How Angie’s Put the BOOMCHICKAPOP into their Brand with Founder Angie Bastian

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At NOSH Live Winter 2018 in Santa Monica, Angie Bastian shares how she went from a psychiatric nurse practitioner to the founder of bagged popcorn maker Boom Chicka Pop. She chronicles the evolution of the brand’s products, including the critical decision she made to expand beyond the company’s initial product, kettle corn, and embrace a new, more expansive brand identity built around positive energy and a sense of celebration.

That bold new direction left some behind — Bastian noted that the brand did lose some consumers in the changeover — but also opened doors with new customers and distributors and ultimately proved to be the right decision. Bastian urges food startups to “own and celebrate whatever your product is” because consumers will eventually recognize and value that authenticity. She also encourages attendees to be active in the food community and “take positivity from any direction.” Those principles helped guide the brand to its eventual $250 million sale to Conagra in 2015.

NOSH Live is a two-day business conference for the natural food industry. Future conference dates and locations can be found at nosh.com/events.