What is a Branded Gas Station? Branded stations are what we see around us the chevrons, the shells, the marathons, the Bps the Mobil stations, all these are examples of branded stations. On the other hand, the unbranded stations are the one that you also see around you like the quick stop, the express mart, where you will see names like that but no sign of a branded logo anywhere. The primary difference between a branded and unbranded is the fuel additive most every brand use. Most brands use millions of dollars in advertising their brand and about their fuel quality due to the additive they sue. I am sure you have seen words like Chevron with Techron, or similar type of advertisements These additives are mostly designed to improve fuel economy and clean your fuel system and reduce carbon emission.  Naturally you should ask what about the people that buy unbranded fuel? What happens to them? Do they all suffer from lower fuel economy and dirty fuel system? Well no, they are not, The government has a lot to say about the quality of fuel, such as the octane, sulfur content, vapor pressure, quality, lead content, ethanol content, etc. There is a very specific standard that ALL fuel must meet before it may be legally distributed and sold in most countries. So in reality, the ONLY difference in quality between branded and unbranded fuel is the additive that branded suppliers add. They also add a massive amount of marketing for that additive, trying to convince the consumer that the additive is worth the extra 5 to 25 cents per gallon. Chevron with Techron, Shell Nitrogen Enriched gasoline, Conoco and Phillips 66 add twice the amount of detergent, as just a few examples. You may also ask then why buy branded when we can save money by buying unbranded. Well again you can do that, but most people with expensive new cars tend to stay with branded fuel as they want that extra additive, it gives them a mental peace, not to mention typically the branded stations are cleaner, brighter, and they all have to maintain a certain standard to remain branded. Just remember the chemical standards set by the federal government for gasoline are more than sufficient for your car. In fact, car engines are designed to operate on gasoline refined to meet those basic standards. To be honest, purchasing the more expensive, branded gasoline is an unnecessary expense that is marketed as a “must have” for higher end vehicles. However, many consumers see branded fuels to be more trustworthy and are often willing to pay a little more for that peace of mind. From a retail perspective, it’s important to consider your customer's comfort level in this regard.   Let's identify few of the top brands for the US market. Shell Also known as Royal Dutch Petroleum Corp. Shell is based out of the Netherlands. It is the 7th largest company in the world and the 2nd largest oil company in the world. They have a very strong presence in the US also not to mention a very strong credit card base.   Chevron Texaco Chevron is an American company; it has active businesses in more than 180 countries in the world. It too has a very strong presence throughout the US.   Exxon Mobil Exxon Mobil is by far the largest oil company in the world. Especially after the merger of Exxon and Mobil in late 90's they truly became the largest of all oil companies. Naturally they are the strongest brand as well with a very strong credit card base   Conoco Phillips Conoco merged with Phillips in early 2000. Lately they are establishing a brand call Phillips 66, but when it comes to strong brand recognition and a strong credit card base they fall short when you compare them to the other brands like Exxon or Chevron Valero Valero is also a fortune 500 company like all other names I mentioned beforehand. Valero has one of the largest retail operation in the US with almost 7000 retail and wholesale outlets. Marathon Marathon also owns Speedway and thus they are the nation's second-largest c