Who Makes Blue Buffalo Dog Food?
Blue Buffalo pet food is made by Blue Buffalo Pet Products, a subsidiary of General Mills Inc. General Mills acquired Blue Buffalo in April 2018 for $8 billion.
Quick Answer
Blue Buffalo pet food is made by Blue Buffalo Pet Products, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of General Mills Inc., the Minneapolis based consumer foods company. General Mills bought Blue Buffalo in April 2018 for 8 billion dollars.
Blue Buffalo dry kibble is produced at Blue Buffalo owned plants in Joplin, Missouri and Richmond, Indiana, and at contract manufacturing partners including Ainsworth Pet Nutrition (Meadville, Pennsylvania), Simmons Pet Food (multiple US sites) and CJ Foods (multiple US sites).
The Parent Company
General Mills is a Fortune 200 US consumer foods company with about 20 billion dollars in annual revenue. Its human food brands include Cheerios, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Yoplait, Haagen-Dazs and Old El Paso.
The Blue Buffalo acquisition was General Mills' largest ever, and it was made to give the company exposure to the fast growing premium pet food segment, which has consistently grown faster than mainstream human food categories.
How Blue Buffalo Started
Blue Buffalo was founded in Wilton, Connecticut in 2003 by Bill Bishop and his two sons after their family dog Blue developed cancer. The Bishops set out to create a pet food line without corn, wheat, soy or animal by product meals, targeting the premium natural pet food segment.
Blue Buffalo grew rapidly through pet specialty retailers (PetSmart and Petco) with aggressive marketing that positioned Blue against mainstream brands like Iams and Purina Dog Chow. By 2015 the company was public on the NASDAQ and by 2018 General Mills acquired it outright.
The Bishop family exited on the sale; General Mills retained the Blue Buffalo brand name, headquarters in Wilton, Connecticut, and manufacturing operations.
Where Blue Buffalo Is Made
Blue Buffalo owns and operates two large dry pet food plants: Joplin, Missouri (which opened in 2014) and Richmond, Indiana (opened in 2019). Between them these plants can produce a very large share of Blue Buffalo's US kibble demand.
The remaining Blue Buffalo dry, wet, freeze dried and treats production is done at long term co manufacturing partners including Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, Simmons Pet Food, CJ Foods and TruPet. Blue Buffalo does not publicly disclose plant of manufacture on its packaging.
All Blue Buffalo product sold in the US is manufactured in the US. Blue Buffalo does not source ingredients from China.
How Blue Buffalo Compares To Rivals
Blue Buffalo's main rivals are Wellness (owned by Berkshire Hathaway), Merrick (owned by Nestle Purina), Nutro (Mars Petcare), and specialty niche brands like Orijen and Acana (both made by Champion Petfoods, owned by Mars Petcare since 2022).
Blue Buffalo sits below the veterinary channel brands (Hills, Royal Canin, Pro Plan) on veterinarian recommendation share but leads them on natural ingredient marketing and pet specialty retail presence. General Mills has used its scale to reduce Blue Buffalo's ingredient sourcing cost while preserving the natural positioning.
How To Trace Any Product Back To Its Manufacturer
- Read the fine print on the label. US and EU packaging law requires either the manufacturer name or a "distributed by" address. That is your starting point.
- Search the company's SEC filings. Public parent companies list subsidiaries and manufacturing sites in their 10-K annual reports.
- Check the regulator establishment number. For food, drugs, cosmetics, cars and appliances, the plant of origin can often be looked up in public regulatory databases.
- Follow the money. Press releases about acquisitions and joint ventures are the fastest way to spot who really controls a brand today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Blue Buffalo owned by Nestle? No. Blue Buffalo has been owned by General Mills since April 2018. Nestle Purina owns Pro Plan, Purina ONE and Beneful, among others.
Is Blue Buffalo made in the USA? Yes. All Blue Buffalo sold in the US is manufactured in the US at Blue Buffalo plants in Missouri and Indiana or at long term US co manufacturing partners.
Was there a Blue Buffalo lawsuit? Yes. Nestle Purina and Blue Buffalo settled ingredient labeling litigation in 2014 and 2015. Blue Buffalo agreed to a settlement and updated its supplier controls.
Is Blue Buffalo grain free? Some Blue Buffalo lines are grain free (Blue Wilderness, Blue Freedom Grain Free). Others (Blue Life Protection Formula) include whole grains.
What This Means For The Shopper
Understanding who makes Blue Buffalo dog food today matters for a few practical reasons. First, corporate ownership tells you who is legally responsible for the product, who handles a warranty claim, and where a safety recall would come from. Second, ownership determines the supply chain: brands owned by the same parent often share components, factories, technology and even entire platforms, which is why you sometimes see nearly identical products under different labels at very different prices.
Third, ownership tells you which alternatives are functionally the same product. Whether it is a paper mill, a contract apparel factory or an auto assembly line, the same site frequently produces for several brands at once under different specifications. That is why store brand and lower priced siblings can be a smart substitute for the marquee Blue Buffalo product when you do not need the marketing.
What To Watch Going Forward
Consumer brand ownership keeps consolidating. In the past five years alone, several major consumer brands (including some that makes Blue Buffalo dog food) have moved between parent companies through spin offs, sales and joint ventures. Expect more of the same over the next five years as conglomerates rationalize portfolios and as private equity continues to reshape mid cap consumer brands.
If you buy from Blue Buffalo regularly and care about who profits from your purchase, it is worth checking the label, sticker or badge every year or two. Ownership changes are usually announced in trade press but rarely make consumer headlines, so most shoppers miss them until the packaging or branding gets a subtle redesign to reflect the new parent company.
Bottom Line
Blue Buffalo has been a General Mills brand since 2018 and is manufactured in the United States, with Blue Buffalo owned plants in Missouri and Indiana plus long term co manufacturing partners. It is one of the top selling premium pet food brands in the pet specialty channel.