List of Products Made in Kentucky (Some of Which May Surprise You)
We outline products Made in Kentucky! Besides horse racing, basketball, and bourbon, Kentucky is a manufacturer of products ranging from produce to larger household names. The Bluegrass State is home to 4,460 manufacturers, as many as 75,966 farms, and our Kentucky tshirts included! Undoubtedly, our rich soil and resources make it easy to produce wonderful things for our state and nationwide. Kentucky is a great place, and it’s resources are why we need to keep Kentucky great!
There are thousands of recognizable products that are produced in the Commonwealth. Coal production has contributed to low electric rates giving large industries an advantage. In this list of products made in Kentucky, you will find:
- Kentucky Proud products.
- A list of items you didn’t even know we produce in our state.
- Gift ideas to take home with you after your Kentucky travels.
- Shop Local KY
- Kentucky Proud
- Large Corporations & Companies
Shop Local KY Gifts, Tshirts, Apparel, Hats:
There are tons of shop local KY gift opportunities to support your local communities in the state. You can find homegrown brands that are designed in Kentucky for Kentucky residents. From KY Sweatshirts, Kentucky Hats, So fill up your bourbon tumbler and let’s get started!
Ale-8-One
If you’ve never had an Ale 8, that may be worth a trip to Kentucky in itself.
Bottled in Winchester since 1926, Ale-8-One is the only soft drink invented in Kentucky still in existence. Founder and inventor, G.L. Wainscott, hit upon the formula after experimenting with ginger-blended recipes acquired during travels in northern Europe.
Wainscott began bottling Ale–8–One in 1926. To choose a name for the drink, he sponsored a name-the-product contest. “A Late One” was chosen as the winning entry. The “Ale–8–One” name is a pun of the phrase suggesting that his product was “the latest thing” in soft drinks.
Pro Tip: Add Kentucky Bourbon
Charcoal
Kingsford has a large plant in Kentucky, so there’s a good chance that’s where your grilling coal is coming from.
The history of Kingsford Charcoal is a classic American story. It all starts in 1919 when Edward G. Kingsford helped Henry Ford procure a stretch of timberland to supply wood for his auto plants. Mr. Ford wondered if all the wood waste generated by his sawmill and plants could be put to better use, and found his answer in a new process for pressing blocks of reconstituted char. While the innovative charcoal briquet was initially marketed under Ford’s own brand, it was eventually renamed Kingsford® Charcoal in Edward’s honor.
SEE ALSO: Shop Local For Kentucky Gifts This Holiday Season
Snuggle Fabric Softener
Then Sun Product plant is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The fabric softener has been in production for over 2 decades.
Sun Products holds the second largest market share in the $10 billion North American fabric care market as of 2010. In addition, Sun Products was the manufacturing partner for many retailer brand laundry and dish products in North America.
Duct tape
The Berry Plastics’ facility located in Franklin is the largest duct tape manufacturer in the U.S.
That’s no small feat since consumers annually buy at least $100 billion of duct tape, originally developed in World War II to seal munitions against water and hold together equipment needing repair.
Duct tape was used by NASA during the endangered Apollo 13 flight to help seal the improvised device to remove carbon dioxide from the ship.
SEE ALSO: Best Kentucky Gifts, Souvenirs, Apparel, Gear
Airheads
Perfetti Van Melle produces Airheads in Erlanger, Kentucky. The factory manufactures 3 million Airheads each day which equates to approx. 50 tons.
Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom is an American company that manufacturers clothing, underwear, and sports equipment. The headquarters are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Fruit of the Loom, which has a history dating to 1851, opened its first Kentucky plant in Frankfort in 1932 with about 100 employees.
Smucker’s Uncrustables & Jif Peanut Butter
The J.M. Smucker Company is located in Scottsville, Kentucky and the Jif Peanut Butter plant is located in Lexington, Kentucky.
Ragú
The Mizkan Group in Owensboro, Kentucky is the producer of Ragú pasta sauce.
Commercial and Military Aircraft Parts
GE Aviation produces jet engine parts at its facility in Madisonville. Meggitt, in Danville, and Safran Landing Systems, in Northern Kentucky, supply the industry with carbon brakes and assembled braking systems.
Big Red
Big Red was concocted in Texas, but has a connection to Kentucky that goes back to 1937. R.H. Roak, owner of the R.C. Cola Company combined with chemist Grover C. Thomsen which resulted in the Big Red recipe which was sold in Louisville.
To mark the 80th anniversary of Big Red being sold in Louisville, Mayor Greg Fischer issued a proclamation declaring May 16, 2018, Big Red Day.
Fun fact: Did you know Kentucky was the first state to ever sell soda?
Dixie Paper Products
A variety of Dixie plates, bowls and platters are made at the Bowling Green plant and Dixie Everyday bath cups and To Go cups are manufactured at the plant in Lexington!
Coffee Drinker? Check out our Kentucky Drinkware Collection!
