Smucker's Big Heart Pet Brands to Invest $20.5 Million in Topeka Plant

The J.M. Smucker Co. and its subsidiary Big Heart Pet Brands will invest $20.5 million to expand a pet food manufacturing facility in Topeka, city and county officials announced in July.

The project includes roughly $17.8 million in real property investment and $2.7 million in new equipment, according to figures presented to the Joint Economic Development Organization, known as JEDO. The board of Topeka and Shawnee County approved economic development incentives totaling about $383,000 to support the expansion.

Officials framed the investment as a vote of confidence in Topeka's manufacturing base and its skilled local workforce. Pet food production has become a significant part of the region's food-manufacturing economy, drawing on Kansas grain and processing expertise.

Supporters said the expansion would help secure existing jobs and strengthen the capital city's industrial sector for the long term.