2023 Private Label Hall of Fame: Casey Creegan, Love's Travel Stops
16 leaders from the world of private brands were recently honored as the newest inductees to the Private Label Hall of Fame.
During a ceremony held during the Private Label Manufacturers Association’s (PLMA) Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference in Orlando, Fla., members of the Class of 2023 shared stories of the challenges each has overcome to succeed in a highly competitive industry.
Created in 2006 to recognize those who have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the global private brand industry, this year’s event featured updated categories that each included two retail and two supplier honorees. The categories are Next Gen Private Label Leader, Private Brand Innovator, Private Brand Champion and Lifetime Achievement.
“We proudly celebrate the outstanding achievements of these proven leaders and innovators,” said Peggy Davies, president of PLMA. “Their hard work and dedication are instrumental to the success of the store brands business.”
“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.”
This special section features profiles of each of the new Hall of Famers.
Casey Creegan
Manager, Merchandising
Love's Travel Stops
Private Brand Innovator
Private brands are a growing segment at Love’s Travel Stops, and Casey Creegan, the convenience store chain’s manager of Merchandising is credited with developing its proprietary product assortment.
In developing Love’s current four own brands 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. As a 2023 Private Label Hall of Fame honoree in the Private Brand Innovator category, Creegan said she was “incredibly honored and excited” to receive the award.
“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 has spent most of her professional career in the retail/consumer goods industry, which she finds exciting and challenging as things typically move fast.
“I have also built up a lot of industry partners, and friends, and I plan to spend the rest of my career working with products and retail,” she said.
Those relationships have also had a positive impact on her career at Love’s and allowed her to grow professionally. Having the biggest influence on her has been Kyle Sloan, senior manager of Category Management at Love’s. Creegan said that during her tenure with the convenience store retailer, Sloan has helped identify solutions to challenges that arise.
“Kyle has supported me, but has never given me the answer to my question,” she said. “He always asks me exciting questions that keep me driving towards success and greatness.”
In the ever-evolving cycle of new product development, Creegan cited the launch of Love’s Jerky this past January as one of her more memorable moments.
“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.”
As she looks ahead at the next step in her career, Creegan has a very 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.”