Childhood popcorn memories become successful business that’s popping on Cape Cod
By Doug Meehan
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MASHPEE, Massachusetts (WCVB) — What started as a fond childhood memory for two brothers has now turned into a full-fledged, successful business on Cape Cod. That memory and now business is, of all things, popcorn.
“Popcorn has always been a Smith family tradition,” said Pat Smith, co-founder of Smith Family Popcorn.
Pat Smith and his brother, Dan Smith, both spent their summers as kids on the beaches of Ocean City, Maryland. During that time, the taste and smells of eating freshly popped popcorn from the boardwalk harkened warm family memories.
After leaving corporate America, the brothers wanted to create that same experience for families on Cape Cod. But when they first launched their small-batch gourmet treat in 2018, business didn’t exactly pop.
“We looked at each other and said, ‘We might have made a big mistake quitting our jobs and opening up a popcorn shop.’ But I knew if I handed it to people, people would love it,” Pat Smith said.
People did indeed love it. Now eight years later, with dozens of flavor options and a storefront at the Mashpee Commons, the Smith family is cooking up hundreds of thousands of bags of popped deliciousness a year.
“The way you should make it is with butter, brown sugar, salt, classic ingredients, and you have to get it to a cracking point,” Pat Smith said.
The Smiths’ success isn’t limited to the summer months. Business in November and December can be just as hot as the warmer months.
“Our holiday season is actually as busy as our summer season. It’s all just compacted into about four or five weeks,” Dan Smith said.
In addition to the Mashpee brick-and-mortar store, needing to keep up with demand, the brothers opened up a manufacturing operation in Hyannis to handle wholesale and grocery store orders.
They’ve expanded to offer a new line of popcorn designed specifically for your pup.
“The dogs go crazy for it. It’s an awesome training treat for the dogs cause it’s low (in) calorie. So, we have a lot of people who train service dogs, police dogs, use it,” Pat Smith said.
Like the name implies, this Made in Mass company is as much about family as it is the popcorn.
“Since 2018, it’s been a family affair. And we’ve taken on employees that now are part of the family. So that’s really the cool part about it,” Dan Smith said.
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