Producer: Popzup Popcorn
Location: Somersworth, NH
Found at the Littleton Co-op: ready-to-eat popcorn
Website: popzup.com
What’s more to popcorn than corn kernels? If you do it like Popzup, there’s a lot more thought behind it, without adding unnecessary ingredients. Wife and husband duo Julie and Marty Lapham were no strangers to entrepreneurship or the packaged food business when they founded Popzup in 2016. But after their children were grown and they had fallen into long-tenured careers, the duo decided it was time to start their next food business. They noticed that the popcorn on the market, often thought of as a simple snack, was filled with unnecessary oils and chemicals, and left a wasteful carbon footprint. Their mission was to create a popcorn that was antithetical to what was out there – not to mention tasted good. As Julie told Foster’s Daily Democrat, “As a popcorn company we consider ourselves accountable for everything we do, for our carbon footprint, our packaging (recyclable) and of course our products which are made using only fresh ingredients.” Popzup quickly grew from selling compostable microwave popcorn boxes at farmers markets to selling seasoning mixes and ready-to-eat bags with said seasonings at over 2,000 retailers nationwide.
From their experiences working in the local food system (Julie used to manage multiple NH farmers’ markets!) the Laphams knew the importance of uplifting other local producers on your way up. Popzup continues to be made from locally grown corn, and seasoned with local butter, maple syrup, and cheese.
Status of product availability at the Littleton Co-op, and labeling of producers (such as local, Black-Owned Business, NH-made, etc) and product status or ingredients (gluten-free, vegan, etc) is based on available information at time of publication. The food world is an ever-changing landscape and information presented here may not reflect the most up-to-date information available.
