The company was named in honor of Gene’s dad who was called “Pop Pop” by Gene’s children. Since the tradition has continued with Gene being called “Pop Pop” by grandchildren, it seemed natural to name the company Pop-Pop’s Gourmet Treats (d/b/a Pop-Pop’s Gourmet Popcorn).
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How did we get our start?
Gene & Patty McFarland are the proud owners of Pop-Pop’s Gourmet Treats, LLC, D/B/A Pop-Pop’s Gourmet Popcorn. The amazing journey of our venture began in 2010 when one of Patty’s daughters asked for Peanut Butter popcorn for her birthday. Patty was out of work and back in college to finish her education. Selling popcorn seemed like an open door to earn extra cash till the job market opened up. Since an oil popper was too expensive, we bought a $20 air popper. We had NO IDEA what we were doing! Through MANY hours of research, hunting for answers about how to coat air-popped popcorn, and experimentation, we learned to create delightfully flavored popcorn.
Big things come in small $20 packages.
In the beginning, money was tight – I was laid off from work and Gene was working as a waiter, so we could not afford to purchase an oil popper. We ended up finding a $20 hot-air popper, and began using this in our kitchen! Well, imagine our surprise when we learned the hard way that none of the products used by oil-popping companies would stick to our popcorn… We could’ve given up right then and there, but that’s not in our nature. We took the opportunity to research, experiment, learn from customer feedback, and research some more. The better our popcorn was tasting, the more that word started to spread amongst our friends & family about what we’ve been up to. It wasn’t long before other people started wanting our popcorn!
From Farmer’s Markets to our own storefront.
From that point, it sort of made sense to turn our craft into a business. In 2010, we started selling our popcorn at the local farmer’s markets. Now, our operation has become so much more than we could’ve ever anticipated. Looking back, that $20 hot-air popper was a blessing in disguise. We absolutely love working with hot-air popped popcorn! We appreciate its health benefits, and the versatility it allows us to create our own unique toppings. We are so thankful to be here today, serving happiness one kernel at a time.
Community Involvement
We love to give back to our communities as much as we can. In 2017, I was asked to create something for Midland Blooms. The two judges asked me to make something that they would remember Midland for. Midland was in the running for being one of the prettiest cities as per the national Blooms organization, and since it was for Midland Blooms I decided to create two potted “flowers.”
