Charles F. Bowman
Encyclopedia
Charles F. "Charlie" Bowman (May 3, 1919 – April 8, 2009) was an American businessman who partnered with Orville Redenbacher
to create a gourmet
popping corn which won a third of the US market for unpopped popcorn by the mid-1970s. The corn was marketed as Orville Redenbacher's
.
Charlie Bowman graduated from Purdue University
. In 1951, Bowman and Redenbacher bought Chester, Inc., a company based in Boone Grove, Indiana
, that specialized in hybrid seed
s. Redenbacher's eponymous popcorn was the result of nearly twenty years of research at Chester and was launched in 1970. Bowman served as the company's president while Redenbacher drove the scientific research. Bowman retired as president in 2006 at age 87.
Orville Redenbacher
Orville Clarence Redenbacher was an American businessman most often associated with the brand of popcorn that bears his name.-Early life:...
to create a gourmet
Gourmet
Gourmet is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterised by elaborate preparations and presentations of large meals of small, often quite rich courses...
popping corn which won a third of the US market for unpopped popcorn by the mid-1970s. The corn was marketed as Orville Redenbacher's
Orville Redenbacher's
Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn is a brand of popcorn made originally by Chester Inc. which was owned by Charles F. Bowman and Orville Redenbacher . The product was launched to the public in 1969 and was sold to Hunt-Wesson, a division of Norton Simon Inc. in 1976...
.
Charlie Bowman graduated from Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
. In 1951, Bowman and Redenbacher bought Chester, Inc., a company based in Boone Grove, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, that specialized in hybrid seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s. Redenbacher's eponymous popcorn was the result of nearly twenty years of research at Chester and was launched in 1970. Bowman served as the company's president while Redenbacher drove the scientific research. Bowman retired as president in 2006 at age 87.