Online popcorn sales are booming during lock down, reports Popcorn Shed

Quick thinking by the team at Popcorn Shed has seen an incredible increase in business since lockdown, with B2C sales up 250% since March, and according to Stackline’s Top 100 Fastest Growing & Declining Categories in E-commerce Popcorn is one of the top 30 fastest growing categories. 

While many small businesses are facing unprecedented challenges the popcorn sector is growing at an unprecedented rate.  Business at the Popcorn Shed is thriving at the multi-award winning gourmet popcorn brand as the country swaps nights out for nights in front of the TV. 

Until lockdown most of the Popcorn Shed’s business was wholesale, B2B and direct to cinemas, shops, distributors etc.  Almost overnight this revenue stream went quiet as traditional B2B customers closed their doors.  The Popcorn Shed team quickly pivoted when they saw an opportunity to increase its online sales and launched a digital marketing campaign to spread the word about its Popcorn Shed and its vegan Mini Pop! Gourmet flavoured popcorn range.  As a result the brand has seen its online sales grow 250% month on month from March to April 2020, and they are up 1200% from April 2019 to April 2020 (month on month comparison). 

Laura Jackson, director of Popcorn Shed, says: “As a business we had to act fast and were forced to focus all our efforts into improving and directing traffic to our online channels and moving to a more business to consumer model.  In the first few days after lock down we had to completely up skill ourselves adapt quickly to reach a different customer.  Suddenly we were learning how to use Facebook and Google adverts, which we had not really used previously.  We redistributed our budget from product development into online advertising and the results speak for themselves”. 

Since its launch in 2016, multi-award winning gourmet popcorn brand, Popcorn Shed has gone from humble beginnings in a garden shed to supplying top retailers including Harrods, Selfridge, etc and exporting to over 20 countries worldwide.

“Customer love popcorn and with all the movie nights in for the time being, our products are a great snack,” says Jackson

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You don’t need a Birthday Cake When you have Got Birthday Cake Popcorn!

At Popcorn Shed we love birthdays and feel like it’s the best reason for a daily party, as it’s always someone’s birthday… somewhere! Though eating a whole cake every day might be a bit much, we sure do love the sweet and creamy flavour of a good birthday cake. That’s why we’ve come up with the perfect solution: Birthday Cake popcorn! This new gourmet popcorn flavour tastes just like a birthday cake, but without the fuss of having to go to the bakery or baking a cake yourself!

What’s in our new birthday cake popcorn you’re wondering? It’s a sweet vanilla cake caramel popcorn with white chocolate and birthday cake sprinkles. It’s basically cake coloured popcorn tumbled through confetti to make it look like an actual birthday cake! We love popcorn, we love cake, and we love colorful things, which is why this coloured popcorn is one of the (only) the best things that happened to 2020.

This Birthday cake popcorn bonanza is sprinkled with love and birthday-tastic wishes wrapped up in a beautiful bow because every day should be deliciously special! Not having to bake a cake will save you a lot of time, which you can then spend on decorating the house and buying gifts (of popcorn, of course!). That’s even more reasons to choose Popcorn Shed’s Birthday Cake popcorn!

Next to our Birthday Cake popcorn, we launched another wonderful flavour of coloured popcorn: rainbow popcorn! Its vanilla caramel flavoured gourmet popcorn with all colours of the rainbow. Doesn’t that sound POPtastic? It’s the coloured popcorn flavour you didn’t know you needed in life!

Both our rainbow popcorn and our birthday cake popcorn are sold in our signature popcorn ‘sheds’: shed shaped boxes. This makes them perfect as a birthday gift of popcorn. Next to these two new flavours, we’ve got over twelve other delicious gourmet popcorn flavours and a vegan mini popcorn range. We offer a wide range of wonderful gift bundles with both sweet and savoury popcorn flavours, meaning there’s something to everyone’s liking. Which flavour are you going for?

With our birthday cake popcorn, coloured rainbow popcorn and our popcorn gift bundles, we’ve got everything to make every party a special one! At Popcorn Shed you’re guaranteed to get a bit of celebration in every single kernel. And if you don’t know anyone who’s celebrating a birthday soon, treat yourself like it’s your own birthday. You can have our cake and eat it too. POP hurray!!

