
A new offering from Kwik Trip, a four-pack of lip balm, is the first time the La Crosse, Wisconsin-based convenience-store chain has multiple sub-brands in one package, Chris Callaway, marketing project manager, told CSP.
The limited-time-offer four-pack, which sells for $3.99, debuted right after Christmas and is available while supplies last, Callaway said.
The scents are Nature’s Touch Chocolate Milk, Glazers Donuts, Karuba Coffee and Car Wash, which has a cherry vanilla scent, Callaway said, adding that cherry vanilla is the scent added to the soap in Kwik Trip’s Triple Foam in its Elite and Ultimate car washes. Nature’s Touch is Kwik Trip’s milk and dairy products.
This is the second time Kwik Trip has sold lip balms in this fashion, Callaway said.
“I led our merch team from late 2020 through late 2024, and we evolved from T-shirts and sweatshirts to custom holiday sweaters and into more fun ways to use our branding in items such as tumblers, mugs, lanyards, ornaments and, of course, the lip balms,” Callaway said. “We’ve done scented candles before that were a big hit but presented a few logistical issues, and that line of thinking got us into exploring the idea of a lip balm.”
Kwik Trip is No. 11 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
The first, in 2022, was a five-pack of Nature’s Touch-themed milk flavors, including vanilla, chocolate, root beer, mint and strawberry.
“That item was available only as a visit redemption item through the Kwik Rewards app, and we went through our inventory rather quickly,” Callaway said. “The success of that offer drew the attention of our category management team, when we decided to pursue the idea of bringing a custom lip balm package into our stores.”
Category manager Jackie Stalsberg identified the lip balms as a “fun offering to feature in our stanchion bowls by the registers, so we went to work developing an item that would work,” Callaway said. “Working closely with our designer Rebecca Bohnsack and packaging manager Jasmine Kai, we created labels and packaging for lip balms.”
Having multiple sub-brands in one package “was a fun new innovation for us,” Callaway said. “They’ve been well received on social media, and reflected in our in-store sales, with the car wash one standing out as a fan favorite.”
A third party is making the lip balms, he said. “We sourced through our main KwikTripMerch.com vendor, working with them to select from different scents and varieties of lip balms.”
Kwik Trip operates in Wisconsin, Minnesota and northern Michigan under the Kwik Trip name, and in Iowa, Illinois and South Dakota under the Kwik Star banner. Kwik Trip was recently named the best gas station brand in the United States for the fifth year in a row, according to the 2024 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. The family-owned company has about 850 locations and is one of the biggest independently held c-store chains in the country.
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