{"id":2555,"date":"2026-03-06T22:46:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T03:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/?p=2555"},"modified":"2026-03-06T22:46:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T03:46:32","slug":"what-kwik-trip-gets-right-about-branded-merch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/what-kwik-trip-gets-right-about-branded-merch\/","title":{"rendered":"What Kwik Trip Gets Right About Branded Merch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert<\/em><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s talk about <strong>Kwik Trip<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I grew up in New Jersey and live in New York. I have never set foot in a <strong>Kwik Trip, Inc.<\/strong> location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if there\u2019s one thing I trust, it\u2019s the passion of Beth Stowell Reed \u2014 and she swears this Wisconsin roadside grocery store is magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not just <strong>gas-and-go convenience store magic<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Something bigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Beth, Kwik Trip is the kind of place where:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The bathrooms are so clean they feel like a public service<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cashiers say \u201csee you next time\u201d and actually mean it<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bananas, donuts, and take-and-bake pizzas become family traditions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People literally have <strong>weddings there<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>At that point, you\u2019re not talking about a gas station anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re talking about a place that becomes a <strong>supporting character in people\u2019s lives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s where <strong>branded merch<\/strong> gets interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"988\" height=\"992\" src=\"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-06-at-10.46.18-PM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2556\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-06-at-10.46.18-PM.png 988w, https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-06-at-10.46.18-PM-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-06-at-10.46.18-PM-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-06-at-10.46.18-PM-768x771.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 988px) 100vw, 988px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kwik Trip\u2019s Merch Works Because the Loyalty Already Exists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The best <strong>branded merchandise<\/strong> doesn\u2019t try to manufacture loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It reflects loyalty that\u2019s already there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kwik Trip\u2019s <strong>company merch<\/strong> isn\u2019t trying to convince people to care about the brand. Instead, it celebrates the small rituals and inside jokes people already associate with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why their <strong>custom branded merchandise<\/strong> works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It feels less like <strong>corporate swag<\/strong> and more like a badge of belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Great Branded Merch Comes From Paying Attention<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What Kwik Trip did right is something every brand can learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They paid attention to what customers already loved:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The everyday rituals<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The shared humor<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The oddly specific traditions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Then they turned those moments into <strong>branded merchandise people actually want to wear and use<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s the secret behind the best <strong>promotional merchandise programs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not about printing your logo on a hoodie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s about turning your brand\u2019s culture into <strong>custom branded apparel and products<\/strong> that people recognize as part of their story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Your Brand Can Do This Too<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want your <strong>branded merch strategy<\/strong> to work, start by asking a different question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWhat merch should we make?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Ask:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWhat do people already love about our brand?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The best <strong>company swag<\/strong> doesn\u2019t create belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It simply <strong>gives people a way to show it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Let\u2019s talk about Kwik Trip. I grew up in New Jersey and live in New York. I have never set foot in a Kwik Trip, Inc. location. But if there\u2019s one thing I trust, it\u2019s the passion of Beth Stowell Reed \u2014 and she swears [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"hide_page_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2555"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2557,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555\/revisions\/2557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}