Cleaning Up Popcorn

Popcorn is one of the world’s oldest snacks: Archaeologists have unearthed roasted maize cobs in excavations of prehistoric settlements in Peru. In the U.S., where popcorn has been sold commercially for almost 200 years, the movie theater and ballpark staple is having a renaissance. That’s because Americans are noshing more—and more often. They want food that’s convenient, simple, and healthy. Annual sales of ready-to-eat popcorn—meaning already popped—have exploded since 2011, almost doubling to $1.1 billion. The growth has been powered by Amplify Snack Brands’ SkinnyPop, which has just three ingredients—popcorn, sunflower oil, and salt—and about 150 calories per ounce. “Consumers love the simplicity of popcorn” says Tom Ennis, Amplify’s chief executive officer. “They want to know what they’re eating.”

SkinnyPop hit the market in 2010, the creation of a pair of Chicago entrepreneurs who’d previously sold gourmet caramel- and cheese-flavored popcorn. Annual sales climbed to $44 million within three years, drawing the attention of TA Associates, which paid $320 million for a majority stake in the business in 2014. The private equity firm hired Ennis, who’d run the beef jerky company Oberto Brands, to lead the business, which reincorporated as Amplify. The Austin-based company went public in August of last year in a $270 million IPO.