The Coronavirus pandemic has changed our life drastically. From a shift in how we work to how we travel, eat and relax, everything has taken a sharp turn. Where on one end health and fitness has taken priority, on the other we just can’t stop noshing on comfort food. And there are tonnes of feel-good snacks that can cheer us up or simply keep our spirits high during these testing times. One such comfort snack is the microwave popcorn that has emerged as a favourite comfort food in the pandemic. Honestly, they are so easy to make at home that one can easily get hooked to it. That’s what happened in Europe, where the sale of microwave popcorn has witnessed an unprecedented surge.
With cinemas closed or operating in limited capacity in most European countries, the sale of popcorn came downhill in theatres. But there’s an upside to it too. The sale of microwave popcorn outside the cinema increased simultaneously during the pandemic across Europe.
As per a report in AFP, Natais is one of Europe's biggest popcorn producers based in France and accounts for 40% of popcorn sales in all of Europe. The company was set up by Michael Ehmann in 1994 and witnessed a rare spike in microwave popcorn sales in Europe. “The health crisis has had negative consequences for our network of suppliers to cinemas, but also positive consequences, because sales of microwavable popcorn have risen sharply,” Ehmann told AFP.
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According to sales director Helene Ricau, "During the lockdowns, people discovered popcorn as a sort of comfort food in these gloomy times." Natais sold more than 200 million bags of popcorn in Europe in 2020 and 207 million in 2021. "We're targeting annual growth rates of 4.0-5.0 percent in the coming years,” the company reportedly stated.
Popcorn truly is quite a comfort food, especially when entertainment has completely come home. With OTT platforms delivering almost all the content that theatres have to offer, microwave popcorn adds to the exact vibe of a theatre, at home. That’s what I have experienced in the last two years. With my favourite movie or show on Netflix at the end of the day, and popcorn on my side, I really don't need a theatre to enjoy it.
What did you think of this new trend of microwave popcorn? Let us know.