You’ve spent the past few years, or maybe even decades, running your c-store with a branded fuel partnership. Now, you’re ready for a change. It’s time to leave your branded contract in the past and invest in your independence. Venture Fuels is here to help you seamlessly and confidently make the change from a branded c-store to a non-branded one.

Why Drop the Brand?

Branded fuel solutions can come with their advantages. After all, popular fuel brands have built in notoriety and trust with customers. However, branded fuel also means less flexibility with how you operate your c-store and spending more on your fuel supply (often 5 to 8 cents more per gallon).

If your c-store is in a small town and you see the same customers each day, you may no longer need to depend on the recognizability of a national brand to support your business. You’ve already built relationships with your regular customers, and those relationships are what will keep them coming back — not the logo outside your store.

Switching to an unbranded solution lets you save on fuel costs (and pass those savings on to your customers!) and decide how you want to run your store. Going independent is all about making decisions based on what’s best for your business without worrying about fitting a brand’s national strategy.

Key Considerations Before Committing

With an existing and loyal customer base, switching to a non-branded c-store may make sense. However, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind.

  • Credit Card Processing: Your current brand likely provides a proprietary network for credit card processing. When switching to non-branded, you’ll need to determine how you’ll process card payments inside your c-store and at the pump.
  • New Branding and Imaging: You will need to create your own logo or image to use on your canopy and price ID sign.
    Supply Chain & Logistics: You may need to ensure reliable access to fuel and products without brand-supplied pipelines.
  • Marketing Efforts: You’ll lose the brand’s support for marketing, loyalty cards/apps, and name recognition. That means putting more work into your own marketing and brand-building efforts.
  • Customer Retention: Yes, you loyal customers are likely to keep returning. However, you want to create a communication plan to explain the change and retain customers.

Navigating Existing Contracts

Before you can officially make the leap from a branded c-store to a non-branded one, you need to review any existing contracts you have. Your contracts probably have black-and-white terms you need to follow. Be sure to check how much notice you need to give, whether there are any early exit fees, and what steps are involved in ending the agreement. Consulting a lawyer during this step can help you avoid legal complications.

In addition to fuel supply, consider other branded elements like signage and loyalty programs. Most brands require you to remove all logos and marketing materials as part of a debranding process. It’s a lot to think through, and bringing in help from legal experts and suppliers can help prevent overwhelm.

How Venture Fuels Can Help: We can walk you through your fuel contract and ensure you’re ready for a smooth transition.

The Debranding and Rebranding Process

When you switch to an independent c-store, it means your fuel is no longer branded. However, your business still needs a brand — one you get to create yourself this time. When rebranding, you want to focus on store aesthetics, marketing strategy, and payment systems.

Store Aesthetics

You’ve been using the brand’s signage, canopies, pump decals, and even employee uniforms. During the transition, you need to remove all brand identifiers, including repainting canopies, removing pump toppers, and replacing monument signage. Swap these identifiers for your own brand imaging and logo.

How Venture Fuels Can Help: We have dedicated graphic designers and marketers who can create a clean, modern image for your site.

Marketing Strategy

As humans, we’re sensitive to change. Even though you have strong relationships with your current customer base, you want to handle the switch with care. Promote it as something positive for the customers, highlighting how you have more control over your own business and can offer more competitive pricing. Be sure to stress how you still own the business; it’ll just be under a new name and image.

POS & Payment Systems

If your c-store participates in a branded loyalty or payment system, you’ll need to plan for a smooth exit and replacement. For loyalty programs, notify customers about the change beforehand and promote your own rewards or local incentives as a replacement.

If your branded program used a proprietary POS system, you may need to reconfigure or replace it to operate independently. Plan for a brief transition period when systems are down or in flux, and mitigate the situation with training and signage.

How Venture Fuels Can Help: We work with credit card processors who can offer you competitive rates at the pumps and inside the store when you transition to an unbranded site.

The Importance of Choosing the Right Fuel Supplier

One of the most important steps in moving to an unbranded c-store is finding a fuel supplier you can count on. Without the structure of a branded program, you’ll need a partner who offers reliable deliveries, competitive pricing, and personalized support — all of which you get with Venture Fuels.

We offer high-quality, unbranded fuels that meet or exceed industry standards. With decades of experience and a customer-first mindset, we streamline the fuel management process to support your continued success and growth. Our skilled jobbers will ensure you have affordable fuel and plenty of supply when you need it. And they can help you save 5–8 cents per gallon with unbranded fuel. You can pass on those savings to customers to give yourself an advantage over branded competitors.

Transition Timeline

Once your branded contract is up, you can switch to non-branded almost instantly. All you need to do is create your new logo and order the materials to replace your signage. Without the added markup of branded signage, you can get the necessary materials cheaper than when you had the branded signs made and installed.

When all the signage is in place, it’s time to launch your new store identity. Celebrate your change with a grand reopening event, special promos, or giveaways.

Let’s Turn Your Unbranded C-Store Into Another Success Story

Venture Fuels specializes in helping c-store owners navigate the transition from branded to non-branded (and vice versa) — and we have the success stories to prove it. In Rushford, MN, we helped an owner move from a cost-eating branded solution to a money-saving unbranded model. Our team created an image for Pam’s Corner Convenience that allowed her to launch her own brand and offer her loyal customers (most of whom she knows by name) more affordable fuel prices. We can do the same for your business.

If you’re ready to reduce your fuel costs and take complete control of your c-store, Venture Fuels is here to help with our unbranded fuel solutions. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help through each step of the transition so you can provide a seamless experience for your customers.