bp Plans Expansion of New Private Label Brand
HOUSTON — As part of its mission to be customer-obsessed, bp has a goal to bring epically good products to guests.
Earlier this year, bp debuted the epic goods brand, a new private label offering from the lens of consumer packaged goods. The products are available exclusively at bp's convenience retail brands ampm, Thornton's and TravelCenters of America. The line extends across a wide range of products from candy and snacks to packaged beverages, to motor oil and electronics, according to Lisal Blalock, vice president, U.S. Convenience & Mobility, bp.
Blalock oversees the ampm, Thorntons and TravelCenters of America from a c-store perspective
"The epic goods name not only confidently declares the quality of the offer, but also implies how these products will make our guest feel — not just good but epically good," she said during a media call on Oct. 31.
As Blalock explained, the epic goods logo is simple and fun, and the packaging is bright and colorful. "Our goal is to make the packaging equally as epic as the products inside. There are some signature elements just to share with you today embedded in the design. For example, the smiling lowercase 'e' in epic is the personality of the brand," she said.
"With this new private brand, we're bringing the best quality choices to our valued guests across all of our retail locations. The quality and the variety of our epic goods products appeals to guests of all ages," Blalock added.
Six months in, the company's store team members and franchisees are excited about and engaged with the epic goods brand, she emphasized.
"We see that excitement and their pride in the new brand as we grow these new items and as we introduced them in the stores earlier this year," Blalock said. "Having this distinct and differentiated brand featuring a range of high-quality unique products allows us significant growth potential for our business. It's yet another way that we will continue to differentiate our brands, earn our guest loyalty by offering delicious and affordable products that can only be found at our retail locations."
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The company launched the epic goods brand with bottled water in March 2024 before expanding into additional products, including various snack options like packaged nuts and gum. Over the last quarter, bp increased the number of products by 50% and, by the end of the year, plans call for to double the brand from a SKUs perspective.
"We have a whole line of products that we'll continue to bring to the marketplace," Blalock explained. "We spent a lot of time talking to our consumers and guests and understanding what their needs are as well as some of our data analytics to make the right decisions on what products to bring to market."
With the rollout underway, bp is planning a consumer-facing marketing campaign in the first quarter of next year.
"We have a whole plan that we continue to march toward and we will continue to engage with our guests to ensure that we're bringing to market the best quality through our new private brand as well as the products that they want as we continue to navigate forward," she noted. "We're investing significantly around the private brand and look forward to our consumer launch next year."
Currently, epic goods brand is available in approximately 1,500 stores under the bp umbrella, including all ampm stores, Thorntons locations and TravelCenters of America locations. The private label product line is not available at franchise locations under the Petro flag.
And while bp has prioritized food and beverage, there are plans to extend the brand to additional categories in general merchandise, including products like motor oil, Blalock said.
Houston-based bp operates in 70 countries worldwide, employs more than 30,000 Americans and supports more than 275,000 jobs. The company has set out a goal to be a net zero company by 2025.