That has been a bright spot amid the pandemic for JOLLY TIME Pop Corn, a century-old family business based in Sioux City.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been unbelievable,\u201d said Garrett Smith, president of American Pop Corn Co. \u201cIt\u2019s been a 50 percent increase in the last seven weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s just the company\u2019s microwave popcorn lines. Its raw kernel business has more than doubled.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are digging out the skillet or the old popcorn popper, and Mom\u2019s teaching a new generation to pop the popcorn,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
His own family is now entering its fifth generation of the popcorn business his great-grandfather Cloid founded in 1914.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a real entrepreneur, a drugstore owner and a pharmacist who also started a phone company,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
He also was a farmer, who had grown up on a farm in Iowa with a father who operated a seed store. Cloid used his business earnings to buy farmland in Sac County, Iowa, where he grew popcorn. When buyers offered him less than he wanted, \u201che hauled it to his basement in Sioux City and shelled the first crop by hand,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
JOLLY TIME had been born. In the early days, it was sold on street corners in downtown Sioux City and eventually in theaters. The brand really took off once it was packed in 10-ounce cans and sold into supermarkets nationwide, which were just developing in the 1920s as a place to sell canned goods.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we established a brand early on in the \u201920s and \u201930s, and it\u2019s been advertised continually,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
His grandfather Howard, who was in high school when the company was founded, helped get it started.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a way, he was a co-founder and worked here his whole life, and my grandfather had two sons who worked here their whole lives,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
He and his cousin Carlton now are co-CEOs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I started 40 years ago, we were selling more raw kernels in polyethylene bags, and then our whole world changed dramatically in the 1980s when microwave popcorn became a dry grocery product, and we were at the forefront of that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The microwave popcorn category took off, and so did JOLLY TIME.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were well-positioned, so we grew a great deal in the 1980s, and it\u2019s all been under the JOLLY TIME label,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
The company now sells many varieties of microwave popcorn, from classic butter to simply sea salt to sweet and savory flavors along with bags and jars of yellow and white kernels. JOLLY TIME does some business with theaters and institutions, but most sales are in the grocery industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re feeling this surge in business from all grocery accounts, all retail accounts, even farm stores and a little bit in drugstores,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery food category had a big surge in mid-March and snack foods especially did well. But now that things are six weeks along, many of those snacks have retreated to near what was normal, but popcorn has not. Popcorn has stayed at this elevated level throughout, and this isn\u2019t just a JOLLY TIME thing. This is a category trend.\u201d<\/p>\n
With more than 100 years of history, though, JOLLY TIME has a sense of what to expect and how to meet the demand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my 40-year career, I\u2019ve seen it before when there are recessions,\u201d Smith said. \u201cBad times are good for popcorn sales. We saw it in 2000 and 2008. People\u2019s lives slow down, and popcorn is inexpensive relative to other foods. It\u2019s comfort food. So we tend to do well when people slow down.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 170-person business is stretching to keep up, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far, we\u2019ve done an exceptionally good job considering how quickly this came about,\u201d Smith said. \u201cBut it\u2019s starting to catch up with us. We\u2019ve already ordered a new machine to pack bags because I\u2019m convinced it\u2019s not going to go back to what it was. Sales are going to end up at a much higher level.\u201d<\/p>\n
With microwave popcorn production, the company is trying to adjust to spread out labor so workers can get a bit of a break.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are happy problems, but we do have to sort those things out to give our people some relief,\u201d Smith said. \u201cGod bless them, they have really come through, and they take pride in it. They take pride in being part of the JOLLY TIME family, and they\u2019re proving it big time, and it\u2019s really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
JOLLY TIME also has a long history of treating its employees like family, with an annual bonus program that dates back to 1941.<\/p>\n
Because of its strong foundation and intentional transitioning for decades, the family business was positioned to take advantage of this opportunity, Smith added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a commitment,\u201d he said. \u201cUnwavering commitment to the popcorn category, the JOLLY TIME brand, to our employees. It never waivers, and it doesn\u2019t matter if times are good or times or bad. I\u2019ve lived through both a few times in my 40 years, but we never took our eye off the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
JOLLY TIME also shares its experience as a family business and supports others through its membership in the Prairie Family Business Association.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been honored to have the Smith family share their expertise through our annual conference and are proud of their success,\u201d said Stephanie Larscheid, executive director of the Prairie Family Business Association.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are thriving today because of the hard work of generations of family members. They\u2019ve innovated throughout the years to meet the needs of customers, and that is what they are doing today to thrive through this pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n
JOLLY TIME is still mindful of its future too. Smith\u2019s two sons, age 29 and 32, both work in the business. The family has enhanced its governance and communication as it has transitioned, \u201cand we\u2019ve had the commitment of the fifth generation that they want to hold it together, and they\u2019re proud of the brand,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went away to college and didn\u2019t know if I was going to come back to the family business, but I figured it out somewhere along the line because I never took a job interview. And it was the best decision I ever made. Both my boys see the same opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Family Enterprise USA<\/a> is the organization that represents all family businesses on a national level in DC; it is not unique to any industry. FEUSA is different from other organizations because it represents and advocates for the families of family businesses and the issues, they face running their businesses every day. Our sole mission and purpose is to promote family businesses and their job growth in America. We also support the work of Family Business Centers across the country. We hope your family will choose to be a member of FEUSA. Family Enterprise USA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Family foundations can donate.<\/a><\/p>\n
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