The US oil industry is one of the biggest industries in the country as it provides employment opportunities to more than 120,000 people in the country. This is also due to the fact that fuel is a daily necessity for consumers which is leading to people investing in new gas stations.
If you’re looking to enter the industry, one of the first things you need to decide is whether you’re going to use branded or unbranded fuel. Both the different types of fuels have advantages or disadvantages. We’re going to help you decide which one you should have by discussing both of them in detail.
Branded Fuel
Every industry in the world has recognizable brands and the fuel industry is no different. Just take a road trip and you’ll see many different brands of fuel, such as Chevron, Shell, or Exxon-Mobil. All the different brands have different proprietary mixes that make them distinguishable from each other which impact the performance of vehicles.
Some branded fuels have additives such as detergents or antioxidants while others may be enriched with nitrogen that protects the vehicles fuel injectors and intake valves. The federal government has set minimum requirements for the fuels criteria, so most fuels are good enough to be pumped into your vehicles.
Pros and Cons
If you decide to use branded fuel for your service station you can benefit from brand support like digital signage or even pump maintenance. Plus, people trust brands more, so you might get more customers.
On the other hand, with branded fuels, you will have to follow strict quality and brand requirements. Furthermore, you will also have little room to adjust price which could affect your profit margins as well.
Unbranded Fuel
This may be surprising to hear but most of the gas sold in the US is sold by independent retailers such as convenience stores. It may also seem like unbranded fuel may be different from branded fuel but as mentioned earlier there are certain fuel standards that all fuel retailers must follow.
This means that there are certain common additives that are common in both types of fuels. On the other hand, some vehicles need certain octane levels that might not be present in unbranded fuel.
Pros and Cons
A couple of benefits of using unbranded fuel include low cost of purchase so you can have a better profit margin. There’s also more flexibility on which ones you can use so can contact different suppliers at the same time.
The disadvantages on the other hand include no brand support or something serious like lack of priority when there’s a fuel shortage. Another thing that you need to consider when going into the service station business is the equipment and supplies for your station. You can check out all the equipment we offer as we are a petroleum equipment supplier that has some of the best equipment in the market. You can visit our website or contact us to find out more about the essential gas station accessories we have.