# Champion is Made in Kentucky Now??



## BennySimpson (Mar 18, 2014)

Is this true? I imagine they will have to change the sales pitch then.

Pretty funny that a brand built on such a myth would have to create yet another.

I guess they need added capacity to supply the big box stores.


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

They are building a new kitchen in Kentucky, but it is not functional yet, and they are maintaining the two other Canadian production facilities. The Kentucky kitchen won't be operational until 2016.

http://www.championpetfoods.com/kentucky/


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## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

i fail to see the issue with kibble made in kentucky. it seems financially obvious to manufacture it there rather than importing it from canada.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Is Kentucky bad? The OP seems to equate it with food made in China, and I'm not sure why.


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## Kayla_Nicole (Dec 19, 2012)

I guess I don't see how this is a myth or a lie like the OP makes it sound, considering they have a page on their website about it. Doesn't seem like they are hiding it.


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## BennySimpson (Mar 18, 2014)

I think my point is painfully obvious. This company has created a narrative, fiction by the way, about the superiority of "Regional Canadian Ingredients", so what is the story going to be now?


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Eh, they have wild boars and deer and whatnot in Kentucky too. Plenty of "regional" meats. Just because they suscribe to the J. Peterman method of product description doesn't mean they're being dishonest.

LOL, I do think it's funny when they say that they chose Kentucky because it's "home to thoroughbreds" and all that. Um, no, I'm sure they chose it because of favorable tax laws. That's why there are a lot of dog food/people food plants in North Sioux City---they want the Sioux City workforce but South Dakota has better tax laws for businesses. More J. Peterman .


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Willowy said:


> Eh, they have wild boars and deer and whatnot in Kentucky too. Plenty of "regional" meats. Just because they suscribe to the J. Peterman method of product description doesn't mean they're being dishonest.
> 
> LOL, I do think it's funny when they say that they chose Kentucky because it's "home to thoroughbreds" and all that. Um, no, I'm sure they chose it because of favorable tax laws. That's why there are a lot of dog food/people food plants in North Sioux City---they want the Sioux City workforce but South Dakota has better tax laws for businesses. More J. Peterman .


Favorable tax laws probably are part of it, but a lot of manufacturing is in Kentucky for a few additional reasons: Low cost of living and high(ish) rural unemployment allows for a cheap workforce, a history of manufacturing means a lot of blue collar workers are available, major interstate access and being within a day's drive of about 2/3rds of the US population cuts transportation time and costs, and they seem to have picked a location midway between UPS and FedEx air hubs (Louisville and Memphis). 

Regardless of whether one believes their "narrative" or not, they clearly state the difference between their Canadian "regional" model and a new Kentucky "regional" model. As far as regional food sourcing goes, it is a good place to do it. As many farmers have switched or are switching away from tobacco, there are more who are looking to get into the food supply chain. 
Jefferson County (Louisville) public schools for example has been working to develop their own network of local farmers that are capable of supplying the high volume foods needed for an urban school district. Cuts costs for the farmers because they reduce shipment costs and in cases like beef, processing costs can be cut because it is cheaper to process for a high volume buyer on-demand than to process and market to many small volume buyers whose demands may conflict with supply.


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

BennySimpson said:


> I think my point is painfully obvious. This company has created a narrative, fiction by the way, about the superiority of "Regional Canadian Ingredients", so what is the story going to be now?


Well, in Canada it won't change, since the new KY plant will only be producing food for the USA. Plus, how many times have people on this forum said they only feed foods made in USA or with USA ingredients?

So they'll remove "Canadian" from the phrase - and sell a food made with "Regional USA Ingredients" - whatever. "Canadian" ingredients probably don't sell food as well in 'Murica as "USA Ingredients" will, anyway. In neither case does it say anything about the quality of _either_ of those types of ingredients.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

BennySimpson said:


> I think my point is painfully obvious. This company has created a narrative, fiction by the way, about the superiority of "Regional Canadian Ingredients", so what is the story going to be now?


What do you expect companies to say? "We source the cheapest crap we can stuff into a bag, buy it"? Of course they wax rhapsodic about regional this and primal that. You can't buy into the flowery product description, just read the ingredients and the nutrition breakdown, avoid meats sourced from China and go on your way.