There’s no party without birthday Cake… Popcorn!

Here at Popcorn Shed HQ we think it’s always time to celebrate, as it’s always someone’s birthday… somewhere. We love parties and we think our newest gourmet popcorn flavours are the TOP of the POPs to celebrate it with! Because let’s be honest: there ain’t no party like a popcorn party! 

That is why we recently launched birthday cake popcorn: sweet vanilla cake caramel popcorn with white chocolate and birthday cake sprinkles. It’s basically cake coloured popcorn tumbled through confetti to make it look like an actual birthday cake. How amazing is that?! This Birthday cake popcorn bonanza is sprinkled with love and birthday-tastic wishes wrapped up in a bow because every day should be deliciously special! 

Next to being super delicious, this birthday cake popcorn is also a super clever way to not having to bake a birthday cake, which can take ages. That will save you a lot of time to buy gifts (of popcorn, of course), blow some balloons and decorate the house. Even more reasons to choose Popcorn Shed!

And what is a birthday without gifts? Give something unique this year with our gifts of popcorn. We’ve got plenty of delicious popcorn bundles and brightly coloured popcorn tasting packs available. And did you hear about our new rainbow popcorn? As the second new gourmet flavour in our range, this definitely is one you can’t miss. Multi coloured popcorn, as bright as it can be! With a delicious caramel base and subtle vanilla flavour, this’ll definitely go down a treat too. 

We call this one the ‘rainbow shed’ as it’s filled with sunshine, positive vibes and sprinkled with a little fairy magic. Rainbow is the universal symbol of hope and promise. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Because no two kernels pop the same. Are you ready to try the crunchiest rainbow you will ever taste? Make sure to not leave this shed unattended, as leprechauns might come to steal it and put in their big pot of gold!

At Popcorn Shed we’ve got all the Birthday essentials: an amazing range of popcorn gifts and a wide variety of flavours like a deliciously sweet birthday cake popcorn AND beautiful coloured rainbow popcorn. This sounds like a fabulous birthday party in the making, with a bit of celebration in every single kernel. And if you don’t know anyone who’s celebrating a birthday soon, treat yourself like it’s your own birthday. You can have our cake and eat it too. POP POP hurray!!

Gourmet Popcorn is the Ultimate Gift

What gift should I give someone? Popcorn Shed is here to the rescue. Pop Pop and away…

If you are looking for a unique and memorable gift, then look no further. You have come to the place of gourmet popcorn gift giving dreams.

All our delicious gourmet popcorn is hand-popped with love in small batches in the UK using the finest high-quality ingredients.  We prioritise flavour and quality above all else. See our full range of flavours (there are lots to choose from) and popcorn gifts in our online shop. Warning: Our gifts are so tempting you may not want to give them away! But don’t worry you can always treat yourself! There are so many gift giving occasions and we are here to help you celebrate each and every one of them.

We have sweet and savoury, Gluten free, low calorie and vegan options for all popcorn addicts. Why not make someone day with some gourmet popcorn?

Here at Popcorn Shed we sleep, dream and eat gourmet popcorn gift ideas. It’s what makes us happy and gets us going in the morning. We like to think we know a thing or two (or even three) about finding the perfect gift. We have large range of gourmet popcorn gifts and flavours. Think Butterscotch, Chocolate, Goats cheese and more! All popcorn is lovingly handcrafted in the UK. We have gift ideas for every occasion from Birthdays, Christmas, to thank yous, get well soons, anniversaries, just because and more.

Surprise the special people in your life and send them gifts direct to their door.

Make your gourmet popcorn gifts extra personal with a free gift note. You choose the gift, find the perfect words and we’ll make sure the lucky recipient receives their luxury gourmet popcorn gift. Gourmet popcorn gifts are guaranteed to put a smile on everyone’s face! We designed all our products with sharing in mind… but if you don’t want to share, we won’t tell.

We have a large range of delicious popcorn gift ideas for you to choose from. Collectable gift tins tied with a beautiful bow, advent calendars (that’s right popcorn advent calendars!), gift vouchers, gift sets, luxury snack packs and gift boxes in a wide range of wild and popular flavours (flavours you can only dream about).  Our gifts are perfect to send to a loved one. Order online today for delivery to their door. Something for Everyone!

