Sales Pop Off

As the COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of Americans to spend more time at home, watch time of streamed movies, television shows and other forms of entertainment rose an estimated 250% as Americans worked to keep themselves entertained. However, Americans didn’t just increase their time in front of the television – they also increased their consumption of the iconic movie-watching snack: popcorn.

The demand for ready-to-eat popcorn has grown exponentially since the onset of the pandemic. One important reason is movie nights at home versus going to the theater, as an estimated 62% of Americans are now subscribed to at least one streaming service. Ready-to-eat popcorn and caramel corn provide convenience during the movie-watching experience, and the category is both bigger and growing faster than pop-yourself popcorn. Over the latest 52 weeks, ready-to-eat popcorn generated $1.7 billion in sales, which was an increase of 9.1% over year ago. In comparison to 2019, sales are up 18.7%.

Ready-to-eat popcorn

Source: IRI, MULO+C, 52 weeks ending 10/31/2021

Gifting has also had an impact on premium ready-to-eat popcorn, often in gift-ready packaging, as Americans look for ways to connect and share the fun. A significant portion of this premium ready-to-eat popcorn is sold in channels not tracked in the IRI universe, such as discount department stores, candy stores and gift stores.

High levels of innovation are another reason for ready-to-eat popcorn’s success. Innovations include a wide variety of on-trend flavors, such as sea salt, caramel and dark chocolate.

But despite the rise in ready-to-eat popcorn, pop-yourself popcorn has not been left behind and has similarly benefitted from increased at-home consumption occasions. Pop-yourself-popcorn became a $1.0 billion category over the 52 weeks ending October 31, 2021. Sales are down 3.6% year-on-year, but this is hardly surprising when compared to the enormous sales peaks of 2020 when more consumers were confined to the home. When compared to the pre-pandemic normal of 2019, dollar sales are up 14.5%. Inflation does help boost these dollar results. The average price per unit increased 7.1% for popcorn, to $3.40.

Within the pop-yourself category, microwave-ready popcorn is, by far, the biggest category with sales of $884 million over the past year. While people pay a little more per package, the added convenience is driving above-average growth when compared to the 2019 levels, at +14.6%.

	Last 52 Week Sales	Change vs. 1 Year Ago	Change vs. 2 Years Ago	Last 52 Weeks Price Per Unit	Change in Price Per Unit vs. 1 Year Ago
Popcorn/popcorn oil	$1.0B	-3.6%	+14.5%	$3.40	+7.1%
Microwave popcorn	$884M	-3.0%	+14.6%	$3.19	+7.7%
Kernel popcorn	$123M	-8.1%	+13.1%	$3.00	+4.1%
Popcorn oil	$25M	+1.2%	+18.3%	$3.54	-0.7%

Popcorn/popcorn oil Last 52 Week Sales $1.0B Change vs. 1 Year Ago -3.6% Change vs. 2 Years Ago +14.5% Last 52 Weeks Price Per Unit $3.40 Change in Price Per Unit vs. 1 Year Ago +7.1%

Microwave popcorn Last 52 Week Sales $884M Change vs. 1 Year Ago -3.0% Change vs. 2 Years Ago +14.6% Last 52 Weeks Price Per Unit $3.19 Change in Price Per Unit vs. 1 Year Ago +7.7%

Kernel popcorn Last 52 Week Sales $123M Change vs. 1 Year Ago -8.1% Change vs. 2 Years Ago +13.1% Last 52 Weeks Price Per Unit $3.00 Change in Price Per Unit vs. 1 Year Ago +4.1%

Popcorn oil Last 52 Week Sales $25M Change vs. 1 Year Ago +1.2% Change vs. 2 Years Ago +18.3% Last 52 Weeks Price Per Unit $3.54 Change in Price Per Unit vs. 1 Year Ago -0.7%

In addition to pop-yourself and ready-to-eat popcorn, rice and popcorn cakes are a relatively small but fast-growing category. Sales over the latest 52 weeks totaled $366 million, which was an increase of 17.4% over year ago.

Rice/Popcorn Cakes

Source: IRI, MULO+C, 52 weeks ending 10/31/2021