Top 10 Best Selling Products STILL Made in America

In the 1920s, Wally Byam began building caravans in his backyard. Some years later, he put a name to his creation: the Airstream. The rest is history. While the company has understandably outgrown Byam’s backyard, their manufacturing plant hasn’t actually gone too far. In fact, they all come from development compounds in Jackson Center, Ohio. It’s not like the Airstream is strapped for orders, either. At one point, they’re production increased to almost four-thousand luxury trailers a year. The Airstream is technically sold worldwide, but whether you buy one in Europe or the United Kingdom, they’re all coming from the USA.

You know what they say; where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire. Thanks to Zippo, there’s a whole lot of both in the United States. Their sales figures pretty much speak for themselves. By 2012, the company had built five million lighters. If you think that’s impressive, the real kicker is that almost every single one was made on American soil. That’s right, besides a brief stint in Ontario, Canada, Zippo receives most of their stock from their factories in the United States. Even when Zippo lighters are sold internationally, they’re often seen as a symbol of the United States.

These pots and pans are made of more than just quality material. They’re built from a legacy that stretches all the way back to 1896. Back then, Joseph Lodge founded the company in a small factory in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. More than a century later, the Lodge Company is still working out of that same factory. To put things in perspective, that kind of tenure has earned it the record for the oldest cast iron cookware manufacturer in the entire United States. Descendants of the Lodge family operate the company to this day, and clearly, they have no intention of leaving the place that’s served them so well.

It’s only natural that a so-called Tennessee whiskey is distilled in Tennessee. But that hasn’t always been the case. After the passing of prohibition in 1910, the famed Jack Daniel’s distillery moved operations to Missouri and Alabama. Then, as if uprooting their company wasn’t hard enough, they later had to completely cease operations due to the whiskey ban during World War II. Yeah, Jack Daniel’s has been through a lot. But, despite it all, the one constant is that they always packaged their drinks in America. In return, the original distillery is now listed on the National Register of most historic places in the United States.

The American Dream smells pretty good, if you ask us. Michael Kittredge agreed, and made that scent a reality by melting crayons together as a kid. Later, demand for his homemade candles turned into a full-on career, and soon enough, an entire empire. The explosive growth of Yankee Candle could have easily warranted a global launch. But instead, Kittredge kept it local. Even though he’s since sold the company, the majority of Yankee candles continue to be made in Kittredge’s home state of Massachusetts. With over 250 box-stores in nearly 50 different countries, it’s safe to say this candle won’t be going out any time soon.

Everyone needs to eat, and as such, most KitchenAid products are made and distributed worldwide. Except for one item in particular: the KitchenAid stand mixers. They aren’t just what put the company on the map, they’re quite literally what created the brand in the first place. So, you can see why there’d be some protectiveness about its assembly. While the die-casts come from international plants, the actual mixers are solely put together by a factory in Greenville, Ohio. Even though other KitchenAid appliances are sometimes manufactured out of the country, the creation of the stand mixers remains a USA exclusive.

Whether you’re a professional, an enthusiast, or have never touched a motorcycle in your life, you’ve probably heard of Harley-Davidson. And that’s for good reason. They’ve been through ups and downs on their way to becoming one of the most prolific and influential biking manufacturers ever. So much so, that they’ve expanded well past America’s borders. However, the bulk of their production remains steadfastly within the United States. They’ve even got the hometown support to prove it. Harley-Davidison has been assembling bikes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ever since their founding in 1903. There’s no reason to believe that will change any time soon.

If you’re ever in the mood to get some crayons, Easton, Pennsylvania is the place to be. There’s the Crayola headquarters, a ton of crayon manufacturing shops, and more colors than you could ever hope to have in a single box. Despite the fact that the company has spread out overseas a bit more since the 2000s, the vast majority of crayons still come from Crayola’s homebase in Pennsylvania. Even before they moved into town, the trendsetter had always advertised itself as being “proudly made in America.” How they make so many different colors in one place, we’ll never know.

It’s not hard to guess where in Pennsylvania this candy company makes most of their stock. But what is surprising is that the chocolate bar actually came first. Hershey, Pennsylvania was unofficially founded in direct response to the creation of the factory of the same name. Or, should we say “factories” since there are actually two of them. With brand recognition like that, it’s obvious why the lab hasn't moved since. There are a smattering of international locations and branches in other parts of the country. But still, nothing touches the iconography of Hershey being made in Hershey.

For something named after a German word, Budweiser sure has left its mark in the United States. At least, as far as history is concerned. See, Budweiser’s popularity goes back so far, it’s considered the very first national beer brand in America. That grassroots support is reflected in their distillery locations. The beer’s parent company, Anheuser Busch, has opened thirteen breweries over the years, and every single one of them was based out of the United States. The flagship distillery in St. Louis, Missouri has been operational since 1852. Beer may not get better with age, but evidently, beer companies are a different story.