Stephanie Bauman

By: Oona

Oona sat down with Stephanie Bauman, co-owner of one of our all-time favorite snack companies, BjornQorn, to learn more about the popcorn brand’s origins, and what sets it apart: building with heart and intentionality, to say the least.

Editor’s Note: Each online order of our Barbera Rosé comes with a complimentary bag of BjornQorn’s Earth (truffle-flavored) popcorn (aka the perfect pairing) — because food and wine together make everything better.

Source: Stephanie Bauman

How did BjornQorn come to be?

Meet our friend and neighbor Stephanie Bauman, co-owner of BjornQorn — our Barbera Rosé’s pairing partner, and maker of our all-time favorite popcorn. It all started two decades ago in Dutchess County, NY, with Bjorn Quenemoen’s infamous pop-up popcorn parties at Bard College, channeling his upbringing at a multigenerational family corn farm in Minnesota. 

The pop-ups served Bjorn’s sun-popped popcorn alongside sarsaparilla root beer, Chick-O-Sticks, Lucky Strikes, and Claussen pickles. It was then and there that Bjorn, Stephanie (now Bjorn’s wife), and Jamie O’Shea (Bjorn’s close friend and college roommate) seeded the beginnings of BjornQorn — each is now a co-owner of the business. “As co-owners, we collectively own 100% of our business — we started without outside investment and have stayed true to that. Our growth has been slow and steady, but we’ve never needed it to be different than that,” says Stephanie.

“As co-owners, we collectively own 100% of our business. Our growth has been slow and steady, but we’ve never needed it to be different than that.”

How has BjornQorn developed?

The co-owners still sell Claussen pickles at Skate Time, their newest home base in Accord, NY — equally a factory, functional roller skating rink, and community hub. “A way to dig in further to community [in Accord], and to root ourselves here,” Stephanie notes.

And BjornQorn still uses solar power — drawing upon an initial invention of Jamie’s — to pop its vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, and additive-free popcorn, resulting in a noticeably fresher, crisper, more elemental texture and taste, plus a low-waste manufacturing process.

“Our community’s very dialed in. From the mom who says: ‘my kid’s allergic to everything but can happily eat your popcorn’ (our hearts!) to the monthly customer who has notes on subtle variances in our batches.”

What differentiates BjornQorn’s products?

The brand’s various, lip-smacking flavors are powered by nutritional yeast (neither cheese nor butter!) and nature, from heat to cloud cover — with a bonus dose of vitamins. The signature packaging, in clear bags (the brand upcycles excess plastic via TerraCycle), supports the popcorn’s freshness and brand’s commitment to transparency — “we spend up to deliver a more sustainable product and experience,” says Stephanie.

“People write to us — you wouldn’t believe the number of emails we get, good and bad. Our community’s very dialed in… From the mom who says: ‘my kid’s allergic to everything but can happily eat your popcorn’ (our hearts!) to the monthly customer who has notes on subtle variances in our batches.”

“The first sip was, like, ‘wow.’”

The perfect pairing: Oona’s Barbera Rosé + BjornQorn’s Earth

Of our Barbera Rosé, Stephanie fondly recalls: “the first sip was, like, ‘wow.’”

We’re delighted to introduce everyone who purchases our Barbera Rosé to BjornQorn’s truffle-flavored Earth variety — and bigger picture, to partner with sensational humans and friends like Stephanie, Bjorn, and Jamie.