ABINGDON, Va. — K-VA-T Food Stores has reintroduced Chuck Wagon dog food as a proprietary brand.
“We reinvented the classic Chuck Wagon dog dinner with a taste that’s sure to make your dog come running,” K-VA-T writes in promotional materials.
Once marketed by Purina, Chuck Wagon is widely known for television commercials in the 1970s showing a miniature horse-drawn chuck wagon racing through a living room in front of the dog to get him to eat. The brand was subsequently phased out.
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Chuck Wagon is available in about 10 stockkeeping units, including 13- and 33-pound bags of dog dinner, selling for $6.99 and $16.99, respectively; jerky sticks, 25 ounces, $9.99, and large dog biscuits, 4-pound bag, $5.99.
Chuck Wagon joins K-VA-T’s “legacy” brands, regional favorites that were discontinued and then reintroduced by K-VA-T as a private brand. K-VA-T registers the brands with the Federal Trade Commission, reformulates them when necessary and then keeps them as its own.
Other K-VA-T legacy brands include Kay’s Ice Cream, Terry’s Snack Foods, and more recently, the Banana Flip snack cake.
While legacy brands are sold exclusively in K-VA-T stores, the chain has considered distributing them to other retailers.