Marketing Team gets first look at the process of making popcorn

February 10, 2026

Our Marketing Team went behind-the-scenes at ACE Popcorn, getting a first-hand look at how our delicious popcorn is crafted by our team.

The Marketing Team from Autism East Midlands visited our Training, Employment and Social Enterprise centre to understand the process behind making delicious popcorn.

As soon as we were ready and got all the necessary attire on, we turned on Poppi, our air popper. We scooped a handful of kernels into the funnel.

After we put the kernels in, it was a waiting game, but soon enough, we heard the sound of lovely kernels popping and could smell the popcorn!

Sure enough, popcorn soon came flying out of Poppi and into the tray below.

Marketing Apprentice scooping kernels from bag

Social Enterprise Lead telling Marketing Apprentice where the kernels go

After the popcorn was made, it was onto the separating, which involves:

Ensuring only the best pieces are included
Dragging the popcorn over the vent, which removes any unnecessary stray kernels
Quality-checking that the popcorn was fluffy and well ‘popped’! After scooping all the yummy, golden popcorn into a bag, we were ready for the next step.

Marketing Apprentice scooping popcorn over holes in tray

Social Enterprise Lead holding bag while Marketing Apprentice scoops popcorn into bag

Now for the most enjoyable part, the flavour!

We had two options: the Double Feature and the Tumbler. We used both, but on different batches to really see the difference.

We poured our soft popcorn into a clear box, ready to be mixed with the warm caramel.

The Double Feature worked its magic, by making the caramel until it was perfect.

Once the caramel was ready, we added the popcorn and mixed it all together until the popcorn was a nice golden brown colour.

Caramel is only one of THREE flavours that Ace Popcorn will be offering to members of the public, with the other two being butter-salted and sweet. The processes will differ slightly depending on the flavour.

Popcorn being flavoured using the mixing machine

Popcorn being poured from red bag into transparent tray

Social Enterprise Lead pouring popcorn into mixer

Next, we used the tumbler to see how it spreads the flavour.

We tipped a new batch of soft butterfly popcorn inside and sprinkled in a generous dusting of sugar. Then we let the Tumbler spin and swirl until every piece was coated in sweet goodness.

Even our Marketing Apprentice Jacob had a go, donning the appropriate food safety gear to get up close and personal with how the popcorn is made.