Grand Opening of Creative Food Products

Saline County, AR (May 23, 2007) –

Saline County held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday for the grand opening of Creative Food Products and the newest product on the snack market, Leanne’s Popcorn Chips.

“Welcome to a new adventure,” state Sen. Shane Broadway said to the crowd of residents, new employees and community leaders. “This is an exciting day for Creative Food Products, an exciting day for the community of Bryant and Saline County, and of course, the state of Arkansas.”

Broadway introduced many guest speakers at the grand opening, including Gov. Mike Beebe; Bryant Mayor Larry Mitchell; Saline County Judge Lanny Fite; representatives from Creative Foods Inc.; Eddie Black, chairman of the Saline County Economic Development Corp.; and Barbara Stark, wife of the creator of Leanne’s popcorn chips, Art Stark.

Mrs. Stark spoke on behalf of her husband, who is in rehabilitation in a hospital after a recent automobile accident.
“There is one person that I did not have the chance to introduce and that is the founder, “Broadway said. “The man who created the concept, the idea of Leanne’s Popcorn Chips ... unfortunately a couple weeks ago, Art Stark was involved in an automobile accident ... he has been in the hospital, but, thankfully, his wife Barbara tells me that [today] he will be able to go home and that is an answer to a lot of prayers around this building and around this community.”

Leanne Trudo, who is the daughter of Art and Barbara Stark, also was introduced to the crowd but did not speak. She was called the “original” popcorn girl.

Mrs. Stark, emotionally read the words that her husband wrote from the hospital: “Although the process is not completed, we have made great gain from living in a motor home and seeing the popcorn chip “pop” commercially for the first time on July 17, 2005. I am proud to be a part of that growth, which could not have been accomplished without God’s unmerited favor. I want to thank you all for your prayers for me since my recent accident.”

“This is really about adding jobs,” Black said. “If you look at the Interstate everyday, about 62 percent of our work force leaves this county and goes somewhere else. ... We are committed ... working towards bringing those jobs here [in Saline County] and this is a great start, It is a highlight for Saline County.”

Beebe, who closed the ceremony, told Leanne that he hopes that name becomes synonymous and brings notoriety to the state as much as a Wendy’s restaurant.

Creative Food Products is a 27,000-square-foot facility, located at 4351 Interstate 30 in Bryant, that represents a $2 million investment and will initially employ 20 people. At full production, it is anticipated that the firm will require 200 employees.
Creative Food Products was founded in July of 2004 as a sales, marketing, and promotional entity to commercialize healthy snack foods. The product development of Leanne’s Popcorn Chips began in a benchtop laboratory in the founder’s garage. The process development was successfully concluded under the engineering leadership of McGregor and McAllan, a technology company, that has filed for a patent on the process and products created by it, and has licensed the technology to Creative Food Products Inc. The patent process usually takes around 18 months.

Following the process development, Creative Food Products opened a pilot plant in Vancouver, Wash., where the product and process was tested. In March 2006 the facility was moved to Bryant for the final step, to market its first product entry in the chip market.

Americans eat more than 11 billion quarts of popped popcorn per year and consume in excess of $24 billion in sales of potato, tortillas and corn chips annually, a spokesman for the company said.

Leanne’s Popcorn Chips not only taste good, but offer great nutritional attributes, including no trans fat and less saturated fat than many snacks,, according to results from Food Quality Labs in Portland, Ore.

The new process has lowered the fat content and uses sunflower oil, which cuts the frying time and the amount of oil that comes in contact with the chip. In comparison, potato chips are submersed in oil for 10 to 13 minutes, while the popcorn chips in this process are conveyed through the oil for only 5-8 seconds. As a result, the popcorn chip not only has less fat, but has an extended shelf life.

The firm reportedly has developed a process taking “the crispiness of a potato chip and the taste of theater-style popcorn, blending them into a new taste sensation called Leanne’s Popcorn Chips.”

To contact the Creative Food Products facility, call (501) 653-2002.