News
Ancient Tiny Popcorn in New Taste Sensation
K & K Popcorn continues product launch with introduction in select area grocery stores.
SHELLSBURG, IA - This great tasting, tiny popcorn was nearly lost forever.
Its exact origin in unknown but it is native to the prehistoric Americas.
It had been shared by American Indians with a pioneer family in the 1850's.
Over the years, each planting was carefully culled to promote the best
taste, color and plant sturdiness. The small harvested crop was shared
with family and friends for generations. But the cycle was nearly broken
in the mid 1970's. The corn had not been planted for a few years and less
than two pounds of popcorn were found in a fruit jar by a family member
returning from a career in the army. He saved a handful of corn for planting
and popped the rest. The journey of that handful of corn is the rest of
the
story.
Today's popcorns and especially microwave varieties have been bred to pop larger and larger. This creates more volume but when it comes to taste, the whole idea seems to be a lot of hot air. On the other hand, tiny K & K Popcorn has not been hybridized or genetically altered in any way. It has simply been carefully nurtured to maintain its unique flavor.
But the small plants, heavily laden with 12 - 15 ears of corn were very difficult to grow. In the early 1990's Gene Mealhow, a farmer and soil consultant was brought in to develop cultivation techniques that would make K & K Popcorn commercially viable. Success and passion for the project eventually led to the Mealhow family's ownership of the business. K & K Popcorn is now grown and processed under the strict control of Gene, his wife Lynn and the family. As popcorn lovers around the world rediscover real popcorn taste, K & K Popcorn has seen dramatic sales growth with a production increase of 100% in the past year.
As an added benefit, when the tiny K & K kernel pops the hull disintegrates. This is great news for those popcorn lovers who have found the new hybrids and heavier hulled varieties hard to digest.
K & K Popcorn is the new taste sensation. And it has been the way of hundreds of years. Now, that same wonderful little popcorn is available at your local Hy-Vee and Fareway grocery stores in Iowa, or can be ordered on our web site at www.kandkpopcorn.com.