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

gingerkid said:


> Well, in Canada it won't change, since the new KY plant will only be producing food for the USA. Plus, how many times have people on this forum said they only feed foods made in USA or with USA ingredients?
> 
> So they'll remove "Canadian" from the phrase - and sell a food made with "Regional USA Ingredients" - whatever. "Canadian" ingredients probably don't sell food as well in 'Murica as "USA Ingredients" will, anyway. In neither case does it say anything about the quality of _either_ of those types of ingredients.


It's very true. I've seen the same company in the US advertise themselves as "America's blah blah blah..." and in Canada they advertise as "Canada's blah blah blah..."

It's all marketing.


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## bowie (Apr 26, 2010)

BennySimpson said:


> I guess they need added capacity to supply the big box stores.


Do you really think Orijen or Acana would even sell in the big pet chains? Maybe Acana, but I highly doubt people will be purchasing Orijen at Petsmart or Petco. Way too expensive.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

bowie said:


> Do you really think Orijen or Acana would even sell in the big pet chains? Maybe Acana, but I highly doubt people will be purchasing Orijen at Petsmart or Petco. Way too expensive.


They were selling I & Love & You, which was like $65 for a 20-pound bag :/. Nobody bought it around here so they put it on clearance and I bought a bunch of bags . But in some places it may sell well enough. I think they might be willing to at least try branching out to the really pricey stuff.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

bowie said:


> Do you really think Orijen or Acana would even sell in the big pet chains? Maybe Acana, but I highly doubt people will be purchasing Orijen at Petsmart or Petco. Way too expensive.


Not much difference in price compared to a few of the other grain free types, like EVO or Wellness CORE for example or Nulo which I'm seeing on shelves more often, and those are in big box stores. Acana is very close in price, Orijen a bit more but once you hit a certain level, you're dealing with buyers that aren't all that concerned with price. I don't think price point is an issue. If they want to sell in the chain stores, I would expect them to be able to sell in the chain stores just fine.

As an aside, I am only comparing marketing/price point, I am not making any judgment towards the quality of any of the referenced foods.


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## Little Wise Owl (Nov 12, 2011)

lol Benny, you really hate Champion don't you?


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## JazzyTheSiberian (Feb 4, 2013)

It's probably just me,but it seems like there's always one user,who seems to absolutely hate champion.


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## bowie (Apr 26, 2010)

Shell said:


> Not much difference in price compared to a few of the other grain free types, like EVO or Wellness CORE for example or Nulo which I'm seeing on shelves more often, and those are in big box stores. Acana is very close in price, Orijen a bit more but once you hit a certain level, you're dealing with buyers that aren't all that concerned with price. I don't think price point is an issue. If they want to sell in the chain stores, I would expect them to be able to sell in the chain stores just fine.
> 
> As an aside, I am only comparing marketing/price point, I am not making any judgment towards the quality of any of the referenced foods.


Shows what I know! I didn't realize Wellness was that expensive! I looked it up online and the prices are 60 to 75 dollar range. Whoops.


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## bowie (Apr 26, 2010)

Willowy said:


> They were selling I & Love & You, which was like $65 for a 20-pound bag :/. Nobody bought it around here so they put it on clearance and I bought a bunch of bags . But in some places it may sell well enough. I think they might be willing to at least try branching out to the really pricey stuff.


Hmm I wonder. I know Petsmart are selling Nature's Variety Instinct, I grabbed a few samples of the frozen since they were on sale. The kibble seems like it hasn't been touched at all.


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## Little Wise Owl (Nov 12, 2011)

JazzyTheSiberian said:


> It's probably just me,but it seems like there's always one user,who seems to absolutely hate champion.


It's not just you. There is ALWAYS one user (one after another) who specifically hates Champion Pet Foods. Makes you wonder....


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## fourdogs (Feb 3, 2014)

I wonder if it's the same guy who is on other dog boards? 

I don't like champion products either because they just don't work for my dogs but I don't spam forums about it lol I do find the marketing to be a bit over the top. I mean wild-caught salmon sounds a lot better than just salmon, etc. fancy adjectives get right down to our emotions. 

Don't like it? Don't feed it!


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

fourdogs said:


> I wonder if it's the same guy who is on other dog boards?
> 
> I don't like champion products either because they just don't work for my dogs but I don't spam forums about it lol I do find the marketing to be a bit over the top. I mean wild-caught salmon sounds a lot better than just salmon, etc. fancy adjectives get right down to our emotions.
> 
> Don't like it? Don't feed it!


^^^ Exactly.

I always found it hard to take seriously people who make inflammatory statements without presenting any evidence to support them.


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