Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn

While scouting for fields to plant his hybrids, Charles F. Bowman met Redenbacher who was managing a large Southern Indiana farm.

Orville Redenbacher (1907-1995) was born in Brazil and studied agronomy and genetics at Purdue University, where he conducted research on popcorn hybrids.

Redenbacher relay did spend forty years of his life creating 30,000 strains of popcorn, working alongside his friend, Bowman in the fields and labs of Valparaiso, Indiana.

Bowman and Redenbacher breakthrough came in 1965, with a new breed the partners called Red Bow 65 – ‘Red’ for Redenbacher, ‘Bow’ for Bowman and 65 for the year.

The popcorn processors wouldn’t buy it insisting consumers wouldn’t pay the higher price demanded by red Bow 65.

Bowman and Redenbacher consulted a Chicago public relations firm that convinced them to change the name form Red Bow to Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn.

Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn took off nationally in the early 1970s. Redenbacher put his smiling bumpkin face in a label and marketed his gourmet kernels from the back of a car, became such a phenomenon that customers never knew of the ‘Bow’ in Red Bow.

The men sold their business in 1976. It was sold to Hunt-Wesson which launched a massive advertising campaign, starring Redenbacher himself, for their newly acquired product. Later it was acquired by ConAgra Foods in 1990.

In 2005 Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn marked the 40th anniversary, still the no. 1 selling brand in the United States.

To celebrate the man behind the popping corn, ConAgra developed a special website that highlighted some of the classic Orville Redenbacher television commercials.
Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn

Business history of popcorn

Popcorn is the fastest-growing segment of snack food.

Throughout the 1800s, Americans routinely popped the kernels in wire baskets over open flames and used them as decorations on Christmas tree.

The invention of popcorn popping machine by Charles Cretors in 1885, boost the whole popcorn industry.

It was not until 1890 that popcorn became important enough to be raised as a marketable crop. Before that time, individual families raised their own popcorn or bought it from their neighbors.

Cloud H, Smith was the first one to build a company around selling of corns which will pop. He made bold statements like guaranteed to pop on his tins so as to lure customers. When the movie theaters opened up the popcorn business definitely got a big boost.

In 1896, a Chicago manufacturer produced Cracker Jack, a combination of popcorn, molasses and peanuts.

During the depression era popcorn was sold for 5 or 10 cents a bag and because of its price became one of the few luxuries poor families could afford.

Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn was marketed by Orville Redenbacher in 1970. Redenbacher presenting himself as the humble popcorn lover and was the one who transformed the industry and he claimed that his popcorn was fluffier, better tasting, more tender and more ‘poppable’.

In 1976, Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn business operations and property were sold to Hunt-Wesson, which later acquired by ConAgra Foods in 1990.
Business history of popcorn