Luxury popcorn maker Joe & Seph’s saw losses temporarily mount last year as it refocused its business back towards supermarkets.
The family business, which sells gourmet popcorn infused with the likes of camembert and whisky, said pre-tax losses rose from £454k to £1.1m in the year to 31 January 2024 despite sales growing from £7.9m to £8.7m, according to its latest filings at Companies House.
The business said the losses were generated in the first nine months of the year as it was “carrying too much overhead”.
Joe & Seph’s sales doubled overnight during the pandemic as it sought to cope with a huge influx of online orders.
Expecting these levels to continue for several years, it invested in new equipment and a bigger team to deal with the greater volumes.
However, as lockdowns eased and its online sales fell away, much of this became superfluous.
While Joe & Seph’s revenues was now back above its pandemic peak, this was largely due to a growth in trade sales, said Adam Sopher, co-founder and CEO.
“A lot of the roles and equipment we had were specific to a direct-to-consumer business. The trade business is quite different and just doesn’t need that level of overhead associated with it,” he added.
Having slashed these overheads, Sopher said the business was now back in the black, with profits forecast to be around £400k for the latest financial year off the back of higher sales.
It is forecasting sales to grow over 20% next year and profits to double.
Joe & Seph’s launched in 2010 and is now sold in more than 20 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Sold in many cinemas, the business claimed to often see a 20% sales uplift when a blockbuster hits the screens.
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