Headliner | Angie Bastian
CCW Main Stage Wednesday, June 5, 2024 | 8:00 AM
FOUNDER
BOOMCHICKAPOP
The BOOMCHICKAPOP Journey from Garage to Global Phenomenon
Angie Bastian, the founder and entrepreneurial force behind the celebrated snack brand BOOMCHICKAPOP, takes the CCW Las Vegas mainstage to share her extraordinary journey from a garage in Mankato, Minnesota, to becoming a global brand phenomenon. Her story is a masterclass in harnessing customer-centric strategies to build a thriving business.
As a champion of women’s leadership and entrepreneurship, Angie underscores the importance of an empowered workplace culture, fueling both brand and team success. In her CCW Las Vegas main stage presentation, she’ll share her thrilling tale of ‘’Accidental Entrepreneurship’’ and offer real-world insights on making impactful business decisions, nurturing strong customer relationships, and fostering a vibrant company ethos.
Angie’s approach transcends the popcorn business, embodying a philosophy integral to leading successful customer contact and CX teams — innovation and adaptation in today’s customer-driven world.
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Q&A with Angie Bastian
Angie Bastian is the Co-Founder (and namesake) of Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP. Since 2001, she has grown a garage popcorn business into a global snack food leader, and is known as a champion of the importance of authenticity, leadership, and female empowerment within a brand. At CCW Las Vegas, Angie will be speaking on her experiences in creating a passionate and fiery brand that is trusted and beloved by consumers, and sharing some of the hard-won insights gained over the course of her entrepreneurial journey.
Q: To start, we’d love some background on your founding journey. Why did you start Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP?
A: My husband and I wanted to start a college fund for our two children. We bought an outdoor popcorn kettle and a tent off the internet in 2001. We started a side-hustle, popping kettle corn in our garage and at neighborhood events, fairs, festivals, sporting venues, and anywhere else we were allowed. We were both already fully employed—I was a nurse practitioner and Dan was teacher—but we wanted to do something together as a family, and have the kids work alongside us to learn the value of teamwork, making change, looking an adult in the eye, and saying thank you.
Q: BOOMCHICKAPOP has a particularly empowered and spirited voice—what made you choose that image, and how did you cultivate it?
A: It was in reaction to what I was observing in the marketplace back in 2011. Let me explain!
The first 10 years of the business we were oriented operationally. We owned our own production facility, and we were primarily a kettle corn brand, “Angie’s Kettle Corn.” The name felt limiting. Then in 2011 our private equity partner challenged us to consider revising our packaging. At the time, our products lived in the natural and organic snack aisle. Natural and organic food packaging at the time looked serious and artisanal, as did Angie’s. I think all of us smaller brands were working to look like we belonged on the shelf, like all the other serious, healthy, better-for-you food did at that time
Then something began to shift in the category. New start-up companies began to launch almost every kind of better-for-you natural and organic products into the more mainstream markets. What I noticed is that these brands were messaging to their consumers more directly, and taking cues from mainstream snack brands. Natural and organic brands began to distinguish themselves from each other instead of all looking the same, with more targeted strategy and messaging. Products for kids were colorful, playful, and engaging. Adolescents got their slightly rebellious, irreverent, sometimes comedic packaging. For broadly targeted adult consumers of snacks who were making the switch to natural, packaging remained within a more masculine color palette. I thought their message was, “Here are your snacks fellas.”
I asked myself, “Who’s talking to women shoppers?” Women are 85% of the consumers that shop at grocery stores. When brands did talk to a woman and position their products for her, those brands seemed to assume that she was on a diet. I saw nothing dimensional or empowering on the shelves for women, and I was personally annoyed. I wanted us to be different.”
I wanted the Angie’s brand to come from a place of empowerment, not diminishment. I wanted to celebrate women, not tell them what they should look like. I wanted our packaging to be joyful, to illicit curiosity and respect consumers as literate, dimensional people. We worked with a creative agency to bring this vision to life. We wanted to show up on the shelf in a beautiful package that was full of energy, vitality, and dimension—just like all the women I know!
