From branded coffee cups and trucker hats to more novel items like pickleball paddles, convenience retailers are finding that customers will buy just about anything with their company name on it. And, once the sale hits the cash register, another marketing megaphone goes out into the world, spreading brand awareness.
It’s not uncommon, for example, to see items emblazoned with the Buc-ee’s beaver mascot in the wild, hundreds of miles from the nearest Buc-ee’s outpost.
- Buc-ee’s is No. 136 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count. Stewart’s Shops is No. 22, Kwik Trip is No. 11and Love's Travel Stop is No. 15.
Debbie Morris, owner of Silver Streak Market, Lexington, Kentucky, is becoming a believer. Morris listened to a suggestion from her brother-in-law about the advantages of selling T-shirts to customers, taking advantage of a brand rich in thoroughbred horse racing.
“My brother-in-law owns a steam printing press. He took a pic of the store. On the front of the blue shirt is a small script of our name and logo on the left breast. On the back is a larger image of Silver Streak Market. Our employees were given T-shirts and caps to wear on duty.
“Now, we’re on the cusp of selling tees and caps for $10,” said Morris. “People want them. I’ve already sold a handful to the folks that requested them. I position them on tables, gondolas and spinner racks.”
Nebraska’s top dog
Jim Riewe, president of North Platte, Nebraska-based Fat Dogs, hatched an idea to brand Fat Dogs-embossed items, motivated by his years as a merchandising specialist for chains such as Walmart and SHOPCO USA.
Fat Dogs is taking advantage of its iconic dog logo and chain slogan of “You are nowhere.” (In addition to implying that the interstate stores are somewhat in the middle of nowhere, “you are nowhere” can also be interpreted as “you are now here,” said Riewe.)
When Riewe arrived at parent company Wilkinson Cos. 10 years ago, Fat Dogs sold the typical unbranded array of ballcaps and bumper stickers that were “a little pricey.”
When the chain opted to brand its own Fat Dogs merchandise, it first worked with a vendor that designed the items while Fat Dogs personnel took care of the rest.
Fat Dogs, which has 11 travel centers throughout Nebraska, recognized two limitations to the original vendor plan: when ordering items, each store procured the same items with no idea what would sell inside, a strategy that was more speculative than scientific, said Riewe.
This spring, the chain selected Toploft Clothing, Carroll, Iowa, as its proprietary merchandise vendor. Toploft comes equipped with vast experience in retail general merchandising.
“With Toploft, we’ve now set up an internal online ordering system where we can narrow replenishment down to what we need at any given store or cluster of stores,” explains Riewe. “Maybe we’ll need to ship 25 Fat Dogs shot glasses to these stores and 40 coffee mugs to these others,” he explains.
“It’s very precise compared to the past of ordering bulk items shipped to the same stores. We now have a ‘just-in-time inventory’ system in place, with a quicker turnaround time,” he said.
The portfolio of items is vast. Fat Dogs merch includes plush stuffed dogs, thermal coffee mugs, koozies, ski caps, hoodies, T-shirts, key chains, and other items, such as puffer vests.
Some items, such as the vests, aren’t available in stores due to space limitations, but these and others can be sold online on the retailer’s soon-to-launch ecommerce site.
“With an ecommerce website, we can have multiple unique types of caps or hoodies but far fewer ballcap SKUs in stores,” said Riewe. “We can merchandise a broader array of everything. Take puffer vests: we’ll originally sell them online. We’ll monitor sales and if sales are brisk, then we can integrate them into certain stores.”
Larger-chain leverage
Larger retailers such as Buc-ee’s and others have leveraged their wide geographic footprints, internal resources and iconic logos to immerse themselves in ambitious brand merchandising initiatives.
Saratoga Springs, New York-based Stewart’s Shops; La Crosse, Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip; and Oklahoma City-based Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores are among those debuting their own proprietary line of apparel and accessory merchandise.
As people leave a Stewart’s Shop wearing a Stewart’s Mountain Brew baseball cap or vintage T-shirt, it serves as viral advertising for the convenience brand.
After a five-year hiatus, Stewart’s re-introduced its Mountain Brew beer, done in partnership with craft brewer Paradox Brewery, which created a new recipe for the variety.
