Smartfood is an American brand of prepopped, flavored
popcorn that is made by the
Frito-Lay
Frito-Lay is an American subsidiary of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets, and sells corn chips, potato chips, and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-fla ...
company.
History
Smartfood was first created in 1985 by Andrew Martin - chairman and CEO, Ken Meyers- VP of operations, and Martin's wife
Annie Withey- VP of consumer relations, in
Hampton, Connecticut
Hampton is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,728 at the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, is land and (1.96%) is water.
Histo ...
. Smartfood was first marketed under the registered brand name in 1985, and was manufactured in
Marlborough
Marlborough may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
** Marlborough College, public school
* Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England
* The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England
Austral ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. Smartfood was brought to market with the help of the Yandow family.
According to Martin, “Unlike the cheese popcorn already on the market, ours was made with real cheese and it didn't glow in the dark. We wanted quality and we were up against the negative consumer image, because pre-popped popcorn in a bag was considered garbage, not worth the money because it is not fresh and you can make it better and cheaper at home."
In January 1989, the company was sold to Texas-based Frito-Lay fo
15 million
Withey and Martin later formed
Annie's Homegrown
Annie's Homegrown (or simply Annie's) is an American organic food company owned by General Mills. The company was founded in Hampton, Connecticut by Annie Withey and Andrew Martin, who had previously founded Smartfood popcorn along with Ken Meyer ...
, which markets macaroni and cheese, pasta, and other organic products.
See also
*
List of popcorn brands
This is a list of notable popcorn brands. Popcorn, also known as popping corn, is a type of corn (maize, ''Zea mays var. everta'') that expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Popcorn is able to pop because its kernels have a hard moist ...
*
External links
*
"The Din of Popcorn Fills the Land" in ''The New York Times''
"Smartfood Rides Popcorn Seesaw" in ''Advertising Age''
in ''Inc.''
Brand name snack foods
Frito-Lay brands
Popcorn brands
Products introduced in 1985
{{food-product-stub