C. N. Brown Company

What C. N. Brown Company does

C.N. Brown Company is a privately held, family-owned regional energy and convenience retailer headquartered in South Paris, Maine, operating continuously since 1948. The company sells heating oil, kerosene, propane, natural gas, gasoline, ultra-low sulfur diesel, and off-road diesel to residential and commercial customers across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, served through 23 energy offices and 12 service stations and dispatched via an automatic degree-day delivery program plus will-call ordering. It also operates as a Competitive Electricity Provider supplying electricity to Maine residents and businesses in CMP and Versant utility territories under fixed-rate plans (Safe Lock 6-month, Secure Lock 18-month) and a GreenChoice 100% renewable electricity product backed by Renewable Energy Certificates.

The company monetizes through transaction-based fuel sales (per-gallon pricing with cash/check and senior discounts), subscription-style fixed-rate electricity contracts, and convenience-store retail. Cross-sell is anchored in the Bundle Up & Save program offering a 5¢/gallon residential heating-fuel discount to electricity customers, and rewards programs running through the 74 Big Apple convenience stores. Pricing risk programs including Pre-Buy, Cap Budget, and Downside Price Protection insulate customers from wholesale heating-fuel volatility and drive contract-based retention. The technology stack is a customer self-service portal (cnbrown.myfuelportal.com) integrated with Stripe and PayPal for payments, supported by an online electricity enrollment and contract renewal flow.

CN Brown operates a vertically integrated model combining fuel distribution, electricity supply, and convenience retail under common family ownership. Distribution is anchored by 125+ physical locations, 100+ external gasoline dealers, and a delivery fleet that handles home and commercial accounts. With 75+ years of continuous operations in New England and no disclosed external investors, M&A activity, or parent-company relationships, the company presents as a stable, multi-generational regional operator focused on cross-product customer relationships rather than scale-driven market expansion.

Name

C. N. Brown Company

Legal name

C.N. Brown Company

Website

https://cnbrownenergy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

C. N. Brown Company is a family-owned New England energy and convenience retailer selling heating fuels, electricity supply, and convenience-store merchandise through 125+ locations across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts since 1948.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Energy Services

NAICS

Fuel Dealers (457210), Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112), Utilities (22)

SIC

Electric Services (4911), Natural Gas Transmisison & Distribution (4923)

akta.pro primary industry

Green Power Retailing & Bundled Supply (Energy + Certificates) (EUAGAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Non-Fuel Retail & Ancillary Forecourt Services (Car Wash, Auto Care, ATM/Lottery, Parcel Lockers) (EUALAIAJ)

Keywords

• Home heating fuels
• Electricity supply services
• Commercial fuel distribution
• Convenience store operations
• Renewable electricity plans

Headquarters

HQ city

South Paris

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices23 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Heating Fuel Sales: Sale of heating oil, kerosene, and propane to residential and commercial customers with options for pre-buy, cap budget, and automatic delivery programs. Revenue generated through product deliveries priced at fixed or market rates with various payment term options.
2. Electricity Supply: Supply of electricity to Maine residents and businesses in CMP and Versant utility territories. Customers receive single bill from utility while CN Brown provides generation/supply. Fixed-rate contract terms of 6-18 months.
3. Commercial Fuels: Sale of natural gas, gasoline, ultra low sulfur diesel, and off-road diesel to commercial and municipal accounts. Volume discount pricing available for larger commercial customers.
4. Convenience Retail (Big Apple Stores): Operation of 74 Big Apple convenience stores providing retail revenue from merchandise sales alongside fuel operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

C.N. Brown Company sells and delivers heating oil, kerosene, propane, natural gas, gasoline, ultra-low-sulfur diesel, and off-road diesel to residential and commercial customers across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, and supplies electricity to Maine residents and businesses in CMP and Versant utility territories. The company also operates 74 Big Apple convenience stores and offers price-protection programs (Pre-Buy, Cap Budget, Downside Price Protection) plus a GreenChoice 100% renewable electricity option, supported by an in-house delivery fleet, online customer portal, and 23 energy offices plus 12 service stations.

