Seattle-born Halfpops recently sent me a sample box to try out some of their new flavors. I brought the box to my office to share with all of my coworkers and within a few days, each bag was empty and nobody was shy about sharing their opinion!
Founder of Halfpops, Mike Fitzgerald, was slightly obsessed with finding the perfect process on how to create a crunchier version of popcorn. He built a small factory in the hopes of finding this perfect crunch. A couple of years and over ten thousand pounds of popcorn later, Mike finally figured out how to do it! His friends and family loved his new and tasty invention, and he decided to get a US Patent under the name Halfpops. In April 2011, Halfpops first began appearing in stores and since then, the crunchy invention has been featured in the New York Times, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Backpacker Magazine and can be found in over 2,000 stores up and down the West Coast and across the country (soon to include the mega store of all stores, Costco!). Halfpops now boasts 10 employees, a new factory and a little nudge from some famous Olympian and X-Games star, Shaun White. Perhaps you have heard of him?
Halfpops are gluten free, nut free, have no preservatives, no corn syrup, no artificial flavors and no hydrogenated oils.
Halfpops flavors currently include:
-Black Truffle & Sea Salt
-Angry Kettle Corn
-Brooklyn Dill Pickle
-Butter & Pure Ocean Sea Salt
-Caramel & Sea Salt
-Aged White Cheddar
-Chipotle BBQ
In my unofficial work poll, the majority of my coworkers, including myself, loved the Brooklyn Dill Pickle the most, which actually surprised us all. Dill pickle and popcorn is not a flavor combination I ever thought I would try together. One of my coworkers suggested that pubs should carry this particular flavor as a snack to go with light beers. I decided to test this suggestion and I can say without a doubt, every bar and pub in the country should pair Brooklyn Dill Pickle Halfpops as a treat for their patrons and suggest they snack on it while drinking a light, cold one. Talk about a perfect, summertime, after work, happy hour treat.
On the sweet side, Angry Kettle Corn and Caramel & Sea Salt were the winners, and since I always seem to talk about alcohol anyways, these paired well with darker beers, such as a porter or stout.
Halfpops are very versatile and can be added as part of a trail mix, as a topping, or as I discovered, paired as a snack with beer. I recommend checking them out at your local grocer and trying some out for yourself!
Click here to find out where you can purchase Halfpops for yourself!
