Sheetz, Wawa and Kwik Trip Sport New Partnerships, Merchandise

Sheetz, Wawa and Kwik Trip have unveiled new sports-related partnerships and merchandise this summer.

• Wawa is No. 9 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by total number of company-owned stores. Kwik Trip is No. 11. Sheetz is No. 13.

Click through to read about the convenience-store chains' launches. ...

Sheetz entered a multi-year partnership with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the team will feature the convenience-store chain’s logo on its home and away jersey sleeves, according to Major League Baseball (MLB).

“If you take our market area and the Pirates’ fanbase and overlay those two, you’d be hard pressed to find many gaps,” said Travis Sheet, president and CEO of Sheetz, Altoona, Pennsylvania. “For sure, we think from a customer standpoint, a brand-awareness standpoint and a brand reputation standpoint, this is a great connection.”

The new patch debuted on the field on June 21, when the team hosted the Tampa Bay Rays. Pirates front-office officials, outfielder Bryan Reynolds, pitcher Jared Jones and Pirates RBI players joined Sheetz executives on the field as part of the announcement.

The sponsorship agreement also includes ballpark signage, in-game activations and social and digital content.

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association approved the use of sponsor patches on jerseys at the beginning of the 2023 season as part of a new collective bargaining agreement. In February, Tulsa, Oklahoma-based QuikTrip became the official jersey patch partner of the Kansas City Royals.

Through the partnership and a shared interest in supporting local youth teams and other nonprofit organizations, the Pirates and Sheetz also will look to amplify their collective support of such efforts.

In conjunction with the announcement on Friday, the organizations also co-hosted a youth baseball team from the Moon Little League at a local Sheetz for a unique “Sheetz Run” experience with Pirates players Colin Holderman and Oneil Cruz as well as the Pirates mascots. The kids were treated to an in-store shopping experience where they were able to select their favorite Sheetz treats before enjoying them at a picnic while they interacted with Holderman and Cruz.

In collaboration with Wawa during its annual HoagieFest, Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman, released his ninth signature pair of cleats, themed after the convenience-store chain, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The cleats have a black base with a white midsole, outsole and heel. They also have the colors of the Wawa, Pennsylvania-based convenience-store brand outlining the shoelace accents on the top of the shoe, a gradient pattern of the base and lining of the upper part of the cleats, while the bottom features the pattern of a Wawa hoagie wrapper. In addition, the Under Armour logo is red and yellow, Wawa’s colors, and the back of the cleats read “Gottahava Harper”—an homage to the chain’s motto, “Gottahava Wawa.”

Under Armour will also sell Wawa and Harper merchandise, including T-shirts and other apparel that will hit Dick’s Sporting Goods stores in July and at Under Armour’s online store, according to Fox29.

Kwik Trip, La Crosse, Wisconsin, has launched its summer merchandise, and among board shorts, a glazer-themed pool float and a polo shirt is a women’s Baywatch-inspired swimsuit, according to the Kwik Trip website.

The swimsuit is a red one-piece that sports the Kwik Trip logo and retails for $35.