Kum & Go

Kum & Go upped its charge into the future by forming an alliance in 2021 with San Francisco-based food innovation agency The Culinary Edge to significantly transform its menu and create healthier choices in the c-store space.

Kum & Go for a few years has been transforming its brand for two reasons, the first of which is to position its c-stores “for the long term in a world that doesn’t include gasoline,” said Stuart Taylor, vice president of business insights and analytics, noting a looming drop in demand due to the rise of electric vehicles and greater fuel efficiency in vehicles.

Kum & Go also added its first clean-label breakfast sandwich in 2021 and launched a new fresh-food menu that includes made-to-order food include grain bowls, higher-quality meats and vegetables layered on fresh baked bread, and more. It also revamped its brand with a new visual identity, tone, ad campaign titled “So Delicious It’s Distracting” and new tagline, “A Fresh Perspective.”

In 1959, W.A. “Bill” Krause and T.S. Gentle formed a partnership and created convenience-store chain Kum & Go. The two, a father-in-law and son-in-law, created Hampton Oil Co. in Hampton, Iowa, which became the Krause Gentle Corp. and later Kum & Go LC. Krause Group is parent company to a diverse set of businesses that include convenience retail, logistics, Italian wineries and hospitality, real estate, agriculture and soccer clubs.

Kum & Go has long been dedicated to the communities it serves, sharing 10% of its profits with charitable causes. Leadership speaks out on issues such as racial and sexual equality and racial injustice.

For benchmarking purposes, store counts are as of Jan. 1, 2022.