Virginia Specialty Foods, Inc. is a privately owned natural and organic foods holding company with a focus on socially responsible business. The company’s flagship operation is Virginia based Popghum LLC, maker of the popular snack Popghum.
What is Popghum? It’s basically kid-sized, kid-safe organic popcorn. Popghum isn’t made from corn, it’s made from sorghum – a related grain that’s much smaller and loses its hulls when air-popped.
When Popghum was founded in February 2009, the most recent data showed that it was the perfect time to market and sell a healthy, organic specialty food snack like Popghum. While the US economy continued to suffer, the specialty food industry remained strong. A Mintel market study reported the following:
- The specialty food industry recorded $60 billion in sales in 2008.
- Retail sales of specialty food in 2008 reached $48 billion – an 8.4 percent increase over 2007.
- In 2008, 2,349 specialty food products were introduced versus 3,158 in 2007, leaving less competition for start-ups.
- The average specialty food store records $4.2 million in annual sales.
- The average specialty food manufacturer does $1.8 million in annual sales.
Popghum is part of the Chips, Pretzels & Individual Snacks segment of the specialty food market, which includes brands like Kettle Foods, Terra Chips and Cape Cod. The Mintel study showed that this segment was one of the fastest growing of the specialty food market, with sales growth between 2006 and 2008 recorded at a staggering 29.2 percent.
Initial demand for Popghum was even higher than expected. The Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services recognized this and decided to promote the company nationwide by funding trips to Chicago for the nation’s biggest organic trade show, and Boston for the the nation’s biggest natural products trade show. In Boston, Popghum received a nomination for Most Innovative Product.
Popghum also acquired an impressive and valuable asset in 2009 in the form of a partnership agreement with World Wildlife Fund, the world’s leading conservation organization. Popghum’s packaging features the WWF logo, photos of different endangered species and narratives about how people can help save them . Popghum is the first organic food company to have such an agreement with WWF.
Low production costs and a proven high-growth market for the product make impressive margins possible on Popghum. In its second quarter of operations, total sales of Popghum increased by 20%. In its third quarter, total sales increased by 50%. The owners expect this trend to continue in Q3 and Q4 2011.
Investment inquiries contact Dan Gadra at 888-338-5963 or finance@virginiaspecialtyfoods.com.