RTE Popcorn is the new Millennial-friendly snack

POPCORN is coming back strong as a pre-popped ready-to-eat snack, according to the new industry report from Rabobank, “The Popcorn Blockbuster”.

In the United States, RTE popcorn is the new contender to potato chips, a snack that rakes in $7.6 billion in annual sales. Likewise microwave popcorn and movie bucket popcorn are looking plain when compared to their cousin, RTE, which now comes in interesting new flavours like sriracha.

To appeal to healthier snackers, RTE popcorn manufacturers have also taken advantage of tags such as ‘natural’, ‘organic’ and ‘gluten-free.’

These have elevated popcorn into a ‘Millennial-friendly, cool and healthy snack,’ noted Rabobank.

“For a long time, popcorn was the somewhat unhealthy snack of choice for moviegoers and couch potatoes,” said Nicholas Fereday, executive director and senior analyst of Food and Consumer Trends for Rabobank. “Now, new popcorn players are finding ways to appeal to changing lifestyles and tastes, revitalising popcorn as a healthy and convenient snack.”

The revitalised popcorn market will also benefit farmers. Rabobank recommends that food processors reach out to farmers looking to explore new markets and escape the commodity treadmill.

As a take-away, this report reminds manufacturers that they can benefit from looking at how to turn an old classic into something brand-new.