Kum & Go is changing its name, why would that be?

Our “trademark eye” is always on the lookout for companies rebranding.

This time we spotted that U.S. gas station and convenience store chain ‘Kum & Go’ will reportedly rebrand after being sold to new owners.

Kum & Go is not the smallest of companies as they are operating around 400 stores in 13 U.S. States. While U.S. customers may be used to this chain of stores and gas stations and its name (and would generally read it as meaning a place for a quick stop), we do somewhat understand this change of plans from the company’s new owners FJ Management. They may be apprehensive for a possible negative connotation in Kum & Go's name to hurt its business prospects. In any case, FJ Management decided that they will rebrand KUM & GO to the name they already hold for another chain of stores, namely: MAVERIK. Recently the first rebranded Kum & Go convenience store opened in Draper, Utah.

As we understand, quite some history will be lost with this change of name. The Kum & Go name was adopted in 1975 and was obviously meant as a play on the phrase "come and go", using the initials of this firm founders Krause and Gentle.

The Kum & Go merchandise was a Jackass favorite by the way.  In the movie Jackass Number Two, Johnny Knoxville was seen wearing a black Kum & Go T-shirt with the tagline "We go all out!". As a result, the sales of Kum & Go-branded merchandise exploded. The Jackass members have been seen wearing the merchandise ever since. We hope they don’t forget to stock up their merchandise for possible future movies!

 Author: Erik Stegeman

Bio: Erik Stegeman is a trademark attorney and specialist in trademark protection for bands, DJs and artists. His client portfolio includes many famous DJ’s like Charlotte de Witte, Swedish House Maffia and Tiësto. He writes a lot about music trademark infringements. And if you are lucky, he will give you hints on the latest band and DJ’s.