Business with a BOOMCHICKAPOP Minnesota couple builds kettle corn firm into an internationally known brand
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hen Angie and Dan Bastian started a business in 2001 to build a college fund for their children, they had neither money nor experience. They didn’t understand sales, marketing, retailing or branding. Sixteen years later, their popcorn company, Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP, was acquired for $250 million. Asked how they met the expectations of retail giants such as Trader Joe’s, Costco and Target, Angie says: “You gotta put your hustle on.” Bastian (née Miller), who was raised on a small farm, studied nursing at Goshen College. She told the story of building a business from nothing to an international retail sensation at MEDA’s annual convention in Tucson, Arizona. Angie was working as a nurse practitioner at a state hospital when Dan, a history teacher and baseball coach, suggested they start a kettle corn business in their Minnesota garage. Their children were aged three and five. They had no money to invest. Using a zero percent interest credit card, they spent $10,000 to buy a kettle. They popped kettle corn near a grocery store, sporting events, big box outlets and high schools, “anywhere that anyone would let us pop.” They brought their young children along, which didn’t always work out well. “I really don’t know what we were thinking.” The Marketplace January February 2020
“That’s a hallmark of entrepreneurs. You don’t really think about things when you do them sometimes.” A turning point came when they popped corn outside the Minnesota Vikings’ training camp and offered to give the players free popcorn. They didn’t realize they were marketing to influencers. The following day, they were asked to become a sponsor of the Vikings, at a cost of $8,000. In return, they would be allowed to sell outside the Metro Dome at Vikings home games.
“Entrepreneurship is lonely. You don’t know if you are right, you don’t know if you are even on the right track. In the early days, it’s hard.” The Bastians popped kettle corn at games every Sunday September through December, even in blizzards. “Because we did that, it opened up a broader market for us, and it opened up a place for us to get noticed.” One of their purchasers was a person from a local grocery chain. He agreed to start carrying their product but told them they needed to meet quality standards and couldn’t work out of their garage. 12
In 2002, they bought an indoor kettle, rented 150 square feet in the back of a grocery store, started a production line and worked on packaging. Two years later, they began selling to three area grocery stores and a co-op. They did demos in stores every weekend, as that was the only marketing they could afford. By 2005, they had needed more space and purchased a 2,200-squarefoot building. After outgrowing that building in a year, they found a 20,000-square-foot warehouse. As their business grew, they realized they needed a lot of things. Eight to 10 banks said no to expansion proposals. At one point, they had a $350,000 piece of equipment coming and no way to pay for it. In desperation, they called their babysitter’s father, a local community banker, and found a supportive lender. Angie was doing the company books in the evening after working all day as a nurse. Dan had gone full-time with the business but didn’t get his first paycheque — for $500 — until 2008. “There was a place in our lives during that time, where we didn’t sleep too much, she said “We weren’t businesspeople. All we had was ambition, and a successful product that was selling.” “Entrepreneurship is lonely. You don’t know if you are right, you don’t know if you are even on the right track. In the early days, it’s hard.”
