Gourmet popcorn sounds like a marketing phrase until you look at what actually separates it from a cinema bag: how it's cooked, what it's flavoured with, and who's making it. Joe & Seph's built its entire business on that gap.
A retirement project that outgrew the kitchen
Joe & Seph's began in 2010, when Joe Sopher, newly retired, decided to recreate the flavoured popcorn he'd developed a taste for on business trips to the United States. Working with his son Adam, wife Jackie and son Paul from the family kitchen, he went through a long run of burnt pans and late-night tasting sessions before landing on his first four gourmet flavours, including a savoury one made with real cheese.
Sold out in two days
The family trialled six flavours at a food show in 2010. The response was immediate: the stock sold out within two days. Four months later, Joe & Seph's had its first listing at Selfridges, and the kitchen project became a proper business.
Air-popped, not fried
The core difference from cinema-style popcorn is the cooking method. Joe & Seph's air-pops its kernels rather than frying them, then coats them in natural flavourings rather than the generic sweet or salted seasoning most popcorn relies on. It's a slower, more expensive process, but it's the reason the brand can support flavours far beyond sweet and salted.
Still handmade in London
Well over a decade on, the range has grown to more than 80 popcorn flavours and 10 caramel sauces, and the brand has picked up more than 100 Great Taste Awards. Every batch is still handmade in London by a small team working from the company's own North London kitchens, rather than outsourced to a large-scale contract manufacturer.
Frequently asked questions
Who started Joe & Seph's?
Adam Sopher, working with his father Joe, mother Jackie and brother Paul, started the brand from their family kitchen in London in 2010.
What makes Joe & Seph's different from ordinary popcorn?
The popcorn is air-popped rather than fried and flavoured with natural ingredients, giving it a gourmet positioning rather than a cinema-snack one.
Where is Joe & Seph's popcorn made?
Everything is handmade in London, produced from the brand's own North London kitchens.