Thanks to the Badger State’s many iconic businesses, you don’t have to go far to fuel up at a Kwik Trip, hit a Culver’s for lunch, or enjoy a Blue Moon ice cream for dessert — if you’ve got the Kohl’s Cash.
That got the Journal Sentinel data team thinking: Which homegrown company has the biggest reach in the state? And conversely, where would you go if you wanted to get away from them?
We looked at seven major Wisconsin brands — Kwik Trip, Culver’s, Blain’s Farm and Fleet, Fleet Farm, Kohl’s, Cousins Subs and Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream. Together, these Wisconsin-founded companies have more than 4,000 locations across the state.
Here’s what we found: 97% of the state lives within a half hour drive of one of these brands. And nearly one in three Wisconsinites — more than 1.8 million people — live within 30 minutes of all seven brands at once.
So are you spoiled for choice in locally-grown megabrands in the dairy state? Or do you live in a Wisconsin “brand desert”?
Do you live in a Wisconsin “brand desert”?
Choose a brand from the dropdown menu below and type in your address to see if you live within a 10-minute or 30-minute driving distance of a location for one of Wisconsin’s favorite mega-businesses.
Map by Andrew Hahn / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Note: Location data for each brand comes from the brand itself if available, as of April 2024. When not available, brand locations sourced from Open Street Maps. 10- and 30-minute travel areas are calculated using the Open Route Service API and reflect estimated driving times with 2024 infrastructure. Population estimates within each travel area is estimated based on the latest U.S. Census estimates from the American Communities Survey, and assume an even geographic distribution of people within each U.S. Census block group.
Kwik Trip fuels (almost) every corner of the state
Wisconsin gas station giant Kwik Trip was founded in Eau Claire in 1965. Almost 60 years later, the Kwik Trip empire reaches every corner of the Midwest. Almost 900 Kwik Trips and Kwik Stars, as the Iowa locations are called, exist in six states.
Today, two-thirds of all Wisconsinites live within a 10 minute drive of a Kwik Trip location. And more than 96% of the state’s entire population lives within 30 minutes of a Kwik Trip — more than any other brand we analyzed.
In 15 counties, you couldn’t get further than a 30 minute drive from a Kwik Trip franchise even if you tried.
But despite the brand’s ubiquity, no Kwik Trip location exists within the city limits of Milwaukee, due to the cost of land. Of the ten most populous cities in Wisconsin, only Milwaukee and Racine lack one of these gas stations.
Wisconsin’s “Kwik Trip Point Nemo” — the farthest point from a Kwik Trip it’s possible to be — is Rock Island, at the very tip of Door County. From there, you’d have to take two ferries and cover 50 miles to the nearest location in Sturgeon Bay.
Which iconic Wisconsin food brand has a bigger reach?
We also analyzed three Wisconsin food companies: Culver’s, Cousins Subs and Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream.
In this food fight, Culver’s dominates: 90% of Wisconsin residents live within 30 minutes from a Culver’s franchise, and 62% live ten minutes away or less.
In fact, it’s possible to drive from Gary, Indiana, to Green Bay, Wisconsin, without ever being more than 15 minutes away from a Butterburger. You could even take a detour to Madison or Janesville and not get any further from a Concrete Mixer.
Founded in Sauk City in 1984, Culver’s plans to add locations in 13 states this year.
Meanwhile, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, founded in Madison in 1962, doesn’t operate many standalone scoop joints. But the brand can be purchased at almost 300 gas stations, convenience stores, and grocery stores throughout Wisconsin.
More than half of Wisconsin residents live ten minutes away or less from one of these ice cream oases.
That isn’t quite as much as Culver’s, but still beats out Cousins Subs, founded in Milwaukee in 1972. Still, 45% of us could get one of their sandwiches in 10 minutes or less.
Are you in Fleet Farm territory or Farm and Fleet territory?
Fleet Farm and Blain’s Farm and Fleet — two separate companies with a supposed (but mythical) contentious history — opened their first stores in Janesville and Marshfield, respectively, in 1955.
After state laws about wholesale businesses changed in the 1960s, both brands began expanding across the Midwest. Today, Blain’s Farm and Fleet is more prominent in the south, while Fleet Farm controls the northeastern part of the state. The companies both occupy the southeast corner of the state.
So who wins the turf war between these two agriculture-state wholesalers that never actually had beef (though everyone assumes they do)?
In terms of people, Fleet Farm is accessible to more Wisconsinites. 3.5 million people live within 30 minutes of a Fleet Farm, compared to 3 million for Blain’s Farm and Fleet.
And if you’re looking at surface area alone, Fleet Farm wins again: The brand covers an area 1.5 times larger than Blain’s Farm and Fleet.
Got Kohl’s Cash to spend? You’ll have the most luck in Waukesha County
Kohl’s first opened its doors in Brookfield in 1962. Today, the department store mega-chain operates more than 1,100 stores in 49 states.
Wisconsin boasts 42 Kohl’s stores all over the state. In fact, 78% of Wisconsinites live within 30 minutes of a Kohl’s department store.
They are most densely located in the greater Milwaukee area — specifically in Waukesha County, right where it all began.
Wisconsin Wonk is powered by the data team of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Got a quirky question about our state? We’ll try to get to the bottom of it. Contact us at datahub@journalsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How far-reaching is your favorite Wisconsin mega-brand?
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