I first noticed a stall of Holy Kettle Corn in a mall one or two months back; today, I could not help but notice it is all over the place and our country quickly became a popcorn eating region. I became curious and checked their website learning they already have 27 stalls and are located in every mall I frequent (that explains why I see them all over the place).

This is definitely a quick success story using a common and simple product sold in a non-popcorn country like ours.

What made it instantly big?

Popcorn is not rocket science; but they managed to turn something neglected for all time, through a unique taste, superior packaging and price.

Taste - salty and sweet. When I first tasted their popcorn I instantly noticed a unique flavor of salt and caramel very different from the usual butter, barbeque, and cheese flavors I have eaten for the last twenty years.

Packaging - the package as seen on the picture above has a simple and colorful branding on a sealed paperbag; but most importantly, their killer marketing slogan:

No Butter
No Preservatives
No Artificial Flavoring
No MSG
High in fiber

Most of the products sold nowadays have these characteristics but no one emphasizes it best than Holy Kettle Corn.

Price - the smallest bag is priced P25.00 (less than 50 cents) and their biggest bag which was good for three people is priced P60.00 (more than a dollar).

This is so cheap compared to the raw popcorns I buy at the supermarket and those sold at movie houses.

Looking at how many people are lined up buying Holy Kettle, I could not help but shake my head how something so simple could become so big through simple ideas.

Is the phenomenon sustainable?

I have my thoughts about it but I would post them at a later date. For a preview, I saw two new competitors, today at the mall, with their own version of Holy Kettle.

[tags]Business, Holy Kettle Corn[/tags]