Dive Brief:
- Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores has expanded its agreement with supplier Core-Mark, the companies announced on Wednesday.
- While Core-Mark, a division of Performance Food Group, has been supplying about 100 of the retailer’s travel centers since 2022, it will now be the primary provider for all 664 Love’s sites in 40 states.
- In Core-Mark, Love’s has a supplier with a national presence, including 37 distribution centers that support about 50,000 retail locations.
Dive Insight:
Extending its partnership with Core-Mark, which has a presence in over 20 states, will help Love’s ensure a consistent and reliable experience across its nationwide footprint.
“Expanding our relationship will help us better meet our customers’ evolving needs, and [Core-Mark’s] robust technology solutions will play a role in enhancing our operations and inventory management,” said Roger Ahuja, executive vice president of operations for Love’s.
Foodservice programs are the bread and butter of Core-Mark’s operations. Some of its notable turnkey offerings for c-store retailers include its Latin America-inspired Contigo Taqueria program, Perfectly Southern Fried Chicken, Red Zeal Pizzeria, and Tru-Q BBQ. All of Core-Mark’s turnkey food programs come with full marketing support, including signage, equipment and training materials, according to its website.
Love’s has also been expanding its QSR partnerships lately. The retailer recently added its first Buffalo Wild Wings Go location to a travel center in Kansas, with more expected to open next year. It also began improving the technology at many of its existing restaurant partners, including adding ordering kiosks as well as order ahead capabilities to many of its on-site QSRs.
