So, you’re looking to learn how to start a popcorn business from home?

Well, this is probably the only thing that is better than popcorn: making money with popcorn.

But … can you really start a popcorn business? Is it even realistic?

Well, yes. So, if you’re here to learn how to do exactly that, you’re in the right place! By the end of this guide, you will know what steps you need to take in order to start your own popcorn business.

HOW TO START A POPCORN BUSINESS: IS IT WORTH IT?

First of all I congratulate you for even thinking about starting your own popcorn business. Let’s be honest, this isn’t an idea that most people get.

Maybe you got this idea last time you went to a movie theater. Who knows? The only important thing is that you got this idea.

However, we first need to establish if this is even a viable idea. It makes no sense to start a business if you can’t be profitable.(1)

The good news is that there are a ton of popular popcorn brands out there, meaning that it’s definitely possible to be profitable. However, that doesn’t mean your company will be as profitable as those ones.

It depends on you to make it profitable through marketing (more on that later).

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO START A POPCORN BUSINESS?

The best thing you can do is to create a popcorn brand, and not only a business. That’s because brands thrive.

Once you build trust and authority, you will not need to spend money on advertising. Think about it: when is the last time you’ve seen an Apple ad?

Yes, that’s right. You didn’t.

That being said, the first thing you can do is to work with a manufacturer, so that you can keep your production costs down.

So … how much does it cost? Well, it depends on the quality of popcorn you want to sell. Obviously, if you want to produce high quality popcorn, you will need to spend more.

On the other hand, if you want to sell cheap products, you will spend less. Before you go ahead and find the cheapest possible popcorn manufacturer, keep in mind that this is not the best option.

The thing is that you need to have a clear goal regarding the quality of product you sell. This helps with your branding and marketing because you position yourself in a certain way.(2,3)

After you decide, you need to find a popcorn manufacturer that provides private label branding.

This means that someone else takes care of the popcorn production and brands it with your logo. This is great, as it allows you to build a brand at a low cost.

My advice is to have a budget of at least $7000 when you’re looking to start a popcorn business. That’s because you don’t want to run out of money when you’re doing advertising.

Also, it all depends on how you negotiate with the manufacturer. That’s why it’s important to reach out to multiple companies so you don’t depend on 1 person.

HOW TO START A POPCORN BUSINESS: PLAN

I generally don’t like business plans. That’s because I usually start online businesses that don’t really need much planning.(3)

But when it comes to physical products like popcorn, you will need to have a business plan. That being said, let’s jump right into it:

1. BUILD AN AUDIENCE

The problem with businesses in the food niche is that they usually don’t cost that much. This is also the case of a popcorn business.

So, what does this mean? Well, it means you can’t really spend a ton of money on paid advertising. Therefore, you will need start building an audience a couple of months before you launch the product.

You do this in order to automate your workflow and have the emails sent automatically. This is great, as you will just need to write an email once and everyone on your list will receive it at a certain time you decide.

After that, you should choose a platform where you can create content. Either YouTube or start your own blog.

If you don’t feel comfortable on camera, it’s better to start a blog, as it’s very cheap. With Bluehost, you will only need to pay around $3-$4 per month.

After you set everything up, start creating content. Write articles around topics that are interesting for your target demographic.

For example, popcorn recipes, best movies to watch while eating popcorn, corny jokes and so on. Try to be ass creative as possible, as your audience will really appreciate it.

On your blog, you will collect email leads which you will be able to email once your product is out.(4)

This might seem overwhelming but it will be worth it once you start selling. You will be able to be more profitable, which will then allow you to expand faster.

Also, you will be able to start investing money into paid ads, which will further increase your revenue.

• Blogging an email marketing are great ways for building an audience online because of how affordable they are.

2. LAUNCH

Now that you have an audience, it’s time to monetize it.

A couple of days before the launch, you want to send people to a sales funnel where you presell them your product. This is really not that difficult to create.(5)

I highly suggest taking the One Funnel Away Challenge so that you learn everything you need about sales and marketing.

Make sure you don’t order too much popcorn. You only place new orders when you’re out of stock.

This minimizes the risk of not selling all your products. In the beginning, this is a very good strategy to have.

Also, don’t forget to ask for feedback. If your audience didn’t like something about the product, make sure you contact the manufacturer and solve the problem.

3. SCALING

You should continuously add new leads to your email list. This is how you slowly scale your business and improve your profit margins.

At this point you might want to hire someone to write content for your blog. Remember: the more traffic your blog gets, the more people you put on your email list, the more sales you make.

Also, this allows you to free some of your time. You can use this time by getting good at another traffic source, preferably a paid one.(6)

YouTube ads or Google ads can be great, as they are very good at targeting the right customer. But until then, focus solely on free traffic from your blog so you don’t overspend in the beginning.

Take things one step at the time. This is one of the most fundamental business principles.