Describe the business
Our whole purpose is to make the best tasting popcorn out there in a range of innovative flavours. Everything from goat’s cheese and black pepper popcorn to salted caramel popcorn. We also do a range of sauces. You can add them to your popcorn and add that extra bit of indulgence.
Where did inspiration for the business come from?
My father [Joe] was inspired by trips to the US. He would go there on business once a year in his old life, and would come back with popcorn as gifts. One year he brought back a whole 23kg luggage allowance. We thought: “Hang on a minute, let’s see if we can do something with this.” It was one of those strange things where for years people have loved popcorn. Popcorn and movies go together really well but nobody had done anything with it.
What happened next?
Myself, my mum and my dad turned up at a consumer trade show and said if it goes well we will have a crack at making a go of it. This was October 2010. At the trade show, we sold out quickly and there was so much hype. The result was there was enough interest from Selfridges that they launched us five months later. We started in my parents’ kitchen and later moved into a rent-by-the-hour kitchen. Then we moved into our own premises.
What makes your popcorn different?
We do some quite crazy flavours, but it is all about being the best tasting for us. We take out all the small pieces as we wanted big whole pieces of corn. All those different things – the variety, indulgence, the fact that we are doing something different.
What’s the biggest challenge?
It is all-consuming, really. Having your own business isn’t something you can turn off at 5 o’clock and hope for the best. If there’s a problem, your phone will ring at 7 o’clock and if there isn’t a problem you are always thinking about it anyway. We are growing really fast and when something good happens we celebrate for 30 seconds and then start working again.
What’s your latest piece of good news?
Our latest customer is Virgin Atlantic. We launched last week with them and we’re on every flight going out of the UK in premium, economy and upper class.
How popular is popcorn in the UK?
In the US they consume three times as much popcorn as consumers in the UK. We thought there’s a massive opportunity if we are to become similar to the US. I don’t think anyone expected it to be as transformational as it has been. For crisps manufacturers to be worried that their sales are in decline – no-one would have expected that.
What’s it like working for a family business?
Initially it was difficult. Suddenly you are speaking to your parents in a business context. Now it is absolutely brilliant, we rarely argue. The reason it is fantastic is we have this implicit trust in one another. We are all passionate about the product and what we want to achieve.
What are your goals?
We want to launch in more places around the UK, and also around the world. We are in quite a lot of stores in Dubai, and there’s a massive opportunity to do a lot more in Europe too. We just launched in Finland and started to do a bit more in France and Germany as well.
What advice would you offer to wannabe entrepreneurs?
I would say “Do it”. It is so easy to have a great idea and have a passion about something but you need to get on and execute it. We started this business from a consumer show stand with a product that was made at home.
Adam Sopher is the co-founder and director of Joe & Seph’s
Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.