SEE ALSO: Best Bourbon Gifts for Every Occasion
Beehive Equipment
Kelley Beekeeping carries a full line of beekeeping supplies and equipment for “newbees” to commercial beekeepers and everyone in between. The company has a lot of history and is family owned to this day!
Robinson Stave LLC-East Bernstadt Cooperage LLC
Hot Pockets
Paul and David Merage invented Hot Pockets in 1983, and they released the product under their brand Chef America. Nestlé acquired the company in 2002, paying $2.6 billion for the honor. Every Hot Pocket needs to be microwaved inside a little cardboard sleeve that’s called a susceptor. On average, 1,851,510 Hot Pockets are eaten every single day in the U.S.
Powers Paper Co.
Dippin’ Dots
Dippin’ Dots is an ice cream snack invented by Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumnus, Curt Jones, in 1988. The confection is created by flash freezing ice cream mix in liquid nitrogen. The snack is made by Dippin’ Dots, Inc., headquartered in Paducah, Kentucky.
The Laughing Cow
Big Ass Fans
Originally known as HVLS Fan Company. The name was changed when industrial and commercial customers kept referring to the products as “big–ass” fans
Gorilla Glass
Gorilla Glass is tough and also scratch resistant! Even if you’re not familiar with the name, you may be coming into connect with it daily on your smart phone or other electronics. To date, Gorilla Glass has manufactured more than 5 billion units, which is enough to cover more than 30,000 football fields.
Post-It Notes
The idea for Post-it notes was conceived in 1974 by Arthur Fry as a way of holding bookmarks in his hymnal while singing in the church choir. He was aware of an adhesive accidentally developed in 1968 by fellow 3M employee Spencer Silver. No application for the lightly sticky stuff was apparent until Fry’s idea. 3M is located in Cynthiana, Kentucky.
Champion Petfoods USA Inc.
Disco Balls
Louisville company Omega National Products claims to have made 90% of the disco balls used in the United States during the disco craze, and remains a supplier.
United States Playing Card Company
Tiffany & Co. Jewelry
Tiffany’s oversees a significant U.S. manufacturing base, with jewelry and silver goods produced in Mount Vernon, New York; majority in Cumberland, Rhode Island; and Lexington, Kentucky.
Beer Cheese
According to legend, it all started in the late 1930s on the banks of the Kentucky River near Winchester. Traditionally, beer cheese is served cold. It consists of sharp cheddar cheese, beer, garlic, and pepper, preferably cayenne.
Reynolds Wrap
Duraflame Logs
Duraflame firelogs have an easy lighting process designed to work with a wrapper in place. All you have to do is create an airspace between the body of the firelog and the wrapper by pulling outward on the package seem and lighting the two arrows on the seam. Logs light fully in less than five minutes and burn for three hours in any type of open-hearth fireplace.
Duraflame has two manufacturing plants that employ over 200 employees. One facility resides in California, with the other in Somerset, Kentucky. Between the two plants, they produce over 14,000 miles of firelogs each year.
Altec Industries
Bourbon Cake
Kentucky Woods cake is original, one and only Bourbon Barrel Cake™ and is a moist brown sugar cake with pure maple and chocolate cake, topped with walnuts, chocolate and caramel bourbon icing. They use seven year aged Kentucky bourbon to give a very unique nutty and maple flavor.
Capitol Bicycles
ALL THINGS BOURBON:
>> IF YOU LOVE BOURBON, CHECK OUT OUR BOURBON GEAR!
Candleberry Candles
Many years ago, the Fowler family began the Candleberry Candle Co. in Frankfort, Kentucky. They wanted to produce a candle that burned clean down the sides of the jar and filled a room or even an entire house with fragrance. Because of their commitment to quality, Candleberry has become a Kentucky made product that is sold worldwide.
Robinson Stave LLC-East Bernstadt Cooperage LLC
Bowling Balls
Ebonite bowling balls provide excellent quality in core and coverstock designs in any weight range from 12 lbs. to 16 lbs. They are produced in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Corvettes
The Bowling Green Assembly is the only plant in the world to build Corvettes. This manufacturing facility has produced over 1 million Corvettes since its startup in 1981. The plant has the largest solar array of any automaker in the state of Kentucky.
Mingua Beef Jerky
During one of the long, cold and snowy winters, Ronnie Mingua began experimenting with the making of beef jerky in Bourbon County, Kentucky. He shared his tasty treat with local neighbors and soon realized that he had developed something unlike any other beef jerky that anyone had ever tasted. It is from this humble beginning that Mingua Beef Jerky got its start.
There you have it folks! The top 25 best products made in Kentucky. Kentucky takes a lot of pride in producing these products and it is our due diligence of spreading the word!
Kentucky Holiday Gift Guide 🎁
Now that we’ve filled you in on all of these awesome products, we want to stress the importance of supporting our local businesses. If you’re looking for ways to support local, check out our Kentucky Holiday Gift Guide below! ⬇
>> Shop Local For Kentucky Gifts This Holiday Season.
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