Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores has rolled out nuts and trail mix in its line of company-branded offerings this month. The snack comes in a total of 16 SKUs, with different sizes available for 10 flavors, including peanut butter, chili lime corn, toasted corn, Cajin, berry and more.
- Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is No. 14 on CSP’s 2022 Top 202 ranking of convenience store chains by store count.
The convenience-store chain also recently debuted soft jerky and plans to launch chips, pork rinds and a bagged candy refresh in early April.
Love’s began offering private-label products four years ago. Among the first private-label offerings was beef jerky, and following that, Love’s started offering branded water in 2019. The company also has a line of 45 to 50 auto and diesel fluids under the Love's brand.
Love's took well-performing product mixes and aimed to provide a better value, Casey Miller Creegan, manager of merchandising at Love’s told CSP.
“If you look at Snack Club and look at varieties that they offer, we're offering pretty much the same varieties with a few exceptions on sizing with a better discount,” said Miller Creegan. “We have one exclusive SKU in there called morning mix that we're really excited about—it has granola and yogurt covered raisins.”
The strategy for placement, Miller Creegan said, is to shelve products in line with the brand leaders to “highlight the value between the two, whether it's in quantity or in price.”
Love’s also features the private label brand on a fixture at the front of its stores.
Instead of replacing brand leaders with the private label products, Love’s puts emphasis on working with manufacturers.
“We work in partnership with our vendors and manufacturers to make sure it's a win-win strategy for both Love’s and our vendor partners,” said Miller Creegan.
Founded in 1964 with headquarters in Oklahoma City, Loves Travel Stops & Country Stores remains family-owned and operated. Love’s provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to gasoline, diesel fuel, coffee, restaurant offerings and more. With more than 590 locations, Love's is now in 42 states