Hi-Line Living: Big Sandy Small Snacks - Kracklin' Kamut

As of last Friday, Big Sandy officially has another claim to fame to its name: Kracklin' Kamut.

Kracklin' Kamut is a small-scale snack operation that is putting organic snack made of ancient grains on store shelves. As of now, the snack is only available in Big Sandy, at a health food store in Helena and at 2J's in Great Falls, but the marketing push is coming soon.

Caleb Kaiser, 27, is ship, captain and crew of the facility. He is a Florida watermelon farmer who went to Brigham Young University-Idaho, where he met a man named Bob Quinn.

Kaiser was studying agriculture business and Quinn spoke to his class about his patented ancient grain name Kamut. He told the class about the health benefits of the grain and how he plans to take growing operations to Kazakhstan, due to its summer, which is similar to Montana's.

Quinn's situation was interesting to Kaiser and, due to their similarities in goals and skills, including agriculture business and Kaiser's knowledge of the Russian language, Kaiser said he had to talk to him.

"This guy is an interesting guy," Kaiser said. "I just wanted to talk to him and see what he has to say."

Cue Big Sandy.

Quinn, his wife and son are co-owners of Kracklin' Kamut and Kaiser is slated to become one as well.

Right now, there is one flavor of Kracklin' Kamut. Kaiser described it as a sea salt flavor.

"It's like Corn Nuts, but a little easier on the teeth," Kaiser said. "Corn Nuts without the dentist."

He said they're looking to have different flavors in the future with some organic seasonings they have. He said most likely, for the first year, they will have just the sea salt flavor.

Kaiser set up the production line housed in a log building that used to hold a bakery. The raw grain is grown by Montana farmers through Montana Farm and Grain.

Two to three hundred farmers grow the trademark Kamut grain and pay royalties to Quinn.

Kaiser said the hardest part of the operation was the setup. They had to find equipment that was closest to being able to produce the amount they're trying to produce while keeping the costs down.

They were able to start the setup with a grant from Bear Paw Development Corp., which helps people looking to kickstart their own businesses.

"We'll see what the new hardest part is now," Kaiser said.

Kaiser said that he is currently working toward pushing the snack to distributors. He said he thinks their market is places like North 40 Outfitters and health food markets similar to 2J's.

"We're hoping to be on their shelves pretty quick," Kaiser said.

The company goal is to have $1,000,000 in sales in five years and employ eight to 10 people.

"If we can do that in five years, I think we'll be on our way," he said.

Kracklin' Kamut is about $1.25 a package, depending on where it's bought.