Product overview

CN Brown Energy is a regional energy provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of heating fuels, electricity, and convenience retail services across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The company operates as a total energy provider with over 125 locations including Big Apple Stores, energy offices, service stations, and gasoline dealers. The core product offerings include residential and commercial heating oil (with premium additives), kerosene, propane, natural gas, gasoline, diesel products, and electricity supply (standard and GreenChoice renewable options). The company differentiates through pricing programs including Pre-Buy, Cap Budget, and Downside Price Protection plans that help customers manage fuel cost volatility. Electricity services are offered alongside regulated utilities CMP and Versant, with fixed-rate plans (Safe Lock and Secure Lock) ranging from 6-18 months. The Bundle Up & Save program allows customers to save 5 cents per gallon by combining fuel and electricity purchases. Commercial customers have access to specialized rate structures including Small Business, Custom Rate, Fixed Price Capacity Pass Through, and Block & Index plans.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GreenChoice Electricity: Electricity derived from 100% renewable resources including wind, hydro, and solar.
• PreBuy Program
• Cap Budget Program

Products and services

• Residential Heating Oil Premium-additive heating oil delivered automatically or via will-call to residential homes across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont; includes cash/check and senior-citizen discounts and can be enrolled in Pre-Buy, Cap Budget, or Downside Price Protection programs.
• Residential Kerosene Kerosene suited to modern space heaters and monitor heaters, usable in outside tanks because it does not congeal in freezing weather; delivered to residential customers.
• Residential Propane Pressurized propane for home heating, cooking, and vehicle fueling, with emergency propane service available; stored on customer premises in pressurized tanks.
• Residential Electricity Supply Fixed-rate residential electricity supply for Maine residents in CMP and Versant utility territories, with 6-month and 18-month term options; CN Brown supplies the generation portion while the utility delivers power and issues a single bill.
• GreenChoice Renewable Electricity Residential electricity derived from 100% renewable resources (wind, hydro, and solar) backed by Renewable Energy Certificates, offered at fixed 6-month or 18-month rates for Maine residents.
• Commercial Heating Oil Premium-additive heating oil delivered to commercial accounts with volume-discount pricing, transport and peddle-truck delivery, and availability of fixed-price and SmartPay/Downside Price Protection programs.
• Commercial Propane Pressurized propane for commercial heating, cooking, and equipment fueling with scheduled delivery service.
• Commercial Kerosene Kerosene delivered to commercial customers for space heating and equipment use.
• Commercial Natural Gas Natural gas supplied to commercial business customers for heating, cooking, and industrial use.
• Commercial Gasoline

Quantifiable outcome

• Save 5¢ per gallon on residential heating fuel when bundling with electricity plans
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rymes Heating Oils: New England heating oil and propane distributor serving Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts with automatic delivery and pricing programs comparable to CN Brown's Pre-Buy and Cap Budget offerings.
• Dead River Company: Family-owned Maine-based heating oil, propane, and HVAC service provider directly competing with CN Brown across the same New England footprint with similar residential and commercial fuel delivery programs.
• Cumberland Farms: New England-based convenience store and fuel retailer with hundreds of locations in the same geography as Big Apple Stores, competing directly for convenience store and gasoline customers.

Broad incumbents

• Global Partners LP: Northeast U.S. gasoline distribution and retail operator with logistics, terminal, and convenience store operations that compete with CN Brown's dealer network and Big Apple convenience stores.
• Ferrellgas Partners: National propane and energy products distributor serving residential, commercial, and agricultural customers, with a comparable product portfolio to CN Brown's commercial fuels business.
• Irving Oil: Regional refiner and fuel retailer operating across New England and Atlantic Canada with branded service stations, home heating, and commercial fuel offerings that overlap with CN Brown's service station and dealer business.
• Circle K (Alimentation Couche-Tard): Global convenience and fuel retail giant with thousands of locations including significant New England presence, competing with Big Apple Stores on convenience merchandise and fuel sales.
• Suburban Propane Partners: Publicly-traded national propane distributor serving residential and commercial customers across the U.S., including New England; competes with CN Brown's propane business and offers similar pricing programs at greater scale.

Emerging players

• Competitive Energy Services: Maine-based competitive electricity supplier serving residential and small commercial customers in CMP and Versant utility territories, directly competing with CN Brown's electricity supply business.
• SmartestEnergy US: Retail electricity supplier with renewable energy offerings, operating in several U.S. deregulated markets including potentially Maine, comparable to CN Brown's GreenChoice renewable electricity product.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cn-brown

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about C. N. Brown Company