Second plant gives Jolly Time added space

American Pop Corn Co., the Sioux City-based maker of Jolly Time, sells a commercial product called, "All-in-One," a kit that comes with pre-measured amounts of corn, oil and salt.

The specialty item is packaged in American Pop Corn's new plant, which opened last summer. Because of a shortage of production space at its Sioux City campus, the company previously used an outside contractor to package All-in-One, which is sold in bulk cases of 24- or 36-count packages.

Two microwave popcorn lines also operate in the new 40,000-square-foot plant. In addition, there is room for up to six more lines as future growth dictates, company president Garry Smith said.

The new $6 million facility was built just south of American Pop Corn's existing 41st Street microwave plant, which has eight production lines.

The original plant opened in 1988 as consumers increasingly switched to the convenience of prepackaged corn that could be popped in minutes in a microwave.

Growing sales of Jolly Time's Healthy Pop microwave popcorn prompted the most recent expansion, which created 30 new jobs, increasing the company's total employment to about 180.

After Weight Watchers endorsed Healthy Pop in January 2009, demand for the 94 percent fat free variety exploded nearly overnight.

The nod from the influential national weight-loss group, assured health-conscious consumers nationwide that Healthy Pop is a quality low-fat product, Smith said.

Introduced in 1997, Healthy Pop now is available in butter, kettle corn, low sodium and caramel apple flavors, crispy white.

While the explosive jump in sales enjoyed immediately after the endorsement is over, Healthy Pop sales are still growing, though at a more modest clip, Smith said.

The overall popcorn sector, he said, is recovering from a sharp demand about 18 months ago. The category's sales are flat from the same period a year ago, but Jolly Time is "thankfully doing a little better than that," he said.

Popcorn makers also continues to deal with tight margins, driven by record commodity prices.

Jolly Time contracts with popcorn producers in the Midwest, competing for the same land where field corn could be grown instead. The contract price is based on Chicago Board of Trade corn futures.

Smith said contracts for this year's crop are coming in about the same price as last year.