Pop Popcorn Launch Strategy

Overview

Pop Popcorn is a new popped popcorn product being launched under the Doodle Farms umbrella, produced by TS Foods. The launch strategy was defined during the ^[1] and covers bag ordering, production run sizing, shelf life considerations, and a split fulfillment approach for Amazon vs. website orders.

The product enters a competitive category (alongside brands like Skinny Pop, Boom Chicka Pop, and Garrett's), and the team's expectation is modest initial traction — potentially 1,000–5,000 units in the first month — scaling over 3–6 months.

Bag Order

• Minimum order quantity: 25,000 bags
• Decision: Order the minimum to start; do not over-commit before demand is established
• Owner: Karly to inform Lucy to place the order

Production Run

• Approach: Start with the minimum production run
• Rationale: Popped popcorn has a limited shelf life (estimated ~6 months from pop date), so over-producing before sell-through rates are known creates spoilage risk
• Open question: Shelf life in foil bags may be longer than standard plastic bags — Mark to confirm with Justin at TS Foods
• If foil bags extend shelf life significantly, minimum-run caution may be relaxed in future orders

Fulfillment Split

Pop Popcorn will use a two-channel fulfillment model:

Why Not MCF for Website?

Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) is currently used for Old World products, but it works cleanly there because Old World is a single-brand website with no mixed-cart orders. For Doodle Farms website orders, customers may bundle Pop Popcorn with beans, cornmeal, or other products. If Pop Popcorn inventory only lives at Amazon FBA, mixed-cart orders become logistically messy. Keeping one pallet at the DFO warehouse solves this.

Competitive Context

The popped popcorn category on Amazon is dominated by large brands with significant sales volume:

• Skinny Pop: 3,000–30,000+ units/month depending on SKU
• Boom Chicka Pop: ~10,000 units/month
• Garrett's (4 oz): ~50 units/month at that specific SKU

Pop Popcorn will launch at 4.4 oz. Initial projections are conservative: 1,000–5,000 units/month in early months, with growth potential as organic rank builds.

Action Items

• [ ] Karly — Email Lucy: order 25k bag minimum; confirm minimum production run with Justin; arrange one pallet shipment to DFO warehouse
• [ ] Mark — Research shelf life of popped popcorn in foil bags; confirm with Justin at TS Foods
• [ ] Gilbert — Ensure Pop Popcorn is not added to Google Merchant Center feed until product is live and in stock (premature listing causes feed errors)

Related

• ^[2]
• ^[3]
• ^[4]