count this year already. Eric Long, the chain’s director of private brands, said they have upped the assortment of private brands in the center store to more than 100 and 26
Store Brands
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plan to have more than 150 items by end of the year. The Ankeny, Iowa-based chain of more than 2,000 stores across 16 states is undergoing a brand refresh, too, having unveiled a new store look and logo in October that will be added to the new private brand packages. The retailer said the logo gives the chain a modern feel to reflect its more modern approach to retailing with its growing assortment, popular fresh pizzas, and its digital shopping capabilities with curbside service and more. Yet Casey’s is not the only c-store chain that embarked on elevating its brand image or began expanding its store brand assortment. Regional chain Kwik Chek, a touch shy of 50 stores, is underway renaming and rebranding stores to TBX, also
www.storebrands.com
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