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BOOMCHICKAPOP

Friday, April 1, 2016
filed under: Utilization/Trade

Sunflower Oil Is a Core Ingredient in Minnesota Family Firm’s Popcorn Products

It’s fun to say, and fun to eat. And the ingredients make it even more special. There are only three — and one of them happens to be sunflower oil.
Jody Kerzman visited with co-founder Angie Bastian about Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP and why sunflower oil has been a

key ingredient since day one.

Explain the idea behind how BOOMCHICKAPOP came about.
       In 2001 my husband and I bought a kettle and began making our family recipe batches of popcorn at events in our hometown of Mankato, Minn. We wanted to show our kids the value of hard work and earn extra income for college funds.
       After creating a following, we knew we were on to something special. Now, we’re one of the fastest growing natural popcorn brands. It’s so important to me that we have the best tasting popcorn, we’re transparent about the ingredients and always keep our food simple. We think snacks can be fun and good for you.
       BOOMCHICKAPOP is all about great taste and real, simple ingredients — not to mention it’s really fun to say! Even the bold colors of the packaging represent our spirit and color in everything we do. There’s nothing else quite like us, and we’re proud of that.

How do you use sunflower oil in your products?
       We use sunflower oil exclusively to pop our BOOMCHICKAPOP.

Why do you use sunflower oil?
       We use sunflower oil because it is non-GMO and has a clean flavor that better highlights the natural popcorn and simple ingredients.

What makes your products stand out?
       Our packaging, for one! It’s bright and colorful and literally stands out on the shelf. It’s also fun to say BOOMCHICKAPOP, and people remember that!
       There’s nothing else like our popcorn and kettle corn. We’re proud that it not only tastes great but is made with real, simple ingredients and nothing artificial. In fact, our BOOMCHICKAPOP Sea Salt product contains only three ingredients: popcorn, sunflower oil and sea salt!

What kinds of challenges have you faced along the way?
       My husband and I started this adventure 14 years ago in our garage and on our own, so there hasn’t been a challenge we haven’t met or didn’t think we could tackle together. From starting with our own kettle for popping, we’ve seen our share of experiences from launching new products, building a production facility, scaling a business and making sure our teams have the resources they need to do their jobs well.

Where can your popcorn be purchased?
       BOOMCHICKAPOP is available nationwide in natural food, grocery, club and mass retail outlets — and on our website, www.boomchickapop.com.

What are the latest trends in each market segment you serve?
       BOOMCHICKAPOP has always focused on more than just trends, but better-for-you snacks that are gluten-free and non-GMO. With the new consumer push toward cleaner ingredient labels and naturally delicious snacks, we are winning fans with a product made with real, simple ingredients. More than ever, people are reading labels — even on snacks. They care about what’s in their food and where it’s from.

Are there any new offerings, new products?
       We’re excited about our new Sweet Barbecue Popcorn that is starting to hit shelves. It’s a perfect combination of complex BBQ richness and a blend of spices like smoked paprika with a delicate balance of cane and maple sugar. It’s the perfect snack heading into summertime road trips and picnics.

Are you doing advertising, PR, social media or grassroots efforts to promote your products? If yes, what?
       Yes, absolutely! We have a solid integrated approach with social media, PR, along with traditional advertising. But grassroots marketing is in our blood and how we started — popping popcorn on the streets while people celebrated.
       As the company grew, we continued the tradition of meeting people where they are in their everyday life. This is where we did some of our best stuff! We gave away almost six million popcorn seeds so that families, children, schools and Girl Scout troops could grow their own BOOMCHICKAPOP popcorn and in turn learn about their food.
       This year we’re doing a BOOMCHICKAPOP Garden at the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota. We’ve worked to raise money for the Mayo Clinic BEAUTY Project Breast Cancer Research the past three years. Another of my very favorite things was when we did a Vespa parade for three days in Anaheim, Calif., with real women dressed in all their BOOMCHICKAPOP colorful glory, handing out samples of BOOMCHICKAPOP.
         Most recently, we made an effort to focus on “back-to-school” — delivering convenient, better-for-you snacks for back-to-school nutrition. It just goes to show that BOOMCHICKAPOP is a great snack — with clean ingredients — that is perfect any time of day.