It’s Snappy Popcorn, a third-generation, family-owned company in Breda.

“Whether you go to an Iowa State game or a high school sporting event and buy a bag of popcorn, there’s a good chance you’re eating Snappy Popcorn,” said Jon Tiefenthaler, owner of Snappy Popcorn.

Snappy Popcorn also distributes 50,000 to 100,000 samples each year during the Iowa State Fair, providing a taste of Iowa agriculture for people across Iowa and beyond. The company’s “popcorn pigs on a stick” were a hit at the 2017 fair. “Popcorn is associated with fun,” Tiefenthaler said.

Popcorn can also provide a snack that’s healthier in some ways than fruits and vegetables. A 2012 study from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania found that popcorn contains more healthful antioxidant substances called polyphenols than fruits and vegetables.

-Photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Samples like these line store shelves around Iowa and the world.

That doesn’t mean popcorn lovers are only focused on health. Most of Snappy Popcorn’s sales include butter or extra butter flavors, Tiefenthaler noted.

Fuel delivery

powered popcorn business

Snappy Popcorn’s roots run deep in western Iowa.

“My grandfather ran a tank wagon fuel delivery service,” said Tiefenthaler, whose grandfather, Art Tiefenthaler, and great-uncle Raymond Tiefenthaler founded Snappy Popcorn in 1940. “After a customer paid a fuel oil bill with popcorn, this inspired my grandfather to get into the popcorn business.”

-Photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Snappy Popcorn is a family-owned company in Breda.

While Snappy Popcorn has grown much of its popcorn near Breda for decades, the company also works with farmers in Nebraska and Colorado. Popcorn is the only product processed at the plant in Breda, where approximately 50 people work for Snappy Popcorn.

Demand for Snappy Popcorn’s high-quality products has expanded overseas. Tiefenthaler’s father, Alan, who joined the company in 1976, began exporting popcorn to South Korea by the 1990s. Today, Snappy Popcorn is exported to Saudi Arabia, the Dominican Republic and beyond.

While foreign buyers tend to prefer natural popcorn, which lets the corn flavor shine through, other Snappy Popcorn buyers enjoy a wide variety of flavors, from hot and spicy to kettle corn.

“A lot of our business comes from trade shows and word-of-mouth marketing,” said Andy Koster, sales manager for Snappy Popcorn, which has become one of the largest concessions dealers in America, specializing in popcorn machines, popcorn poppers and concession supplies.

Revitalizing rural Iowa

Snappy Popcorn supplies a variety of products for Iowa Select, including a Halloween mix for the Children’s Cancer Connection, along with products for Iowa State Fair events, employees’ Christmas gifts and corporate holiday gifts.

“Iowa Select’s values are similar to ours,” Tiefenthaler said. “They understand the importance of Iowa agriculture. It’s also great to see how they support other Iowa companies.”

Many of these companies are located in rural communities like Breda, population 477, which boasts many thriving companies, including fire truck manufacturer Toyne Fire Apparatus, Western Iowa Networks telecommunications and Snappy Popcorn. “We’ve opened a lot of doors for some substantial growth,” Tiefenthaler noted. “We look forward to working with other ag companies like Iowa Select as we produce high-quality food.”