Casey's is fifth largest pizza chain in U.S.
It sells more than 19 million whole freshly made pizzas a year along with 62 million individual slices.
Editor's note: The numbers of pizzas sold each year has been updated from an earlier version of this story.
For more than 57 years, Casey's has been selling gas, cigarettes and soda pop from its chain of stores best known by the folksy red roofed logo with the rooster wind vane and its simple commercials.
Then in 1984 it hit on a jackpot: pizza.
The company is the fifth largest pizza chain in the U.S. It sells more than 19 million whole freshly made pizzas a year along with 62 million individual slices. It’s been a growing part of the company since it was first introduced.
“When we look at competition, it’s not just the convenience store competition, but because we are so prevalent in the food service industry, we compete against quick service restaurants and other pizza chains as well,” said William Walljasper, Casey’s senior vice president and chief financial officer.
As of January, its latest innovation — online pizza ordering — is available at all of Casey's 1,911 stores in 14 states.
“People can order a pizza, breadsticks or chicken wings online and if the store has the capability (about 400 do) they can have it delivered or they can pick it up,” Walljasper said.
Casey’s is one of 16 convenience store chains identified as "food forward" by offering a diverse and quality selection of freshly prepared foods, said Bonnie Riggs, restaurant industry analyst with NPD Group, a consumer research company. Competitors like QuikTrip and Kum & Go also are amping up their prepared food offerings.
Casey’s launched a mobile app for ordering pizza that also includes games and a trip planner. “So if you’re traveling in the Midwest and you want to see the Casey’s stores between you and your destination, you can tap on that and see the fuel prices,” Walljasper said.
The app also allows Casey’s to send instant coupons to customers while they are pumping gas to use in the store, he said.