Revised October 2007 by Diane Huntrods, AgMRC, Iowa State University.

Overview
By all standards, popcorn (Zea mays everta) should be called the original American snack. From being grown by early Native Americans to dominating in world production, U.S. popcorn has become one of the country’s most favored snack food.

Early varieties of popcorn can be traced back thousands of years. North American explorers observed Native American tribes eating popcorn and using it in necklaces and headdresses. European settlers served popcorn as a breakfast cereal, with milk or cream. However, popcorn did not become commercially popular until the Great Depression, when it was established as an affordable treat.

Demand
Steady growth in consumer demand has elevated the industry to one that regularly produces over one billion pounds of shelled popcorn in 25 states. Domestic demand peaked in the early 1990s and has remained relatively steady since. An average American consumes nearly 70 quarts of popped popcorn per year. For nearly 20 years starting in 1970, unpopped popcorn sales increased annually by 2 to 8 percent. Popcorn sales peaked in 1993 at well over 1.1 billion pounds of unpopped popcorn. Since that peak, sales of unpopped popcorn have stabilized at or near that market level.

Domestic popcorn sales accelerated rapidly in the 1980s with the introduction of microwave popcorn. By 1995, microwave popcorn accounted for 65 percent of all popcorn sales, and by 1999, that share increased to 72 percent. More recently, consumers' tastes appear to be shifting from popcorn to other processed snack foods. Retail sales of potato chips, nuts and seeds, and corn chips now outpace popcorn.

Nebraska has laid claim to production bragging rights with over one-fourth of the U.S popcorn production. When their production is combined, Nebraska as well as Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Missouri cultivate three-fourths of the U.S. popcorn.
 

Nearly all of the U.S. production is grown under contract or directly by the processors. To maintain a consistent supply and provide price stability, much of the contracted popcorn acres is raised under irrigation. More than 80 percent of the U.S. production is consumed domestically, and the remainder is exported to meet global demand. Although popcorn is often associated with movie theaters and ballparks, popcorn eaten away from home represents only one-third of total popcorn consumption.

Product
Two major factors influencing popcorn quality include kernel moisture and expansion ratio. A quality popcorn will have at least a 98 percent pop ratio at an idea moisture of 13.5 percent. The other critical component is expansion ratio, which is the volume measurement of popped corn from one gram of popcorn kernels. Some varieties expand to over 40 cubic centimeters per gram.

Competitive Products

Because popcorn is considered a snack food, it has an infinite number of competitive products. However, it is popcorn’s health attributes that keep it high on the list of favorites. Popcorn is low in calories and fat, and high in carbohydrates. Weight Watchers recommends popcorn as a snack for the weight-conscious, the American Dental Association endorses this sugar-free snack and the American Cancer Society recognizes the benefits of the high fiber content of popcorn in possibly preventing several types of cancer. Popcorn's nutritional value is so high that doctors recommend it—even with oil—over many other snack foods.

Within the popcorn industry, competition is centered on flavor and packaging. Endless combinations of flavorings for both popped and unpopped corn is a key differentiating attribute of popcorn processing companies. In the unpopped category, nearly all companies now offer their product in microwavable packaging. While providing the convenience that consumers want, this type of packaging has also helped processors to expand the variety of flavors that they can offer.

Competitive Intensity

The industry breaks down into three distinct groups: large commercial processors, regional processors and gourmet niche markets.

The Popcorn Board was established in 1998 to help processors promote and strengthen popcorn markets both domestically and internationally. Currently 21 processors contribute to the fund. All of these processors produce a minimum of four million pounds of popcorn annually. It is nearly impossible to estimate the number of smaller processors (under four million pounds) that are serving regional or niche markets. Through contracting agreements, many of these processors market their own branded products or contract processing capacity to other wholesale marking firms.

Vogel Popcorn is a leading producer and processor of bulk popcorn for U.S. and international markets. The company contracts for approximately 50 percent of the total annual popcorn production in the United States and has processing facilities in Iowa, Ohio and Argentina.

American Popcorn Company, producers of Jolly Time popcorn brands, was the first branded popcorn variety and remains an industry leader in production and processing with numerous microwave, traditional and environmentally friendly varieties.

ConAgra Foods is the largest snack food manufacturer of microwave popcorn in the world with sales in more than 30 countries and branded labels such as ACT II, Orville Redenbacher, Crunch 'n Munch and Jiffy Pop.

Exports

While Americans are consuming less popcorn than a decade ago, the opposite is true in other parts of the world. Worldwide consumption continues to grow as marketing efforts help bolster sales. Exports regularly exceed 240 million pounds and are shipped to more than 90 countries. Canada, Japan and Mexico are the leading importers of U.S. popcorn.

 

Sources

AMS, USDA

Popcorn Board