Dive Brief:
- Despite consumers' changing demands for healthier and more exotic flavored popcorn, Jolly Time’s Blast O Butter has remained a favorite for 20 years, according to Food Navigator.
- Ready-to-eat popcorn’s surge in popularity has taken a significant bite out of microwave popcorn’s market share. Sales have dropped roughly 30%, but Jolly Time reports that they have slowed and leveled out.
- The latest update to the Blast O Butter packaging gives it a more modern look. It also highlights that the popcorn has 45 calories per cup, and is non-GMO, gluten-free and whole grain. Jolly Time’s website also plays up that it’s a family-owned business, and that Midwest family farms provide the popcorn used in the iconic recipe.
Dive Insight:
Trends come and go, but classic flavors have endured. Consumers have proven they like their chips salty, their ice cream sweet, and their popcorn butter flavored.
Jolly Time’s Blast O Butter has succeeded by not bowing to changing customer tastes and sticking with its bold butter recipe. If a customer wants a healthier snack, the popcorn maker offers low-calorie varieties. Eager to experiment with spice? They have a jalapeño flavor. But for those who want to take a trip down memory lane and feel like a kid in a movie theater again, there's Blast O Butter.
Consumers may be trying to eat healthier overall, but they still want to treat themselves on occasion. Hostess came back from bankruptcy by appealing to brand nostalgia and consumers' desire to indulge in treats — particularly Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos. Cheetos, another indulgent snack, has remained popular and stayed relevant with innovations like Mac N’ Cheetos. People may want more kale in their diets, but they’re not entirely willing to give up certain guilty pleasures.
Jolly Time must know its consumers well because it appears the company has not tinkered with the recipe for Blast O Butter to reduce fat, sodium or calories at any point. There are other varieties in their lineup that meet customers' demands in these categories. It appears the only thing that’s changed about Blast O Butter in 20 years is its packaging.
Food manufacturers would be wise to remember what Jolly Time has accomplished the next time they want to update a product. The popcorn maker has seen Blast O Butter on store shelves for two decades, which is no small task in the highly competitive food business. They’ve also kept customers happy by giving them what they want, even if it doesn’t line up with their long-term health goals. Sometimes, a treat just needs to be a treat.