Angie Bastian

Founder, BoomChickaPop
  • Launched Boomchickapop from her backyard and grew the snack into a global powerhouse
  • Spearheaded the company’s rebrand from “Angie’s Kettle Corn” to “Boomchickapop,” spurring an exponential increase in sales
  • Experience-driven insights on making a brand stand out, excelling in a competitive marketplace, surviving and thriving through a rebrand, and female leadership

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Angie Bastian, entrepreneur, co-founder, and namesake of Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP, took a kernel of an idea and popped it into one of the fastest growing brands of natural popcorn. As a means for creating a college fund for their children, she and husband Dan founded their snack company in their Mankato, MN, garage in 2001. On her entrepreneurial journey from Main Street to main stage, Angie grew a garage popcorn business into a global snack food leader – from being the official kettle corn of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings to becoming an attractive private equity investment and eventually acquired by Conagra Brands.

Exclusively represented for lectures by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Bastian is a dynamic speaker providing experience-driven insights on making a brand stand out, excelling in a competitive marketplace, surviving and thriving through a rebrand, and female leadership and empowerment. Her honest talks also discuss changes in the retail space, why authenticity matters, and how to weigh big marketing, sales, and branding decisions. Bastian motivates audiences to bring the fiery BOOMCHICKAPOP spirit alive in their own worlds.

Loved by fans as an empowered, spirited brand that represents authentic, real food, Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP delivers on the attributes of clean, transparent labeling and great taste experience. It is one of the fastest growing and most successful popcorn brands in the market today. Their gluten free, non-GMO, whole grain popcorn is now proudly sold in natural food, grocery, club, and mass retail outlets nationwide with a product presence in Canada, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and Peru.

Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP has twice won Star Tribune’s Top Workplace honors and won the 2015 ACG BOLD Award for corporate growth. She and Dan share Connect Business Magazine’s 2012 Person of the Year. Girl Scouts honored her as a Pioneering Trailblazer and she is a 2015 Inductee to the Minnesota Women’s Business Owner’s Hall of Fame. In 2017, Angie was awarded Pioneer in Food by Women’s Entrepreneurship Day #WEDO2017 at the United Nations. She is also the subject of a children’s educational book series, Female Foodies, entitled Boomchickapop Boss.

Angie has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, quoted in Forbes Magazine, and appeared on NPR’s "How I Built This" podcast and the Martha Stewart Show. Her products have been recognized and awarded by numerous national publications and media. A corporate and non-profit board member, she is passionate about giving back to the community and supports causes that empower people, including I am that Girl, Jeremiah Program, Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, Partners for Affordable Housing, Feeding our Communities Partners, and Step2.

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Speaker Video

Angie Bastian: Building A Meaningful Environment

Angie Bastian: The Story of BOOMCHICKAPOP

BoomChickaPOP Quiz with Angie Bastian

How To Put The BOOMCHICKAPOP In Your World.
Almost eight years after launching “Angie’s Kettle Corn,” Angie Bastian made the bold decision to change her name-sake brand to “BOOMCHICKAPOP.” Hoping to scale and attract new buyers, she evaluated the risk associated with overhauling a brand and made a call that paid off in a big way. Bastian talks honestly about the struggle that can come with differentiating a product and making a powerful connection with the consumer. Speaking from experience, Bastian also talks about changes in the retail space, why authenticity matters, and how to weigh big marketing, sales, and branding decisions. Bastian motivates audiences to bring the fiery BOOMCHICKAPOP spirit alive in their own worlds.

Accidental Entrepreneurship: The Story of Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP.
When a teacher and nurse, the husband and wife duo Dan and Angie Bastian started popping kettle corn in their Minnesota garage to make a little extra money for their children’s college fund, they never expected it to grow into a multi-million-dollar business and international brand. Nor, did they expect to employee hundreds of people and attract the attention of investors, but they did. This is their story. Lessons learned in building a company from the ground up, creating success not just for the business but for people and adjusting the dream every step of the way.

Women’s Leadership & Entrepreneurship:  The Story of Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP.
Angie Bastian, co-founder and namesake of Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP the popular snack brand speaks to how women’s leadership and the female voice create impact and value in the marketplace. Angie’s drive was to build-in emotional and physical safety as a core operational dynamic of the internal workplace. She believes it creates energy and space for employees to thrive. An empowered team creates an empowered brand. She believes business needs to resist the pull to zero-sum gain; the I win, you lose mindset. Companies must be authentic in their endeavor and the brand is ultimately, that reflection. Brands must see their consumers as much more than targets. Respecting and celebrating employees and the consumer are the goal!  It’s all about the people, people! 

Marriage & Entrepreneurship: Importance of Role Flexibility & The Story of Angie’s Boomchickapop.
Angie and Dan Bastian tackled the complexities of building a start-up business into a successful company. “Married with children” took on a whole new meaning. The role of a trusting partnerships, extending your “family”, and the importance of building a community both internally and externally to the business was significant to their success as a business and to their family. They believe the secret sauce of business is in managing relationships and defining everything in terms of connection.

(This topic presentation would include both Angie and Dan Bastian in a conversational format with the recommendation of a moderator.)

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