Q: To be successful in the customer contact world, our attendees need to be innovative and adaptable. As the founder of a company that has succeeded in this area, what do you look forward to sharing on this topic with our attendees?
A: What I can share is what we did to prioritize innovation at Angie’s. First, we created direct lines of communication with our customers, and we used customization as a tool to build relationships with them. We needed that rapport with our customers because we wanted our business and brand to be perceived positively. We wanted our customers to be pleased that Angie’s BOOMCHIKAPOP was their choice.
And perhaps most importantly, we listened to the feedback we got. We admitted when we failed or made mistakes, and fixed those mistakes fast.
Q: In building BOOMCHICKAPOP, how have you approached customer engagement and service to ensure a strong and loyal customer base?
A: A: First, you need a strong and loyal employee base. Dan and I always felt that if we take care of our employees, they will take care of the business. There’s a lot of room for things to go wrong here, but also lots of ways to build a community within an organization. We tried to see our employees as people first, and to let them know that they are valued, respected, and rewarded for their efforts. We saw it as our job—and the job of all leadership at Angie’s—to communicate with our employees, model acceptance and respect for each person’s uniqueness, and provide them with the tools they needed to succeed. We also felt it was important that as a person grew into their competency at a specific position that they earned autonomy and decision-making ability, so we granted equity shares to employees because we wanted our success to be their success, too.
A company’s internal culture has to align with the external operation of the brand—no amount of PR or spin can fix an incongruent inauthentic system.
Q: As a successful entrepreneur, what key lessons have you learned about leading an excellent customer service team?
A: If you want your employees to run through a wall for you, you have to run through walls for them.
As a leader, it is imperative that you believe in your people, and that give them the tools that they need to succeed, as well as the autonomy to make decisions. You must allow your people to walk the path they choose, but always include them all in the journey. You want your team to join you, instead of serving you. Allow for mistakes, but challenge your team to grow and learn, and encourage accountability to each other. Always give your team the credit, and inspire your people to become more than they might have imagined
Q: Is there a story or defining moment in your career that shaped your philosophy towards customer service?
A: My first career was as a nurse. I worked in the ICU, the ER, and with disabled children before going to graduate school to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. I learned acute observational and listening skills there. If I hadn’t listened to what my patients were telling me, or had rationalized, ignored, or minimized observations, people could have died. . Nursing is consistently one of the most trusted and respected professions, and working in a career that is built on absolute hands-on “customer service” provided my foundational proficiency in meeting the needs of our customers. At Angie’s we have always tried to be like the most excellent nurse—competent and kind while treating our customers as valued people.
Q: Looking towards the future, what trends do you see as opportunities for customer contact/CX leaders to enhance engagement and satisfaction?
A: On a philosophical level, the underlying objective always needs to be: Treat your customers as a valued members of your community, with respect from first query to last contact.
But in terms of trending CX, digitally delivered customer service is the obvious tactical trend that is already present and operational in the marketplace. And when it works, it can be efficient and a positive experience for the customer. There are times, however, when it doesn’t work well from the customer perspective—which can also happen in person-to-person customer contact. In whichever method or platform, if customer service doesn’t strike the right tone—if it is inauthentic, lacks empathy, or doesn’t help customers solve their problem—they will disengage.
I would challenge all aspects of customer service, whether machine-generated or human-led, to clearly understand and know your audience. Utilize the “phygital” approach—the merging of digital and physical worlds,and use digital access and engagement as a facilitator for physical results. Using high-touch customization to surprise and delight the customers is still on the table, and I believe will become more important to distinguish and elevate a brand as AI standardization becomes ubiquitous. Psychologically, intermittent unexpected rewards are still a powerful tool to build special connections and loyalty with the customer. Without being creepy—show up in your customer’s lives. Go out of your way to acknowledge, reward, and win them back if necessary.