When consumers make their selections, they may compare prices or nutritional facts. A new initiative, Buy Missouri!, will help consumers select items made in their own backyard.
Burgers' Smokehouse was among the first Missouri-made products, services and businesses Lt. Gov. Mike Parson's office contacted when the program was developed last summer.
"We're certainly glad to be included," Burgers President Steven Burger said.
The third-generation meat business is a "quintessential" example of what the Buy Missouri! program wants to promote, said Randy Wright, director of marketing and tourism for Parson's office.
Burgers was the featured business last week for Buy Missouri!, having a 90-second video pushed through social media. Each week another Missouri maker, like Meta's Diamond Pet Foods or Freeburg's Quaker Windows, will be highlighted.
The Buy Missouri! program is as educational as it is a way to promote a healthy economy.
Wright noted many Missourians may be unaware that products like Oscar Meyer wieners, Kraft macaroni and cheese, Pampers diapers and Germ-X are all Missouri made.
This spring, the next phase of Buy Missouri! will be the launch of a business directory online, highlighting businesses - small or large - that make their products in the state.
The incentive program is supported by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Association of Missouri, Missouri Farm Bureau and the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
Down the road, the program will place shelf tags in retail outlets, denoting which products are Missouri-made, Wright said.
Although the promotional video is nice, Burger said he expects the tags at the point of purchase to have an even greater effect. He said the Buy Missouri! program dovetails with a growing consumer interest in buying local.
"There are hidden treasures across this state," Wright said. "We will post more each week."
On the web: ltgov.mo.gov/tourism-economic-development/buy-mo/