SkinnyPop facts for kids
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| Owner | The Hershey Company |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2010 |
| Related brands | Hershey’s Popped Snack Mix |
| Markets | United States |
| Previous owners | Amplify Snack Brands |
| Tagline | Simple Tastes Better |
SkinnyPop is a popular American brand that makes dairy-free popcorn. It is currently owned by Hershey Co.. Hershey bought the company that made SkinnyPop in 2017.
The Story of SkinnyPop
SkinnyPop was started in 2010 in Skokie, Illinois. Two people, Andy Friedman and Pam Netzky, created the brand. They had help from investors Jeffrey and Michael Eiserman. Before SkinnyPop, Andy and Pam had another popcorn company called Wells Street Popcorn. That company sold popcorn in stores and theaters around Chicago.
In 2010, Friedman and Netzky started SkinnyPop Popcorn. They used a new recipe for this brand. Their first pre-popped popcorn came out in 2010. It was made with sunflower oil and salt. Later, they added different flavors. The company also started selling microwave popcorn in 2017. They later added popcorn puffs and rice cakes to their products.
The first thousand bags of SkinnyPop were made by hand. The founders sold them in local stores in Chicago. In October 2010, SkinnyPop teamed up with a distributor. This helped them get their popcorn to more places. By 2012, SkinnyPop was made in Chicago. It was sold in 4,500 stores.
In 2013, SkinnyPop worked with Jason Cohen. Their sales reached $44 million that year. By August 2014, SkinnyPop was sold in 25,000 stores around the world. That same year, Friedman and Netzky sold most of their company. They sold it to a group called TA Associates for $320 million. TA Associates then hired Tom Ennis as the new CEO. They also changed the company's name to Amplify Snack Brands.
How SkinnyPop Joined Hershey
Amplify Snack Brands became a public company in 2015. This means people could buy shares of the company. Each share cost $18 at first. That year, the company's sales were $176.9 million. In 2016, sales grew to $326.9 million. In December 2017, Hershey Co. bought Amplify Snack Brands. Hershey paid $1.6 billion for the company. This made SkinnyPop part of The Hershey Company.
