Casey’s Accelerates Food Business

C-store's new brand campaign helps increase share across grocery sales

5/6/2024

Casey’s brand campaign highlights the contemporary convenience, unique food offering and customer service that the c-store is known for across its 17-state footprint.

Convenience store chain Casey’s has released a new brand campaign, It’s Not Crazy, It’s Casey’s, highlighting its accelerating food business. According to the retailer, its restaurant-quality food, unique limited-time menu options and value-driven products offer an “unexpected convenience experience” that consumers typically don't expect from a traditional gas station/c-store combo.

Casey’s has ramped up its prepared food business with such recent innovations as a thin- crust pizza option and a new sandwich menu, as well as limited-time offerings and exclusive products.

It's innovations like these that are propelling the c-store sector and potentially siphoning sales from traditional grocers and quick-service restaurants. According to a new white paper published by location intelligence and foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai, more consumers are shopping at c-stores, which have experienced consistent year-over-year (YoY) growth.

As the country’s third-largest convenience store chain and fifth-largest pizza chain, Casey’s has expanded into multiple new markets across 17 states, with more than 2,600 locations today. The brand’s private label product line also continues to grow, with 300-plus products in 31 categories and increased share across Casey’s grocery and general merchandise sales.

“It has never been a more exciting time for Casey’s, with our significant growth in store numbers, food innovation and freshly prepared offerings,” said Steph Hoppe, VP of omnichannel marketing at Casey’s. “Now is the perfect time for our brand to position itself as so much more than a typical gas station – and It’s Not Crazy, It’s Casey’s emphasizes the surprising reality that you can get a delicious meal, and all the other daily products you love, while filling up your tank at a convenience store.”

The new brand positioning comes after several rounds of market research. The campaign will run in 58 local markets this summer, with placements across broadcast, digital, streaming, social and owned platforms.

“Casey’s shatters the norms of our category with outstanding food, friendly service and innovative products. It’s Not Crazy, It’s Casey’s highlights the unexpected goodness our guests experience in our stores every day,” added Hoppe.

Founded more than 50 years ago and based in Ankeny, Iowa, Casey's operates more than 2,600 convenience stores around the United States. The retailer is No. 33 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.