Proper Corn NPD

Tangy Chilli offered ‘a zingy tang’, while Smoky & Sweet Paprika had ‘a warm kick’. Cracked Black Pepper & Salt delivered ‘a peppery finish’.

Proper has added a trio of savoury popcorn flavours.

Tangy Chilli, Smoky & Sweet Paprika and Cracked Black Pepper & Salt have this week rolled into Waitrose stores (rsp: £1.90/70g).

The HFSS-compliant, vegan and gluten-free snacks will launch on Ocado, in Sainsbury’s and with other independent retailers from September.

They join Proper’s Sea Salted flavour in its savoury popcorn range.

“Naturally high in fibre and seasoned with natural flavours,” the new snacks would provide UK popcorn lovers with a greater choice of savoury options, said Proper founder Cassandra Stavrou.

“In the US popcorn market, nearly half of sales come from savoury, because people have an abundance of savoury flavours to enjoy – an opportunity that is only serviced by salted popcorn in the UK,” she said. “That shows huge untapped potential to grow the snacking category here as a whole.”

Sharing popcorn was performing strongly in Waitrose stores, with sales up 13% in the year to date, said the retailer’s snack buyer Bella Hancock.

The retailer was also expecting UK sales of savoury popcorn to boom in the coming months, following trends seen in the US, Hancock said.

“Popcorn is seen by many as a more health-conscious option versus crisps with high levels of fibre,” she added.

Proper’s value sales grew by 18.4% to £32.2m last year, on volumes up 13.4%, according to NIQ data [52 w/e 9 September 2023].