Promotional Popcorn Gifts with Logo

We love working with companies to help them promote their businesses. It can be hard to think of innovative, unconventional and affordable ways to spread your message. Our yummy promotional popcorn gifts can hit that sweet spot.

Whether you’re a small business looking to spread the word of your company or your head of marketing for a large corporation, we would love to work with you and help you merchandise the right way and make a lasting impression.

No matter the industry our gourmet popcorn gifts go down a treat. Whether you would like to add a message or have a fully branded sticker we here to help you.

Promotional popcorn can be used far and wide, popcorn is perfect for events or launching new products, brands launches, to communicate a new message, or event to say thank you. It is an all round way to increase brand awareness. Branded bags are one of the most effective freebies you can handout to entice potential customers.Everyone loves free popcorn!

Promotional gifts are a great way to get your business noticed. Popcorn can sweeten the deal. Not only is popcorn positive, memorable, yummy and on-brand but it can really make you stand out in a crowd and win over new and potential customers.

We can design your bespoke custom sticker for you or if you would like to design it yourself, that’s also OK. We’re pretty flexible.

We offer a huge variety of delicious flavours and pack formats for you to choose from. From classic flavours like Salted Caramel and Butterscotch to more exciting and unique flavours such as Raspberry & Dark chocolate and Cherry Bakewell.

3 Things When Looking For A Gourmet Popcorn Popper

Are you looking for a Gourmet Popcorn Popper to pop your corns? Regardless of whether you are buying the popper for your own home use or that you have intention of starting your own small popcorn business and desire to purchase an old-fashioned popcorn popper to attract more customers, you can easily find the information that you need from the internet. Below are the three things to look for when searching for a vintage popcorn popper.

1. Original Or Replica

Among other things, the first thing you should observe is whether the popcorn machine is really a vintage as is claimed by the seller or that it is just a replica. Since your intention is to get a old fashioned popcorn machine, then you have to expect to pay more, likely to be over thousands. Be very careful when you are checking the machine as these days, replicas can easily past off as an original. You have to be very careful in order not to get deceived by the seller who might be trying to get rid of the machine. If the price is very low but the seller claimed that it is a vintage, then something must be wrong somewhere!

It would also be useful to know more of the specifics. As an example, you need to find out from the seller the year the machine was manufactured. There should be some kind of proof or receipt kept to show as evidence that it is really a vintage popper machine. And this leads us to the next vital point.

2. See Item In Person

Even if you are searching for the product on the internet, you should decide only after seeing the item in person. Unless your intention is to get a replica of the old fashioned gourmet popcorn popper and that case, you should buy a brand new item from a reputable online company, such as Amazon.com. There, you will be able to get a new replica of a gourmet popcorn machine at a very affordable price.

In that case, you will not have to see the item in person to check that it is still in good working condition. You can even enjoy the benefit of having the machine delivered right to your doorstep! Alternatively, you can even choose to purchase the popping machine from your local store whereby you can choose the machine that you want.

3. Check the condition of the machine

As mentioned earlier, you must thoroughly check the condition of the machine if it is a genuine gourmet popcorn popper. See that it is still in working condition and that it is clean. However, if it is a genuine vintage machine, you should not be popping popcorn with it but rather use it just for display.

All in all, you should first decide what your intention of getting the popcorn machine will be. From there, you will be able to gauge roughly how much you should expect to pay for the equipment. However, keep in mind that it is only safe to use the replica gourmet popcorn maker for popping your corns and not the genuine vintage one.

What’s the Difference Between Gourmet Popcorn and Regular Popcorn? – POPCORN SHED

There’s a common misconception that regular popcorn and gourmet popcorn are one and the same. The problem is exacerbated by some brands marketing regular popcorn as gourmet popcorn. The differences are set out below.

What is Regular Popcorn?

Regular popcorn is a variety of corn kernel, which expands and puffs up when heated.

Regular popcorn is normally popped using butterfly popcorn which is put into a kettle along with oil and often salt and/or sugar and heated up. Once the kernels have reached around 150 degrees celsius, they ‘pop’ because the water rapidly heats up and steam doesn’t have much time to escape, instead of bursting open the kernel.

