Farm Couple Brings Corn Snack To Market

Farm couple brings corn snack to market FARM HOME Food 16-5-20 It wasn't easy and the odds were stacked against them, but a Minnesota farm couple has succeeded in bringing a new snack food - made out of common field corn - onto the market. Gladys and Stan Friesen, of Mountain Lake, say it all started last year when Stan was fooling around in the kitchen trying to come up with a new way to make ethanol from corn. While experimenting, he discovered a method of cooking common field corn that turns it into a tasty new snack. They cooked up a batch and took it to a party where response from friends was so enthusiastic they decided to try to develop the idea commercially. A food company executive suggested they work up an exact recipe and approach snack food companies. "We were unable to find anyone interested in taking on a totally new product without any market testing so we were going to let the idea die. But people kept encouraging us to put it on the market ourselves. We thought that would require too much investment capital until we heard about a man who was successfully making potato chips out of a small storefront operation. That's when we decided to start a small factory in a building on our farm to produce what we call "Glad-Corn"," says Gladys. The Friesens now sell Glad-Corn through grocery and convenience stores in six states. The snack, which looks and tastes a little like popcorn, is made from field corn, soy oil and salt. Although the recipe is a secret, Gladys says the frying process takes about 15 min. After cooling, the snacks are packed in 4 or 12-oz. packages and labeled. Each label contains a reference to a Bible verse and the Friesens donate a portion of each sale to finance Christian ministries. A box of six 4-oz. packages of Glad-Corn sells for $6.75 (plus $2 shipping). Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, G.E.F. Inc., Rt. 1, Box 91, Mountain Lake, Minn. 56159 (ph 507 427-2631).

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