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About Time You Met: Adam Sopher, Founder of Joe & Seph’s

About Time You Met: Adam Sopher, Founder of Joe & Seph's - About Time Magazine

Joe & Seph’s losses bulge in post-pandemic evolution

Luxury popcorn maker Joe & Seph’s saw losses temporarily mount last year as it refocused its business back towards supermarkets.

The family business, which sells gourmet popcorn infused with the likes of camembert and whisky, said pre-tax losses rose from £454k to £1.1m in the year to 31 January 2024 despite sales growing from £7.9m to £8.7m, according to its latest filings at Companies House.

The business said the losses were generated in the first nine months of the year as it was “carrying too much overhead”.

Joe & Seph’s sales doubled overnight during the pandemic as it sought to cope with a huge influx of online orders.

Expecting these levels to continue for several years, it invested in new equipment and a bigger team to deal with the greater volumes.

However, as lockdowns eased and its online sales fell away, much of this became superfluous.

While Joe & Seph’s revenues was now back above its pandemic peak, this was largely due to a growth in trade sales, said Adam Sopher, co-founder and CEO.

“A lot of the roles and equipment we had were specific to a direct-to-consumer business. The trade business is quite different and just doesn’t need…

Joe & Seph’s launches Sodastream-style popcorn maker

Posh popcorn brand Joe & Seph’s is taking a leaf out of Sodastream’s book.

The brand has launched a kitchen appliance for shoppers to make their own gourmet popcorn at home - which rings in at £35.

The machine air pops the corn, rather than frying (or microwaving) it, which the brand said “creates gourmet popcorn that is low in calories, a source of fibre and boasts the most delicious, fluffy texture”.

The brand will sell Make Your Own Gourmet Popcorn Kits which can be used with the machine to create popcorn in Joe & Seph’s flavours (rsp: £6/230g, £25/920g), including Salted Caramel Popcorn, Double Chocolate Popcorn, Classic Caramel Popcorn, Toffee Apple & Cinnamon, and Orange Chocolate Popcorn.

However the appliance will also work with regular popcorn kernels.

Shoppers had “embraced experimenting in the kitchen and home entertaining” since the pandemic hit, said the brand’s co-founder Adam Sopher, meaning the NPD would “enter Joe & Seph’s into a whole new category of kitchenware, while also providing a new Popcorn Chef experience for our loyal fans”.