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Kentucky Proud defines agricultural products that are raised or produced in Kentucky by Kentuckians. The slogan means many things to many people – delicious blackberry jam, rich-tasting Kentucky country ham, mouth-watering tomatoes and melons, and much more – all produced with the greatest care to offer a special treat to families throughout Kentucky, the nation and the world.
Kentucky Proud also means the people behind those products – people willing to take chances and try new things, people who won’t settle for second best, people who love farm life.To commemorate National Agriculture Week March 20-26, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture is beginning an ongoing series of profiles of Kentucky agricultural businesses that have become household names in the Commonwealth. Some are developing a national audience and even a global following.
SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. — Sausage is Purnell’s business. How is business? Like the sausage, “It’s Good!” Purnell’s Old Folks Country Sausage Company has used a plan to produce consistently good Kentucky Proud products and its famous slogan to grow into a multi-million dollar organization that employs more than 250 people since it moved to its present site in Simpsonville 50 years ago.
Al Purnell is the marketer, the spokesman, and probably one of the most recognized people in Kentucky for his role as the face of the company’s advertising campaign. Bob Purnell is the bookkeeper and the behind-the-scenes business manager. He still signs every check by hand, other than payroll. Todd Purnell (Al’s son) is now the president of the company, overseeing most every aspect of the business that produces approximately 500,000 pounds of products a week.
The current craze is Purnell’s conveniently pre-cooked sausage and biscuit. At the Simpsonville plant, a cooked patty finds its way between two halves of a biscuit quicker than you can say "It's Good!" Just stick them in the microwave, and in no time you have breakfast. Purnell’s sells links, gravy, even seasonings for Cracker Barrel and the world’s only whole beef sausage.
Purnell’s pays close attention to every detail, from the quality of sows purchased to the adjustments made in response to consumer demands. The company’s dedication to producing a consistent product that is good day after day and week after week has built it an enormous repeat customer base.
Fred Purnell moved his family from Nashville, Tenn., in 1950 to Mellwood Avenue in Louisville where they already were engaged in making and selling sausage. Purnell, or “Old Folks” as he was affectionately nicknamed because he liked to hang around the older folks as a youngster, would buy two or three hogs at a time and make whole hog sausage. His sons Allan and Bob started selling a package at a time, and when the sausage was gone, another purchase of hogs continued the cycle.
The success of Purnell's Old Folks Country Sausage was no accident, but a plan to make consistent high quality products with confidence that once people tried and liked it, they would buy it again. Even more remarkable, Al Purnell has developed an advertising campaign that is unique to him and his company in a time where everyone in advertising is trying to achieve just that.
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