Love's Casey Creegan Recognized for Private Label Innovation

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) inducted Love's Travel Stops' Casey Creegan, manager of merchandising, into the 2023 Private Label Hall of Fame for her work in developing the company's proprietary product assortment. She was honored as a Private Brand Innovator, one of several updated category titles.

The PLMA Private Label Hall of Fame was created in 2006 to recognize those who have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the global private brand industry. Other honoree categories included Next Gen Private Label Leader, Private Brand Champion and Lifetime Achievement.

"We proudly celebrate the outstanding achievements of these proven leaders and innovators," said PLMA President Peggy Davies. "Their hard work and dedication are instrumental to the success of the store brands business."

[Read more: Love's Details 2023 Growth Strategies]

The induction ceremony was held during the PLMA's 2023 Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference in Orlando, Fla. Members of this year's Hall of Fame class also shared stories of the challenges they overcame to succeed in a highly competitive industry, reported Store Brands, a sister publication of Convenience Store News.

"The 16 honorees represent the best of the best from across the world of private label and showcase the depth of talent the industry has to offer," said Greg Sleter, executive editor and associate publisher of Store Brands. "This august group of retailers and suppliers have had a major impact on the private label business and will continue to do so in the years ahead."

While developing Love's four brands that are in stores today, Creegan led the charge in all aspects of the business inclusive of new branding strategies and creating a self-distribution model with the company's in-house sourcing team.

"Love's culture is a big part of the success that I've had," she said. "They allow you to be innovative and to fail brilliantly, which is the best way to learn. I have had a lot of creative freedom and a ton of internal support."

Creegan noted that she finds the retail/consumer goods industry — where she has spent most of her professional career — exciting and challenging due to its fast pace. She named Kyle Sloan, senior manager of category management at Love's, as having had the biggest influence on her. During her tenure with Love's, Sloan helped identify solutions to challenges that arose but didn't solve them for her.

"Kyle has supported me, but has never given me the answer to my question," Creegan said. "He always asks me exciting questions that keep me driving towards success and greatness."

The launch of Love's Jerky in January 2023 was one of her more memorable moments, according to Creegan. "It was the first product line launched with Emilee Albright, my new brand manager of Consumables," she said. "It is doing very well and we are quite happy with the success."

Looking ahead to the rest of her career, Creegan has a specific goal in mind. "I would love to continue to build the brand equity of Love's for product applications," she said. "We have such a strong brand and I'm very excited to continue to use this amazing asset to help us sell more products."

Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, Love's Travel Stops has a network of more than 600 locations in 42 states, along with 430-plus truck service centers under both the Speedco and Love's Truck Care names. Family-owned and operated, the company currently employs more than 39,000 people.

Store Brands and Convenience Store News are properties of EnsembleIQ.