While Fav Trip tries not to take itself too seriously, it does take making a memorable experience for customers seriously. “We’re a fun, edgy brand that continually experiments to learn and keep moving forward,” said owner Babir Sultan. “Our policy is come happy, leave happy.”

Sultan, who started running Fav Trip with his family when he was 25, draws on his IT background and retail marketing experience to generate buzz about his brand on social media, solve problems, and enhance the store experience for both customers and employees.

Sticking to the Basics

The Missouri-based company has four locations: two stores in Kansas City, and one each in Independence and Grandview. All offer 24-hour delivery options, and two locations have drive-thrus.

Fav Trip carries most of the typical convenience store merchandise, from salty snacks and sweets to beverages and tobacco, plus branded deli foodservice with fresh-made sandwiches and salads. However, you won’t find alcohol or lottery tickets.

“We didn’t want to offer beer or wine because it’s our personal preference. We want to set ourselves apart by not including alcohol in our store,” Sultan said. “We are also working toward changing our business model enough that we can ditch tobacco in the future too.”

With his IT background, Sultan uses data as the basis for most business decisions. “Whenever we have to decide about signing a contract with a distributor, we’ll consider the data closely to see whether the products are aligning with what our customers are buying,” he said.

For example, a local coffee company currently fulfills its fresh coffee service, but the Grandview location just started trialing national brand Caribou Coffee. “I’ll look at the data from the pilot program and if it looks good, then we’ll switch all locations to Caribou,” he said.

To learn more about Fav Trip, check out the September 2024 issue of NACS Magazine and watch 2023's Ideas 2 Go video featuring the retailer.