Tiny but Mighty Popcorn facts for kids
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| Industry | Food |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | K&K Popcorn |
| Founded | 1981 in Urbana, Iowa, United States |
| Founder | Richard Kelty |
| Headquarters |
,
United States
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Area served
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United States |
| Revenue | $3 million–$5 million (2015) |
| Owners | Gene Mealhow Lynn Mealhow |
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Number of employees
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18 (2015) |
Tiny but Mighty Popcorn is a special American brand of popcorn. It's made from an heirloom type of corn, which means it's an old, traditional variety that has been passed down through generations. The company started in 1981 when a farmer named Richard Kelty founded K&K Popcorn in Iowa. Later, in 1999, another farming couple, Gene and Lynn Mealhow, bought the company and changed its name to Tiny but Mighty Popcorn.
Contents
The Story of Tiny but Mighty Popcorn
How the Kelty Family Started
For a very long time, since 1854, the family of Richard Kelty grew a unique kind of popcorn. This popcorn had small kernels, and when it popped, its outer shell (called the hull) would almost disappear. This made the popcorn taste richer and more flavorful. Native Americans originally shared this special popcorn with the Kelty family. For many years, the Kelty family only grew this popcorn for themselves and never sold it.
After Richard Kelty finished his time in the military in the mid-1970s, he got some of this special corn from a relative. He planted it on his farm in Urbana, Iowa. Soon, Richard and his wife, Rita, were planting more and more rows of popcorn. Their friends and neighbors loved it and kept asking for more! Because so many people wanted it, Richard decided to start selling the popcorn. In 1981, he officially started his business, K&K Popcorn, and ran it with his wife.
By 1995, the popcorn business had grown a lot. The Keltys were growing popcorn on their entire 125-acre farm. You could buy their popcorn in almost every U.S. state by ordering it through the mail. It was also sold in local stores, like Hy-Vee. Richard Kelty didn't do much advertising. He mostly popped his popcorn at grocery stores and gave out free samples. News channels like CBS and many magazines and newspapers wrote stories about his unique popcorn.
The corn grown by Kelty was always natural. It was never changed using special science methods (like being hybridized or genetically modified). Kelty's corn stalks grew about four to five feet tall. Each kernel could grow into several stalks, and each stalk had a few small ears of corn. This was different from regular field corn. The special qualities of Kelty's popcorn came from natural ways of growing and selecting the best seeds.
The Mealhow Family Takes Over
In the 1990s, Gene Mealhow, another farmer in eastern Iowa, worked with soil. Gene and his wife, Lynn, had been growing organic crops on their farm since 1989. Gene met Richard Kelty in the early 1990s, and they worked together to make Kelty's popcorn even better.
The Mealhows bought K&K Popcorn on July 1, 1999, which allowed Richard Kelty to retire. Richard felt good about the Mealhows taking over because they cared about the connection between the customer and the farmer. At that time, the company used 130 acres of land to grow popcorn. After the Mealhows bought the company, they moved the popcorn processing machines from the Kelty farm to their own farm near Shellsburg, Iowa.
The Mealhows started growing the popcorn using organic methods. This meant they focused on keeping the soil healthy and didn't use pesticides. Soon after buying the company, the Mealhows got a special loan to help them. They used this loan to turn a building on their farm into a better popcorn processing center. The Mealhows also planned to create a company website and do more advertising.
Sales of the popcorn grew every month after the Mealhows took over. This was thanks to more marketing efforts, led by their son, Nate. To keep up with the demand, the company expanded its popcorn growing area to 320 acres.
By October 2014, Tiny but Mighty Popcorn had eight full-time employees. They were growing popcorn on more than 200 acres in Iowa and Illinois. In May 2015, the company had 18 employees and was making between $3 million and $5 million each year. They were selling about 1.6 million pounds of popcorn annually. Gene Mealhow hoped to grow the company even more, aiming to sell 15 million pounds of popcorn per year in the future.
Popcorn Products and Where to Find Them
When the Mealhows first bought K&K Popcorn, it was sold in Fareway stores. At first, the Mealhows had trouble convincing Whole Foods Market to sell their popcorn. But one store manager in Chicago agreed to try it for a month. Just 10 days later, the manager called, asking for more popcorn because it had sold out so quickly! Eventually, the company's popcorn was sold in every Whole Foods store in Chicago. By 2000, the company advertised its popcorn as the world's smallest. Gene Mealhow believed, "The smaller the kernel, the better the flavor."
Around 2002, K&K offered un-popped popcorn in different bag sizes, from one to five pounds, and even a 50-pound option. They also offered popcorn that was already popped, in several flavors. At that time, you could order K&K Popcorn by mail in every U.S. state. It was also sold in Hy-Vee stores in seven states. Gene Mealhow explained that the popcorn's "disappearing hull" was good for people with tummy problems like diverticulitis. This is why one of their best-selling places was Florida, which has many older residents. Lynn Mealhow mentioned that, unlike newer popcorn types, their heirloom popcorn didn't taste right if popped in a microwave.
In 2003, another company called Market Square Food Company Inc. started buying raw popcorn from K&K Popcorn. They would pop it themselves and then sell it under the name "The World's Tiniest Popcorn We Think." Market Square's popcorn began selling in Iowa in December 2003 and came in four flavors. Stores also continued to sell K&K's un-popped popcorn, which was made without preservatives or artificial colors and flavors.
By 2013, Tiny but Mighty Popcorn was available in most Fareway and Hy-Vee stores. It was also sold in about 40 Whole Foods stores in the Midwest and eastern United States. Around this time, a ready-to-eat version of the popcorn was also launched. The company also made a deal with a big distributor, KeHE, which helped their popcorn reach 30,000 grocery stores across the U.S. In October 2014, a microwavable version of the popcorn was introduced. They also offered pre-popped flavored corn, including white cheddar.
Many people have praised Tiny but Mighty Popcorn. Kaitlyn Goalen from Tasting Table wrote that the company's "petite kernels are reinventing our favorite silver-screen snack." In 2014, Evan S. Benn of the Miami Herald said that Tiny but Mighty Popcorn was his favorite among new heirloom popcorns. He wrote, "The popcorn has a sweet, nutty flavor, and because the kernels are so small, their hulls disintegrate when popped, so no pesky bits will stick between your teeth."
