Maker of organic popcorn lands investment

BOULDER – Quinn Popcorn, a maker of organic popcorn packaged in microwavable bags, received a six-figure investment from Abe’s Velocity Fund in Chicago.

Specific financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

The six-employee company moved to 2100 Central Ave. in Boulder a month ago from Woburn, Massachusetts, to be closer to other young companies in the natural foods industry, according to co-founder Coulter Lewis. Lewis started the company about two years ago with his wife, Kristy Lewis.

Abe’s Velocity Fund makes investments of $100,000 to $1 million in companies that sell organic products on the Abe’s Market online website, www.abesmarket.com.  

Quinn Popcorn is the first investment for the Abe’s Market fund, which has $10 million to invest in natural and organic companies through Mistral Equity Partners LLC, a private equity firm in New York
 
“Abe’s Market was our first online retailer since we were running out of our attic,” Lewis said. “We’re super-thrilled.”

Quinn’s microwaveable popcorn products come in a compostable bag that has no chemical coatings, Lewis said. The popcorn is organic. Seasonings are added from separate pouches, which means other real ingredients can be included in the bag, including things like kale, sea salt, rosemary and butter, Lewis said.

The microwavable bags of popcorn sell online for $4.99 per bag. Quinn launched pre-popped bags of popcorn in January, and they retail for $3.99 per bag, Lewis said. An increasing number of customers appear to be willing to pay a higher-than-typical price for the quality of the organic, nonchemical popcorn products, he said.

“Our intention is to create some lasting change in the food industry and improve the quality of the food we’re getting,” Lewis said.

The company markets its products as “farm-to-bag.” Customers can type in a batch number online that that is printed on the bag and see the supply chain of products that went into making it, Lewis said.

In addition to the online sales at Abe’s Market, Quinn Popcorn is available at most Whole Foods Market stores around the country, at Kroger Co. grocery stores, including King Soopers stores in the region and at Wegmans Food Markets Inc., a regional grocery store chain based in New York, Lewis said.

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