Sun-Popped and Roller-Rink Ready: Meet the New BjornQorn Bag
It was time for a little shine up! Meet our new bags, inspired by Skate Time, our solar-powered popcorn factory and roller rink in Accord, NY.
Time Travel…
In 2014, I met Bjorn and Jamie, the founders of BjornQorn. They were making BjornQorn in a solar-reflective cooker built into the ground and hand-bagging their incredible popcorn. They put a charming kraft paper label on it and delivered their product themselves. But fans couldn’t get enough of this perfect snack, demand grew, and it was time for a printed, branded bag so production could scale up.
That’s where I came in - they asked me to help them with packaging and branding and I’ve been working with them ever since. In 2014 we introduced a printed film bag with hand-drawn, comic-book-inspired illustrations that celebrated the “farm-to-table”-ness of BjornQorn. It was right when people were waking up to the fact that their food has an origin, thanks in part to Michael Pollan’s writings and an uptick in local food culture. Our bag showed Bjorn and Jamie, the makers, the cornfield, as well as the scenery of the farm. This version of the BjornQorn bag has had a 12-year run and has seen a lot of grocery aisles, lunch boxes, road trips, and movies.
Then Bjorn moved the whole operation into an operating 90s roller skating rink: Skate Time. I knew then it was time for a refresh and update so the bag told the whole story!
Cult-Classic
The first rule of a refresh is to not throw away what people already love and recognize.
The BjornQorn logo stays. It’s still the big hand-lettered wordmark in a sunny yellow circle, still front and center - shining on everything. “Sun-Popped Corn” still curves along its edge, because that’s who we are. Our popcorn is popped by the sun, and our logo makes that crystal clear. If you’re REALLY looking closely, you will notice a few upgrades on our logo: nutritional yeast (our not-so-secret ingredient) punches out of the top and bottom for texture, and “Sun-Popped Corn” is now in a custom font I built out of an old sign. Bag-wise you’ll also recognize hallmarks of our original bag: corn stalks and callouts of Minnesota and New York State (where the BjornQorn corn is grown).
It was time for Skate Time
Here’s where Skate Time comes in.
In 2023, BjornQorn was ready for another scale-up (people just LOVE our popcorn and I 100% understand why) and searching for a new, larger space for their factory proved challenging. Jamie, Bjorn, and Stephanie were being shown soulless warehouses that didn’t feel true to their brand. And then something miraculous happened. Skate Time 209, the beloved roller rink in their town was up for sale. They swooped in to save it, took the business over (keeping it operational for their community), AND moved their solar-powered factory into the space. I really cannot think of a cooler move, but hey, that’s BjornQorn.
Skate Time is Nostalgalactic
It’s straight out of the 70s / 80s / 90s - neon, discoballs, arcade games, nacho cheez, crazy carpeting (think of your childhood movie theater), done up in day glow and gem tones. That’s the energy I wanted on the bags. Our new bags got a healthy dose of confetti and sparkles, a disco ball, an Ed Rucha-inspired drawing of the BjornQorn / Skate Time building, and a cheeky road sign to house all of the nitty gritty (nutrition panel, kosher certification, among other things).
Meet Q and Some Other Fun Things
On our original bags you may have noticed some birds, they were very cute, but they didn’t have their own personalities. So, with our refresh, we’ve introduced our new mascot: Q. She oversees our HeadQorters, the BjornQorn Factory and Skate Time, and knows everything about these two and how they work together.
You may also notice on the new bags that across the top runs our marquee that repeats the flavor name (it might feel familiar to those who did a lot of coloring in childhood). On bags with nutritional yeast and sea salt, you’ll see flecks of the stuff sprinkled on the top right (we encourage you to ask more about what nutritional yeast can do for you!) And, you’ll see a big bright semi-circle (a section of the sun) on each bag. These features are designed to enhance merchandizing. We love to see a row of our bags on the grocery shelves (Erewhon does a smashing job of this) and know that these bold color blocks will help snackers quickly recognize each flavor and fill their cart accordingly.
Popped by People, Drawn by Hand
I’m an analogue person and start with sketching: pencil to paper. This is where the best ideas come from - a bit of doodling. I hand-draw most things and this feels right for a popcorn lovingly popped by family and friends. Our factory is powered by the sun, but it’s also operated by an amazing bunch of people, all living in upstate New York, a vibrant community of cool, creative, and hard-working people. And for our product, personal is best.
I think that’s what people respond to when they pick up a bag of BjornQorn. It feels like it came from somewhere real. Not only is the popcorn REALLY good, the concept is also unique and could only be dreamed up by truly innovative people.
What comes next
As an eco-conscious company, we were never going to waste or be fussy about superficial things. These new bags will roll out as we use up our old film (shop talk for the plastic bags we package the popcorn in). You won’t see the whole line of new branding until the factory has popped enough qorn to fill up our old stock. As of this writing, you’ll see Classic, Spicy, and Ruby on shelves near you. I can’t wait to see all 6 flavors in their new outfits, but until then, I’ll be at my desk, churning out more fun BjornQorn branding.
If you spot the new bag in the wild, we’d love to see it. Tag us, send us a photo, or tell us what you think. And if you’re ever near Accord, NY, keep an eye out for the roller rink that smells like popcorn. That’s us.
— Maggie Prendergast, Designer and Creative Director of BjornQorn