The popcorn industry has grown enormously in recent years. According to the Daily Mail, sales of popcorn soared by a whopping 300% from the year 2011 to 2012. But the boom didn’t stop there, it is estimated that the UK popcorn market today is worth more than £53m (Mintel, 2013). This consumer trend is thought to have been influenced by the emergence of ‘posh popcorn’ brands that offer gourmet popcorn in a variety of exotic and unusual flavours.

Tesco, Cadbury, Tyrrell’s and Walkers are just a few of the big name companies who have recently introduced new popcorn-based products to meet consumer demands and grab a share of the rapidly increasing market. According to Tesco snack buyer Lee Bannerman, ‘popcorn is the biggest success story in the UK snacking market for at least 10 years and has inspired a rapidly growing home industry’.

According to RnRMarketResearch, the UK’s savoury snacks market will positively increase between 2013 and 2017 with popcorn and potato chips topping the popularity chart. The research team forecast an average growth rate of 4.08% year on year, by which point the market value is expected to reach £5,485.7m!