Meijer history and the Midwest supercenter heritage
Meijer was founded in 1934 in Greenville, Michigan, when Hendrik Meijer opened a small grocery store called Thrifty Acres. The chain pioneered the US supercenter format in 1962 (combining grocery and general merchandise under one roof), predating Walmart Supercenters by decades. The Meijer family still owns the company privately today, with Hendrik's grandson Hendrik J. Meijer serving as executive chairman. Meijer has resisted going public despite numerous offers, prioritizing long-term Midwest growth over short-term financial engineering. The chain operates more than 510 supercenters across six Midwestern states, with gas stations co-located at 239 of them.
How Meijer fuel pricing and the Top Tier advantage work
Meijer gas stations are corporate-owned (not franchised) and supplied through Meijer's own fuel distribution network. Pump pricing is positioned competitively against nearby supermarket-fuel competitors (Hy-Vee, Kroger) and supercenter-fuel competitors (Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco). Unlike most supercenter and supermarket fuel brands, Meijer is on the Top Tier Detergent Gasoline brands list (added in the 2026 reverify cycle). This is meaningful because Top Tier certification typically requires higher detergent additive levels than EPA minimums, and Meijer pricing remains competitive despite the higher-additive package.
mPerks loyalty program and the member base
mPerks is Meijer's loyalty program, running for 15 years with millions of active members. The program ties grocery and general-merchandise purchases to fuel discounts: spending thresholds in-store earn cents-per-gallon discounts at Meijer gas stations (up to $1 off per gallon at participating sites). The discount structure can stack with manufacturer coupons and Meijer's weekly digital coupon offers, producing meaningful per-gallon savings for high-volume Meijer shoppers. Michigan Meijer customers alone saved nearly $200 million through mPerks during 2024-2025 per company disclosure. The mPerks app is free to download and there are no membership fees.
Meijer vs Walmart, Costco, and Kroger fuel
In the Midwest, Meijer competes with Walmart (national supercenter fuel), Costco (warehouse-club fuel, membership required), Sam's Club (Walmart's warehouse club), and Kroger (which operates the Kroger Fuel Center network). Compared to Walmart, Meijer offers Top Tier fuel (Walmart does not) at comparable per-gallon prices. Compared to Costco and Sam's Club, Meijer requires no membership fee but typically prices slightly higher per gallon. Compared to Kroger, Meijer is more concentrated in Michigan and the broader Midwest while Kroger operates more broadly across the country. For Midwest shoppers prioritizing both Top Tier fuel and broad in-store assortment, Meijer is a strong choice.