What is Gourmet Popcorn?

Flavour innovation is central to gourmet popcorn companies strategies. Gourmet popcorn manufacturers are constantly pushing the limits of flavour innovation to find the next great flavour. Some of the newest popular gourmet popcorn flavours are spicy (jalapeno, siracha), sweet (caramel almond, salted milk chocolate) and savoury (goat’s cheese, black truffle). Part of what makes popcorn ‘gourmet’ is a willingness on the part of the manufacturer to push the envelope and expand their line of popcorn to include new and interesting entries.

Quality and Taste of a Finished Product

Manufacturers of ‘regular’ popcorn often use a high degree of automation in order to process the corn into the finished product. Manufacturers of gourmet popcorn take a higher degree of care over their manufacturing process which typically results in a higher quality product with a better taste and/or aesthetic. Parts of the process may require hand finishing to ensure the best quality of output.

Marketing Strategy

The global popcorn category is straddling health and indulgence, with many new popcorn companies opting for products that promote healthily, on-the-go snacking as opposed to an indulgent snack.

Gourmet popcorn is marketed in the ‘premium indulgence’ sub-category of the snacking category and sometimes crosses over to the confectionery category.

Source : What’s the Difference Between Gourmet Popcorn and Regular Popcorn?

Popcorn and Other Tasty Treats

Gourmet Popcorn

We start with premium Midwestern grown popcorn kernels. We use a mushroom variety that provides a delicate flavor but remains strong enough to hold our rich, heavy homemade caramel or our full-bodied melted cheddar cheese or our silky decadent chocolate without crumbling and falling apart. We air pop and season our kernels to perfection the old fashioned way.

We will continually add new flavors and combinations, but initially we will be able to offer you the following flavors:

PLAIN OR SEASONED POPCORN

For those of you on a diet (remember, only 35 calories) or who have dietary restrictions or who just love the natural flavor and texture of popped popcorn, we offer it to you just that way. We can also serve it to you like the movie theater with “butter” flavor topping. Or, we will add a little oil flavoring and special dry seasonings (the oil helps it stick) to make seasoned popcorn.

CARAMEL POPCORN

We make our caramel with only the finest ingredients. We use only real butter and brown sugar. Our secret recipe and preparation method will ensure the proper amount of sweetness and rich flavor, and just the right amount of crunch. We will also offer you a number of salted caramel popcorn and nut combinations. Everybody knows the pleasure of the Cracker Jack combination, caramel and peanuts, but you haven’t lived until you try caramel popcorn with pecans or almonds or cashews or luxurious macadamia nuts. Please call to see what we have available.

CHEESE POPCORN

This is a messy and highly addictive treat. Our cheese is not made from a powder. We actually melt down our cheese in our copper kettle and carefully mix in the freshly air popped kernels to completely coat each kernel. You simply cannot buy this in the grocery store or get this type of cheese in the store bought pre-packed tins at the warehouse membership clubs. We won’t stop at plain cheese though. After we mix in special seasons, you find the opportunity to indulge yourself with spicy jalapeno cheese popcorn, ranch cheese popcorn, barbeque cheese popcorn and other interesting flavors. Chris promises to create a spicy cheese popcorn for all the spice lovers like him. In the meantime, rest assured that our Cheese popcorn will always be lovingly made to perfection because this is Nina’s favorite flavor.

CHEEZY CARAMEL POPCORN

Sounds strange, but so did chocolate and peanut butter before someone tried it. Yes, this is exactly what it sounds like – our old fashioned caramel coated with our delicious cheese. It’s not too sweet and not too cheesy. In other words, it’s just perfect for Goldilocks and you too! This is Chris and Carter’s favorite flavor to horde on the couch while watching Sportscenter late into the night. It is apparently everyone else’s favorite too as it has been by far and away our best seller.

CHOCOLATE POPCORN

After considerable experimentation we found that melted milk chocolate on plain salted popcorn made a soggy messy chocolate popcorn. So, we naturally looked for a more sturdy popcorn and settled on our old fashion caramel. Of course, we couldn’t stop there, so we added our honey roasted peanuts too. Viola! We now present to you our Chocolate popcorn drizzled caramel nut popcorn. Oh, by the way, we also created a peanut butter caramel nut that is out of this world. Finally, we couldn’t resist, so we also developed the granddaddy of them all: Chocolate Peanut Butter Honey Nut Caramel Popcorn. It’s to die for!

