Business Spotlight: All Chips In

The ice cream cone originated in Missouri during the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. A century later, southwest Missouri businessmen Mark Boring and Kenneth Craig say they’ve developed the next stage of the cone.

Their product, called The Original Cone Chips, turns the popular waffle cone into snack-size wedges dipped in a variety of chocolates.

Boring and Craig organized in January 2013 as K Mark LLC to manufacture and distribute the new product. They set up shop in a historic one-room schoolhouse Boring owned in Seymour, at 4545 State Highway NN, and have hired eight Amish women to make the cone chips by hand.

The country setting reflects the fledgling company’s culture.

Down the road in Diggins, Sam Walton’s grandfather owned and operated a general store, and the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. founder reportedly worked there as a youngster.

“We’re kind of saying lightning is striking twice on that road,” Craig says.

Though they’ve started out small, the business partners say they’ve had a big response, particularly in the concessions industry.

“We found it wasn’t just a grocery store item. It was a concession item,” Craig says.

The upside is in the sports concession market, where Craig says national distributors Amcon Distributing, Delaware North and Aramark have voiced their interests to carry the cone chips across football and baseball stadiums nationwide. He keeps a running list of possible distributors 130 deep.

“We’ve got wide-open doors,” he says.

There’s only one problem. The schoolhouse staff is maxed out on one shift producing 60 cases a week. At that volume, it’s enough to keep up with stocking over a dozen Branson theaters, Harter House grocery stores and online orders.

“We’ve got all the stores we can handle right now,” says Craig, a former audio/video engineer in Branson. “Too many people want these, and we want to get them out.”

Whitney’s World of Crafts in Branson retails the bags for $4 apiece. Cashier Melba Biri says the chips have created some buzz.

“We have customers come in and buy as many as six to nine bags of them,” says Biri at the consignment shop on Shepherd of the Hills Expressway. “When they do buy them, they come back for more.”

The next phase in the venture has eight figures in it. Boring and Craig, who met while working in the imagery department at Bass Pro Shops, are actively seeking a $10 million investment to purchase a manufacturing and distribution building and a custom machine for high-volume production.

Last week, Springfield economic development officials took Boring and Craig through the former Willow Brook poultry plant on Main Street downtown.

Craig says meetings are lined up with commercial lenders, angel investors and private individuals interested in equity investments. A few offers already have been made.

“You talk about a shark tank. We just stirred the water,” Craig says, noting one $11 million loan offer calls for a 25 percent ownership stake until the sum is paid back and an ongoing 5 percent share in the company.

The manufacturing machine waiting in the wings could produce 1,000 chips per minute, which Craig says is the key to hitting production levels outlined in the business plan.

The aggressive 15-year plan projects $52 million in profit after three years of full production of one line and two shifts. It also calls for mall kiosks operated by franchisees and some 20 microfactories sprinkled throughout the country.

“We found out we have an octopus. This thing has so many arms,” Craig says.

Another facet is the recruitment efforts Craig says cities have engaged in, from Texas to Kansas City to Michigan. He says Fort Worth, Texas, has offered up to $30 million in tax breaks, property abatements and low-interest loans.

“Now, Springfield is talking to us, and we like that,” he says. “I think we’re going to be funded here.”

The 200,000-square-foot building at 501 N. Main Ave. has been vacant since 2008 and would require a major overhaul. The entrepreneurs are undeterred.

“Mark and I are both out of imagery,” says Craig, whose business partner continues to handle contract carpentry work for Bass Pro.

“We’ve already started talking about a Willy Wonka-type factory. You might see a chocolate river flowing.”

The creative vision and lofty financials are a long way off from the $240,000 sales forecast this year from the one-room schoolhouse.

“Once the funding is done, this thing is running,” Craig says.

Last week, Boring and Craig were working with local actors Jeff Houghton and Jeff Jenkins to film a TV commercial on a Springfield golf course.

“They’re sort of like our Sonic guys. We think we can really develop with them,” Craig says of the duo, who already brand the company in three commercials. “You’re going to see a ‘Happy Gilmore’ shot.”[[In-content Ad]]