Popzup in Dover, NH is giving popcorn lovers a healthier option. Last November Julie Lapham and her husband Marty started a gluten and GMO free popcorn company with healthy organic products that don’t sacrifice taste. I had the chance to tour their facility in Dover and see first hand how they make Popzups. What makes Popzup different from other popcorn companies is their attention to detail and their passion for pure organic popcorn and seasonings. It was evident to me as soon as I stepped into their facility that Julie and Marty are passionate about popcorn. Every single tiny detail is explored and engineered to a tee to ensure the highest quality popcorn possible.
This process all starts in Pennsylvania on a farm where Popzups source their popcorn kernels from a family operation that has been doing it for four generations. Julie and Marty only purchase the highest quality organic popcorn kernels that are grown in the perfect environment by people who are extremely passionate about the whole process. This attention to detail results in a popcorn that has no added oils or bi products that you normally find in store bought popcorn. Popzups are sold to be made in your home so you get fresh popcorn every time. The box of popcorn comes with instructions on how to make it on the stovetop or in the microwave using the 100% chemical free box that the kernels come in.
Every box of Popzups is assembled right in the Dover facility by Julie, her husband Marty and a little bit of help form Julie’s father. The operation is modest but much more efficient than when they started. Julie tells me they started out filling each popcorn kernel bag by hand. They now have a machine that fills the bags automatically and can do what used to take Julie and Marty 4 hours in just 10 minutes. The bags are then hand packaged by a small team of employees. Julie told me about how they have given a group of disabled young adults the opportunity to have their first job assembling boxes and packaging their products. She said “it brings them so much joy to be able to say they have their own job and are making money every week, it’s a really great opportunity for both of us.” It is this type of compassion and caring nature that comes so natural to Julie and Marty and really transfers into every aspect of their operation.
Popzups also has a great collection of organic seasonings to put on your popcorn. Once again, all their seasonings contain only pure ingredients and do not contain any artificial flavoring. They have naturally made flavors like cheesy taco, sweet sriracha chili, and Vermont maple. You can really taste the pure ingredients in each seasoning and how it is different from an artificial store-bought seasoning. Popzups truly was the best popcorn I’ve ever had. I’m so used to normal store-bought popcorn that has chemicals and oils mixed in the bag, but when Julie made a bag of Popzup there was absolutely no oil at all. It was completely pure. I’ve never had popcorn like that and it was really cool to taste a food in its pure form for the first time. The seasonings really bring everything to the next level in the perfect way. The seasoning shakers allow you to put as much as you want, too!
Popzups truly is an amazing business. Everything is done with such care and attention to detail that it’s impossible for it to not taste good. Popzups is located in One Washington in Dover and ship to locations across the country. Julie and Marty will be at the 2016 Dover Mini Maker Faire popping all day, I highly recommend you stop by and experience first hand the greatest popcorn out there.