CORPORATE GIFTS

Send a tin to say thank you and your customers will know that you truly appreciate their business. Send a tin to get in the door. You are likely to make new friends on the potential customer’s staff who will make sure you get an audience because the staff will hope you’ll send more popcorn. Just call us and we’ll design a program that fits your budget and accomplishes your business goals.

Pairing your Popcorn with your Tea

What better way to enjoy some delicious gourmet popcorn than with a refreshing cup of tea.

I dare you to find us a sweet popcorn that doesn’t compliment with a good old cup of tea! If that sounds like a delicious challenge to you… we’ll have accepted! 

Earl Grey Tea and Butterly Nuts

Let’s start with Earl Grey which can be a really finicky flavour to pair with because of its bergamot flavoring (citrusy, acid, floral and earthy tones). But wait… we’ve got the perfect gourmet popcorn pairing, it’s completely NUTS and you would not have thought it but Butterly Nuts peanut butter popcorn with peanut pieces is the perfect combination of sweet and salty balancing stupendously with the subtle complexities of Earl Grey.

English Breakfast and Salted Caramel

AKA Everyones favourite tea with everyones favourite popcorn flavour salted caramel. A winning combination.

As English Breakfast is a robust, heartier, darker flavour. We need something equally as powerful and bold to match it. That’s why Salted Caramel Popcorn with Belgian Milk Chocolate is a winning combo. As Salted Caramel is a bold and rich with flavour, it can hold its own. 

Give me a bowl of Salted Caramel and a traditional English Breakfast cuppa any day. 

Camomile Tea and Berry-licious

Camomile Tea has aromatic, fruity light flavour profile and so this pairing need another light and fruity flavour to keep the balance. This is why we recommend our light and tart Berry-licious popcorn (which is topped with dark chocolate) as it’s deliciously bold, sweet, light and zesty. 

Green Tea and Pop N Choc

Enjoy the light and refreshing mellow tones of green tea, with the richness of Pop N Choc, a double whammy of chocolate caramel popcorn with Belgian milk chocolate.

If you have any other pairing inspired ideas, let us know! We love hearing from you! Let us know your very own cuppa guide!

Source : https://popcornshed.com/blogs/whats-new/pairing-your-popcorn-with-your-tea

Best Gourmet Popcorn Flavours

The Popcorn Shed brand pride themselves on being experts – make no mistake about it.

From the very beginning, we’ve insisted on using only the finest quality all natural ingredients and small-batch cooking processes.

We’ve made gazillions of batches of gourmet popcorn and take flavour development very seriously.

For us it isn’t about having 100s of ‘ok’ tasting flavours but about having a core range of the best tasting, high quality popcorn that is just perfect.

It wasn’t all plain sailing at the beginning! There has been a lot of trial and error… When we were developing our popcorn recipes, we broke a hob and blew up a popcorn machine in the process! However, after 100s of batches we have mastered the art that is gourmet popcorn.

We’re making gourmet popcorn the way it should be: by hand, using all natural ingredients, carefully sourced, lovingly crafted and free of any nasty preservatives or additives. Popcorn Shed’s range is suitable for vegetarians and completely gluten-free.

We believe that outstanding popcorn is hard to mass-produce, so we manufacture it in small batches that are made to order.

We really believe that our popcorn is the best tasting popcorn in the world. Our flavours are so valuable to us that we keep them under lock and key – They are a Secret family recipe!

With flavours ranging from our best tasting and award winning salted caramel popcorn with Belgian milk chocolate to our ridiculously indulgent Pop ‘N’ Choc with a double hit of chocolate to our ever so cheesy Say Cheese! we are confident that we’ll knock your socks off.

Popcorn makes the Perfect Gift!

Who wouldn’t want a delicious popcorn delivery! We deliver gourmet popcorn sheds, snacks and treats or gifting for any occasion.

Our gourmet popcorn gifts boxes and snack packs and are available in a wide selection of flavours and assortments. Shop today, now delivery nationwide!