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MANKATO — July 6, 2011 — Angie’s Kettle Corn, the official kettle corn of the Minnesota Lynx, is teaming up with the organization to host a contest for Minnesota girls’ youth and high school basketball players in grades 6-12.

To enter, contestants — individuals who play on a school or recreational team — need to complete an online entry at lynxbasketball.com/angies. In an essay of no more than 500 words or a video of two minutes or less, they are asked to answer, “What does it mean to be a part of a team, and what do you do as an individual to contribute to the success of your basketball team?” Entries, which must be received by Aug. 22, 2011, will be judged on originality, creativity and professionalism.

Six winners will be chosen to attend a Lynx game this season. Each winner will be able to invite up to 21 teammates for a special V.I.P. game-day experience that includes court-side seats for pre-game warm-ups, seating in a Target Center suite stocked with refreshments, and bags of Angie’s Kettle Corn for each guest. A post-game photo and autograph session with Lynx team members are also part of the prize.

“We’ve been very involved in supporting men’s sports teams over the years and are now equally as excited to sponsor this contest for young girls,” said Angie Bastian, company namesake and co-founder of Angie’s Kettle Corn. “We want to recognize and celebrate the leadership skills these girls gain every time they take to the court.”

In addition to the Minnesota Lynx, Angie’s Kettle Corn sponsors the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Timberwolves. The company recently became the sponsor of Sweet n’ Salty Cycling, a women’s cycling team that is part of the Minnesota Cycling Federation.

About Angie’s Kettle Corn
Husband and wife entrepreneurs Dan and Angie Bastian founded Angie’s Kettle Corn in 2001 as a family-run, outdoor vendor operation. Today, Angie’s has increased in sales and popularity, moving the operation from outdoor festivals and events to a production facility with expanded distribution. Angie’s Classic, Caramel and Lite flavors are distributed to 50 states and found in locations that include Costco, SuperTarget, Target and Whole Foods as well as in co-ops, health food stores or ordered online.

Media Contact
Jeanne Carpenter
www.perception-ink.com
612-803-1282

ANGIE’S LITE KETTLE CORN ($2.99 to $3.99, Costco, SuperTarget)

“Kettle corn seems like a splurge, but it’s a whole grain in disguise, with 3 grams of fiber per 2½-cup serving. Plus, it’s “salty, crispy, and sweet,” said a staffer. At 120 calories and 4 grams of fat, help yourself to more than a few handfuls.”

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From the blog
Upstarts and Alpha Dogs
by Donna Fenn

My husband Dan and I started Angie’s Kettle Corn in 2001 in our garage in Mankato, Minnesota because we needed to establish a college fund for our daughter, Aunikah, and our son, Tripp, who were five and three at the time.  We were intrigued by the challenge of popping kettle corn because it’s a simple, festive food and we thought we could do it better than anyone already producing it. The goal was to work together as a family doing something fun. Our children were too small to understand that we also wanted to use this venture to teach them firsthand that if you start with a good idea, hard work and remain dedicated, that this idea could be put it into action.

I am a nurse practitioner and Dan is a history teacher. We didn’t have a lot of money but we had ambition and an objective. We decided to purchase kettle corn equipment on the Internet, which we financed with zero percent credit cards. We started selling our product at fairs and festivals with our children, who would help out by putting labels on the bags and later would accompany us to local events.  They learned how to make change, greet people, and the importance of saying ‘thank you’ to our customers.

Our big break came when we became the Kettle Corn of the Minnesota Vikings NFL football team, where we built a fan base. The Vikings travel to Mankato every August for their annual training camp at Minnesota State University.  Dan and I spent a Sunday afternoon popping 120 bags of kettle corn. We donated these bags to the players and coaches as snacks for their Sunday evening film review. They loved it! The next day the Vikings offered us an opportunity to be their official kettle corn.  We started selling at all of the Viking home games in the fall of 2002.  People would ask where they could find our kettle corn in the off-season, so in 2004, we decided it was time to take the business indoors and began manufacturing.

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]]> http://www.angieskettlecorn.com/news/stuff-we-love-the-tastiest-gluten-free-foods/feed/ 0 http://www.angieskettlecorn.com/news/what-do-you-eat/ http://www.angieskettlecorn.com/news/what-do-you-eat/#comments Sun, 24 Apr 2011 17:00:33 +0000 Angie's Kettle Corn Staff http://www.angieskettlecorn.com/?p=1637 Right around the time I started thinking about writing this post, I was approached by Angie’s Kettle Corn. They asked if they could send me a few bags of their product -no strings attached – and I agreed (kettle corn? me? It wasn’t a hard sell). Every weekend at our local Safeway, a local man sets up shop and sells fresh kettle corn. If Jack and I are anywhere in the vicinity of the store, we go grab a small bag. It’s just one of those things you can’t pass up. To be honest, I didn’t expect much of the bagged kettle corn… we have fresh here, why would we buy it in a bag?

Jack and I were the only ones home when the box of kettle corn came, and we *may have* told Michael that only five bags were sent instead of six. Jack and I ate an entire bag throughout the afternoon. It was that good. My thighs thanked me for sharing the rest of the kettle corn with some friends (and keeping one bag for Michael). I easily could have eaten it all. After posting that on their facebook page, they quickly replied that it happens often, and it’s not abnormal.

(View the entire article at Becca’s Our Crazy Boys)

Snack foods can be a blessing or a curse. If you regularly pick the wrong snacks, well, expect weight gain, see-saw blood sugar and trouble concentrating. Angie Bastian, co-founder and president of Angie’s Kettle Corn, North Mankato, MN, cites David Zinczenko, author of Eat This Not That, who says that 56% of Americans snack at least three times a day. “That figure is up from 42% in 2001–2002, a growth of 14%,” she states.

Furthermore, the 2009 A Look into the Future of Eating report from The NPD Group, Inc., indicates that morning snacking will grow 23% and in-home afternoon snacks will climb 19% between 2008 and 2018 (1). “We’re seeing snacking on the rise; even fast-food restaurants are capitalizing on meal-replacement opportunities by offering snack menus and snack sizes,” says Bastian.

(View the entire article at Whole Foods Magazine)

(View the clip of Dan and Angie Bastian on KARE11 News)

(View the entire segment on KARE11 News)

We opened it on the spot and I had a taste, as a matter of fact, we were in a NYC resto, and we had our server try some – sweet, but not too sweet, salty, but not too salty – what a wonderful find. I went to Angie’s Kettle Corn web site and what I loved about it is that IMMEDIATELY on the first page, Angie’s let’s the consumer know it’s gluten free, top 8 free, and kosher.

Additionally, Miller tells me, it’s available in NY State at Costco (yep, Costco Allergy peeps!) and Target. But wait, there’s more.

(View the entire article at Brooklyn Allergy Mom’s Blog)