2017 Snack Producer of the Year, Quinn Snacks
Quinn Snacks, the 2017 ‘Snack Producer of the Year,’ brings fresh, original thinking to the industry, boldly challenging the status quo, always with an eye to the future. For the full story on Quinn Snacks, see “Snacks reimagined—Quinn Snacks, 2017 Snack Producer of the Year.”
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Since its founding in 2011, Quinn Snacks has pioneered a new approach to clean-label microwave popcorn that has taken the industry by storm. By the time Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery released its 2016 “State of the Industry—Snacks” analysis last summer, it was clear that the revolutionary microwave popcorn was catching on with shoppers. The microwave popcorn segment has seen perennial losses, down over 2 percent in dollar sales for our 2015 State of the Industry report on popcorn and then dropping another 3 percent for 2016, per IRI, Chicago. For the 52 weeks ending April 17, 2016, Quinn Snacks posted an over 62 percent gain for its microwave popcorn.
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Quinn Snacks, helmed by Kristy Lewis, co-founder and CEO, was named the 2017 Snack Producer of the Year for multiple reasons, including its groundbreaking approach toward supply-chain transparency and strong product innovation—including an altogether new approach toward microwave popcorn, catalyzing sales growth and putting Quinn Snacks on the map.
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The microwave popcorn range from Quinn Snacks includes Vermont Maple Kettle Corn, White Cheddar, Parmesan & Rosemary and Just Sea Salt. “We are using our Pure Pop microwave popcorn bag, butter, organic RSPO palm oil and expeller-pressed sunflower oil,” says Kristy Lewis, co-founder and CEO. As with all Quinn Snacks products, the microwave popcorn line has a Farm-to-Bag transparency policy. “Consumers will know where all the ingredients were grown, who grew them and the stories behind our suppliers.”
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Ready-to-eat (RTE) popcorn is also part of the Quinn Snacks lineup. Flavors include Organic Coconut Oil, White Cheddar, Super Kale & Sea Salt, Classic Sea Salt and California Olive Oil. All Quinn Snacks products are non-GMO with a supremely clean label.
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Norm Krug, CEO of Preferred Popcorn in Chapman, NE grows the non-GMO butterfly popcorn used in several Quinn Snacks products. He practices conservation tillage—leaving crop residue behind after harvest to disrupt the soil as little as possible. After harvest, cows are allowed to graze on the field, naturally reduce the amount of residual organic matter so they don’t have to till the soil the next spring, which would release more carbon into the atmosphere.
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Colorado Mills, Lamar, CO, supplier of high-oleic sunflower oil to Quinn Snacks, is an environmentally friendly, zero-waste company. The company operates a zero solvent extraction facility that only uses pressure to extract the oil from sunflower seeds. This means the oil is free from TBHQ. The resultant clean-label, high-oleic sunflower oil is used in various Quinn Snacks products, including its microwave and RTE popcorn.
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At Van Drunen Farms in Momence, IL, 30 minutes after harvesting its organic kale, it’s triple-washed with purified water and put onto an air-drying belt that transports it to a room for flash-freezing. The freezing dries the water out of the kale leaving frozen, dehydrated leaves with all of the nutrients retained. It’s then pulverized into a dark-green powder for use in the Quinn Foods Super Kale & Sea Salt RTE popcorn.
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The pretzel sticks from Quinn Snacks are gluten-free and feature a rising star in the grain world, whole-grain sorghum. Varieties include Classic Sea Salt and Touch of Honey.
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The sorghum in the gluten-free pretzels from Quinn Snacks comes from Nu Life Market, grown in a few different locations in Kansas. Quinn Snacks works with Earl Roemer, a fourth-generation farmer who has cross-bred different sorghum seed lineages to mesh well with growing conditions in Kansas and boost nutritionals—and to match baking performance needs for baked snacks and other products. The crop is naturally drought-tolerant and water-efficient. And sorghum adds a great crunch to the Quinn Snacks gluten-free pretzel lineup.
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Butternut Mountain Farm, Johnson, VT, is the maple sugar supplier to Quinn Foods. James Wallace Marvin purchased much of the land that would become Butternut Mountain Farm in 1953, and the land’s history of sugar-making dates back to the 1800s. Today, Butternut Mountain is the largest volume packer of Vermont Maple Syrup, overseeing 100,000 acres of land. The farm tracks every barrel from farm to table—and into every bag of Quinn Snacks Vermont Maple Kettle Corn.