Skip to content

Maize Craze

Building a better microwave popcorn  Building a better microwave popcorn When Coulter Lewis '03 and his wife, Kristy, decided to sell organic gourmet microwave popcorn, they had no idea if the concept would fly. As a "sanity check," they made a video appeal for funding on Kickstarter, a website often used by artists and musicians […]

Share

Building a better microwave popcorn
 

Building a better microwave popcorn

When Coulter Lewis '03 and his wife, Kristy, decided to sell organic gourmet microwave popcorn, they had no idea if the concept would fly. As a "sanity check," they made a video appeal for funding on Kickstarter, a website often used by artists and musicians to raise money for projects. Their goal was $10,000; they garnered nearly three times that much, from hundreds of backers. "That was an awesome boost," recalls Lewis, "and an indication that maybe we were on to something."

When Quinn Popcorn—named for the couple's newborn son—offered its product on Amazon in fall 2010, it sold out almost immediately. Ditto for the two dozen Whole Foods stores on the East Coast that carried the popcorn—and saw it fly off the shelves. Priced at about $15 for a six-pack of three all-natural flavors—parmesan and rosemary, lemon and sea salt, and Vermont maple and sea salt—the snack requires more work than the average microwave popcorn. Once it's popped, consumers add a packet containing a mixture of canola and grapeseed oils and shake the bag; then they add the seasoning and shake again to coat the kernels. "Unlike potato chips—that are fried, higher in fat, and not as good for you—popcorn is a whole grain," says Lewis, who majored in mechanical engineering and works at a design firm. "From a health perspective, there are a lot of reasons why it's a good thing."

New York Times food columnist Florence Fabricant has praised the popcorn for maintaining taste and quality despite ditching the chemicals and preservatives. "And if a few kernels may be duds," she wrote in October 2011, "what pops is delicious." The company, which is based in Arlington, Massachusetts, has also been featured on the cover of Edible Boston magazine.

Plans are in the works to introduce more flavors, step up production, and expand to other retailers. But even with the company's initial success, Lewis admits that any start-up venture is risky. "To be a successful entrepreneur," he says, "the first and most difficult thing is to maintain an unrealistic level of optimism at all times." And as for the future popcorn fan for whom the brand is named? "We joke that he'll either be really excited that his college is paid for," Lewis says with a laugh, "or he'll be really mad that we don't have a house."

— Timothy Weisberg '12

Share
Share