Hangry Planet Vegan Gas Station Sells for Over $12 Million
North America's first fully plant-based gas station convenience store, Hangry Planet, has been sold for more than $12 million after four years of
Hangry Planet, a gas station convenience store in San Bruno, California, has sold for more than $12 million. The site is billed as North America's first fully plant-based forecourt retail operation.
Founder Bobak Bakhtiari told reporters the deal covered both the property and the business. The sale price was several million dollars above what he had once expected. The 1,500 square foot store at 1199 El Camino Real has stocked only plant-based products since 2022.
Its product range mirrors standard gas station fare rather than a health food store. The assortment includes items like hot dogs, chips, and breakfast sandwiches made with Beyond Meat, JUST Egg, and Follow Your Heart cheese. Other products are mushroom jerky, burritos, prebiotic sodas, and dairy-free soft serve.
Sales drop and recovery
Bakhtiari said sales initially fell by around 20% after animal products were removed. He questioned whether the conversion was a commercial error during that period. Sales later rose by about 30% as vegan and plant-based shoppers began making special trips to the site.
This shift turned the location from one dependent on passing fuel traffic into a destination. That pattern is unusual for convenience retail, where purchases are typically driven by proximity. One regular customer, Tyler MacNiven of Sunnyvale, told reporters the concept was counterintuitive. "A gas station convenience store that is entirely plant based, you just don’t ever hear that marriage happening, and you might not expect that," he said. "It really works out."
Convenience retail remains largely untested territory for the plant-based category. Distribution is still concentrated in grocery stores and, increasingly, foodservice.
New operator takes over
Brar Pacific Oil took over operations at the location on May 11. It is not publicly known whether the new operator will retain the all-plant-based product assortment.
Bakhtiari built the store to reach non-vegan shoppers rather than an existing customer base. "I felt like, with a high-traffic, junk-food milieu of convenience stores, it’s the perfect environment to help educate and transform people’s habits," he told reporters. The store's sale after four years of trading marks a significant exit for a novel format in plant-based retail.
