A former director of Burts Chips has launched his own popcorn brand.

Jonty White, who sold his stake in Burts a year ago, has created the Portlebay Popcorn brand and established a dedicated £500,000 facility in Devon to produce the range, comprising five flavours including Crispy Bacon & Maple Syrup, and Wasabi & Ginger.

Available in 25g individual bags (rsp: 79p) and a 125g sharing bag (rsp: £2.69), Portlebay popcorn - dubbed Kracklecorn - is handpopped before being drizzled with rapeseed oil and raw cane sugar to give a brittle texture. Sea salt and flavourings are then sprinkled on.

The first packs went on sale in delis last week, ahead of a rollout to “five or six” key wholesalers in January. White is hoping to secure supermarket listings and is set to have discussions with Waitrose.

Portlebay was founded by White and two other ex-Burts employees, former financial director Neil Adams and former business unit director Steve Wardlaw. Together with four silent investors, they have funded the creation of the brand and the company’s 10,000 sq ft factory in Plympton.

“Having our own production facilities - rather than sourcing from someone who also produces for other people - was paramount,” said White. “An outside supplier wouldn’t want to get involved in extreme product development, while we have total control over our NPD.”

Popcorn interested him because of how well it could carry a flavour, he said, adding that he had wanted to produce it since 2008 when he was still at Burts, but felt that it was more suited to a new brand than the Burts name.

The company had made a big saving when setting up the factory by securing a second-hand bagging line from a Swedish supplier that had found it surplus to requirements, he said.

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