People’s Champion Finalist: PROPERCORN

Start-up name: PROPERCORN
Founders: Ryan Kohn and Cassandra Stavrou
Started in: 2011
Based in: London
Business description: Low-calorie, gluten-free popcorn range

Shortlisted categories:

Export Business of the Year
Product Business of the Year
Young Entrepreneur of the Year

The PROPERCORN story:

The official snack of London Fashion Week, sales of three million packs a month and revenues of over £5m; PROPERCORN is quickly becoming a start-up success story. In fact it has emerged as the fastest growing snack brand in the UK and it’s easy to see why.

Co-founder Cassandra Stavrou came up with the idea for PROPERCORN after watching fellow workers purchase snacks for the afternoon slump which left them feeling guilty or dissatisfied. Determined to “create a snack without compromise”, she quit her job aged 25 and began popcorn making.

Fast-forward to 2015, Stavrou and co-founder Ryan Kohn’s gluten-free, vegetarian-friendly popcorn range; which comes in at under 130 calories; has taken the foodie world by storm.

With flavours ranging from the traditional sweet and salted to coconut and peanut butter, it is now stocked with over 10,000 retailers including Waitrose, Selfridges and Boots and employs a team of 30 staff; alongside 60 student ambassadors.

Sales haven’t just been limited to the UK either. Exports have become a major focus of the business with its “popcorn done properly” stocked in six countries including Holland, France and Belgium and plans to launch into a further eight markets soon. 

Determined to keep moving, the business recently branched into clothing with popcorn-covered jumpers and tees, and held a two-day workshop to inspire young entrepreneurs.

Why PROPERCORN made our 60:

Stavrou and Kohn are great examples of what can be achieved when you take a great business idea and turn it into a reality. The duo’s business has successfully infiltrated the saturated snack market and with turnover set to rocket, we’re confident that PROPERCORN will go from start-up to scale-up.

Where to find out more about PROPERCORN:

Website: www.propercorn.com 
Twitter: twitter.com/PROPERCORN
Facebook: facebook.com/Propercorn