Alimentation Couche-Tard, parent of Circle K convenience stores, has named Gary Brant as vice president of North America foodservice and QSRs, Brand announced via LinkedIn on Thursday.
Brant noted in his LinkedIn bio that he took on the role this month. A spokesperson from Couche-Tard declined to comment on Brant’s new position.
Brand has worked in the convenience store industry for over a quarter century, beginning in the late ’90s in various training and sales roles with Speedway, according to his LinkedIn bio. He joined Holiday Companies, parent of the Holiday Stationstores banner, in 2006, and held several operations leadership roles with that company over the next decade-plus, including director of merchandising.
He joined Couche-Tard when the Canadian retailer acquired Holiday back in 2017, and has since been VP of operations for the Circle K Northern Tier business unit. Since early 2024, Brand has spearheaded Couche-Tard’s plans to open more than 60 Circle K stores in Wisconsin over the next five years.
He’ll now shift his attention to Couche-Tard’s North American foodservice and QSR operations, which the retailer continues to prioritize at its 9,000-plus c-stores across the U.S. and Canada.
Much of Couche-Tard’s foodservice effort in recent years has been centered on developing its Fresh Food, Fast program, which was available in nearly 5,900 Circle K locations globally as of March. That program, which debuted in 2020, features hot sandwiches and burgers, cold deli subs and wraps, pizza, hot snacks, baked goods and roller-grill dogs.
But Couche-Tard took its focus on food a step further when it launched its value deal menu in late 2024. The menu — a permanent fixture to the Fresh Food, Fast program in the U.S. — includes $3, $4 and $5 meal options, and was specifically made to target price-conscious consumers, the company said at the time.
By January 2025, Couche-Tard brought its meal deals to its Canadian stores since they were performing so well, President and CEO Alex Miler said during Couche-Tard’s third-quarter earnings call in March.
“Across North America, we are now at nearly 465,000 meal deals being sold on a weekly basis, and that number is growing materially every week,” Miller said.
