Being able to identify your brand with a special food is a powerful tool, said Byrne. “It certainly makes it easy for consumers to recognize who you are, what you do, and when you should think about going there.”
That doesn’t mean that Wawa should sell only sandwiches and Sheetz should sell only hot dogs and 7-Eleven should have only Slurpees. It just means that if someone has a craving for a sandwich, Wawa would want them to think of its chain first.
It can take decades to build up that sort of recognition, Byrne concedes, “but why shy away from that? If you own the category, no one else can take it away from you.