After teaming with Paradox to re-invent and revive Stewart’s Mountain Brew beer, customers clamored for merchandise. To reflect the image of the nostalgic beer, Stewart’s designed a vintage gray acid-washed tee that features the Mountain Brew logo. T-shirts retail for $21.99 in six sizes. Stewart’s also created a gray and black Mountain Brew baseball cap with mesh back for $14.99.
In June, Kwik Trip started selling its official merchandise in 33 stores across Minnesota and Wisconsin. “Our merch has become a meaningful way to share the Kwik Trip brand with our guests,” Hayden Knoll, Kwik Trip influencer and merch specialist, tells CSP.
According to the chain’s website, apparel includes T-shirts, hoodies and hats. Accessories include fishing lures, lanyards and “on-the-go essentials that pair perfectly with your morning coffee” such as tumblers and can holders. There’s also some more unusual items, including pickleball paddles and a branded party supply pack that includes paper plates, napkins, a party banner, tablecloth and balloons—for the true Kwik Trip fan.
Last year, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores partnered with workwear outfitter Buffalo Outdoors to debut a line of National Football League clothing. Featuring work vests, safety T-shirts, sweatshirts, snapback hats, trucker hats, knit hats and more, the program encompasses logos and designs of all 32 NFL teams.
Mark Romig, director of merchandising at Love’s, said “the partnership allows our customers to represent their favorite NFL teams while adhering to safety standards on the job. We’re excited to bring this innovative line to stores and continue supporting our customers on their journeys.”
Search for merch
Not all successful merch sales come from store-branded items, though.
Morris, owner of Silver Streak, has already been selling a host of general merchandise items tied to horse racing that feature legendary tracks like local Keeneland, Churchill Downs, Aqueduct and Santa Anita on items such as hoodies, shirts and caps.
Fat Dogs’ Riewe said the 11-store chain was successful marketing unbranded items as well, a portfolio that features state of Nebraska varieties along with collegiate merch from nearby University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. These products have been merchandised from either a 4- or 8-foot planogram depending on store size.
“Some people want a souvenir to remember their trip to Nebraska,” said Riewe, adding that merch has found a home in its new travel center that debuted in North Platte this year.
In addition to selling products in stores, Fat Dogs is leveraging its partnership with DoorDash for local food deliveries to expand brand awareness. “When food arrives, customers end up with a frosted bag with our logo on it,” he said.
The professional driver network, meantime, is another prime vehicle to bring Fat Dogs’ apparel and accessories on the road. When truckers fuel up at travel centers with at least 100 gallons of diesel, they’re given a free Fat Dogs-branded tote bag to store toiletries.
“It’s great exposure for our brand,” Riewe said.
Co-branding opportunities
Similar to Stewart Shop’s initiative for its Mountain Brew beer with craft brewer Paradox Brewery, Fat Dogs teamed up with a local Nebraska distiller.
In this case, it involved Fat Dogs embossing its logo on a popular cherry-lime whiskey. “We carved out space for an end cap in stores to position the whiskey. No other c-store or grocery chain in the state can carry the item with our logo on it,” said Riewe.
So far this year, Fat Dogs has enjoyed a 60% sales lift compared to a year ago on all of its branded merchandise, said Riewe. To keep the effort on point, “we have put together a back-office team that tracks and oversees inventory of merchandise,” he said.
Profiting on the sale of Fat Dogs apparel is a goal, but the overarching motivator is getting merch out the door, where customers can spread the word about the brand.
“With some items, we want to turn and burn to get stuff in the hands of consumers, so we’ll sell it less expensively and accept less profit. If we go too high on price, certain items will only sit on the shelf. A lower price gets it out the door.”
Riewe continues: “The profit is a good mix—we might ask for lower margin on a ceramic cup, such as 40% rather than 60%. We can get those thermal mugs out there. Some other items, we’ll take a better margin.”
Indeed, the effort to create “traveling brands” via proprietary c-store apparel and accessories is an ideal technique to send customers out the door adorned with paraphernalia, viewed as an excellent way to sustain loyalty and recruit new customers.
Currently in testing phase since winter, the Kwik Trip proprietary merchandise program could become a permanent fixture based on store-by-store sales, Paige Geary, digital marketing manager, tells CSP. “The hope is that we can continue to expand this program, but this will depend on how the testing phase goes with our current stores,” she said.
Adds Knoll of Kwik Trip: “Whether it’s a hat, lanyard or one of the beloved Kwik Trip stuffed cows, these items serve as both souvenirs and a great way to connect with the communities we serve.”
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.