A New York snack business is using Nebraska corn to create munchies from ingredients that haven’t been genetically modified.
BFY Brands recently rolled out its new line of snacks called “Our Little Rebellion,” which includes the triangular corn-based PopCorners, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.
The company has aligned with the Non-GMO Project, a non-profit that certifies products made without genetically engineered ingredients, for a marketing campaign that hopes to garner support for non-GMO corn.
All the corn to produce PopCorners is being grown on 59 Nebraska farms and milled by Bungee Limited in Crete before being shipped to processing facilities in New York.
BFY Brands CEO Paul Nardone said sourcing 20 million pounds of corn this year was a challenge.
“It wasn’t as easy as just flipping a switch and being able to order 20 million pounds of non-GMO corn,” he said. “We really had to re-engineer the supply chain and make sure there was enough acreage planted for the yield we needed.”
Nardone also said Bunge built a network of farmers to grow the corn. The farmers earn a 20 to 25 percent premium for their product.
U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows that only 8 percent of all corn acres planted nationally, and 5 percent in Nebraska, are non-GMO varieties.
“We just feel we’re being responsive to what our consumers are looking for, especially millennial consumers,” he said. “We’ve even discovered there was a barrier to purchase by not being non-GMO corn.”
The company expects $75 million in sales this year.
