GROW Nebraska® Foundation and Buy Nebraska Blog

15 years ago, when Bhavesh Shah was tasked with finding the best popcorn in the world for the Sathyam Theatre in Chennai, India, he had no idea that he'd soon be on a flight to Nebraska in the middle of winter. Preferred Popcorn in Chapman, Nebraska (a member of GROW Nebraska since 2007) showed Shah around their cooperative farming organization, and soon, Shah was convinced that Preferred Popcorn fit the bill.  Since that day 15 years ago, Preferred Popcorn has been providing the popcorn that has become a staple in Sathyam Theatre's famous flavor-it-yourself popcorn. The high-yield, large kernels make the best theatre popcorn around. The personal touch makes it all the better. “What I love about working with them is how it’s not become a corporate set up. It has remained farmer-run where the CEO is himself on the tractor during planting season," said Shah. Want the full story from Sathyam Theatre? Read More Here! Do you want to try "The Best Popc...

Article by Betty Sayers, Nebraska Rural Living March brought chill winds and gray skies, but the Rural Foodies wrapped up in fleece and headed down the road to Marquette, Nebraska, to glean facts about organic grains at Grain Place Foods. The north wind pushed us through the door and into the corporate office located at the Vetter farm, south of Marquette. Our senses were bombarded with the homespun smell of fresh grains. We were standing near the grain processing machines where tons of grain pour through cleaning, sorting and packaging machines in preparation for shipping to national and international markets. The warehouse smelled like a bread basket. David Vetter, the executive director of Grain Place Foods, Inc. was solving a packaging problem in the warehouse when we arrived, and I noticed a print-out of the Grain Place Foods mission statement on the entry wall: The Grain Place provides ecologically sustainable grain products that benefit the long-term health of our clients a...

Article by Sierra Forrest, Direct of Marketing & Sales, Simply Sunflower So many people ask, "how did Simply Sunflower begin?" That has to be one of my favorite questions to answer. I am extremely proud of our excellent product, but that doesn't compare to the pride I feel for my family - the roots which grew this company! We're a family business and family is right where our Simply Sunflower story began. From a humble beginning, my dad, Alan Koelling or Farmer Al as some people call him, started driving a tractor as soon as his feet could reach the pedals. His dad owned a farm and ranch near Ord, Nebraska that had been passed down from his father. The Koellings had come as immigrants from Germany and settled in Nebraska thanks to the Homestead Act of 1862. The original land and farming business has been in the Koelling family for the past 120 years! The soil is rich in history and heritage and our family has always been filled with pioneers and innovators....

Ogallala Bay Rum started when John Marquis (a long-time Bay Rum fan) found it increasingly difficult to find bay rum that had the scent he remembered as a kid going to the barbershop. After receiving what was reported to be among the best bay rums for Christmas 2005, and becoming disappointed in the scent after opening the bottle, it became clear there was a need for a bay rum on the market that had the familiar scent of yesteryear. What started as a company with one product in early 2006 has turned into a company with a variety of products . GROW Nebraska member, Ogallala Bay Rum, was recently featured in Parade's article Made in America: Gifts From Each of the 50 States .  This holiday season, Parade has compiled unique gifts from every state to celebrate the artisans in our local communities. Continue the article here to see the top picks from each of the 50 states. That refreshing scent from yesteryear is back with the largest selection of Bay Rum fragrance prod...

I had the nicest chat with a long-time acquaintance and colleague in the food and gift industry recently and it was a delightful trip down memory lane! I first met Susan Zink from Heartland Gourmet in the previous millennium when we were both young and “wet-behind-the-ears” Nebraska women in business. She and I served on the original Nebraska Home Based Business Advisory Board way back in about 1992 when the sleeping giant of marketing Nebraska-made products first began to wake up. It was an exciting time. Susan has been a prominent voice promoting Nebraska products for many years. Back in the “big hair and shoulder pad” year of 1994, Susan and her husband Mark bought the company. It was called Raising Dough back then, a clever name for a company that sold mixes and food products for fund raising activities. In 1996, the Zinks began manufacturing and over the years, the business has evolved into large scale operation which supplies products for both wholesale distribution and pr...

There’s a certain display in the GROW Nebraska stores that never fails to attract attention and produce giggles. I can’t help but chuckle to myself every time I see people reading the signs out loud to each other and laughing. (I mean, don’t the others with them know how to read?) What are they looking at? The delightful signs, angels and snowmen from Im’s Countryside Painting . Many of her sayings are sassy and slightly snarky. For example, “Grandchildren are God’s Reward for Not Killing Your Kids”! Each and every piece is skillfully hand made by an amazing lady, Ima Gene Mason from Tecumseh, Nebraska . Well, she admits, lately she has someone cut her boards for her but only after her third band saw gave up the ghost! Clearly, that seems reasonable. After all, she’s been painting for over 30 years now! Ima Gene knocks my socks off. She is quick witted, incredibly prolific and a super savvy business woman. Ima Gene had a wholesale company for years and before that, she had bu...

Highway 183 is Central Nebraska is a well-traveled straight shot north and south between the two main Interstate highways, I-70 and I-80. It's sometimes called a "ladder" between the two. As you travel 183, you'll see expansive skies, farmsteads, rolling cornfields and pastures punctuated with herds of cows knotted together near ponds or under the shelter of trees. About halfway between, 183 cuts right through the lakeside community of Alma, Nebraska. No one would be surprised to find a grain elevator or an implement dealer in Alma. But just a short distance off the beaten path, tucked away on the north end of Lincoln Street you'll find Murcielago , a perfume company . Now that is a surprise ! A perfume filler, as they are called, is as scarce in the Midwest as the Lamborghini model that inspired the business name! That uniqueness is part of the mystique that makes Murcielago stand out. Michelle Caspersen , an Alma native, is now the sole owner and operat...