Interview with Louise Webb, founder of Crunch Corn
Find out what inspired Louise Webb to launch Crunch Corn, generously seasoned Peruvian Giant Corn pieces, roasted to perfection, combined with simple, bold flavours to create a big, satisfying crunchy eat.
What was the thinking behind Crunch Corn?
Our Crunch Corn epiphany began in Seville after an enjoyable trip navigating this foodie capital’s engaging tapas bar scene, instantly sparking a whole new debate in fine grain appreciation. Peruvian Chocolo corn is roughly four times bigger than traditional sweet corn and offers a more discerning nutty taste, a truly satisfying crunch and a significantly larger surface area to truly embrace uncompromising flavours.
We had a small foothold in savoury snacking but felt we could do so much better, especially in historically unchartered sectors like foodservice, hospitality and the on-trade. Yes, there are other polite mixes of nibbly corn and seed mixes but they’re small and fiddly not loud and proud.
Better still our roasted corn is fibre-rich, nut free, vegan friendly and HFSS compliant!
When did you know you were onto something?
A big moment was deciding on a best-of-both worlds offer that married well-known UK crispy flavours (e.g. Salt & Vinegar) with scrummy crunchy Peruvian corn, which meant familiarity meets something a little more left field.
In a time when nuts are increasingly price prohibitive, pork scratchings are as old as the hills and crisps; moreish as they might be, are a little too high in unwelcome fat for many.
What’s your career background?
Varied! Having started out as a product developer and buyer within the supermarket system, I quickly came to the conclusion that sales was my passion as I wanted a more hands-on role shaping and influencing the direction of various food categories.
By 2016, an artisanal popcorn business packed with untapped potential had become my sole focus. The seeds of a great brand were already in place but I saw the scope for much growth.
At breakneck speed we’ve evolved the brand’s identity and vision around ‘creating joyful happy moments everyday,’ quirky flavour marriages whilst also bedding down a new appreciation for the gifting opportunity that provides our brand with a proud 2nd income stream.
Today the brand is thriving both domestically and over the pond, but as ardent ‘corn obsessives’ knew popcorn wasn’t the whole story.
What are your career highlights?
- Taking Popcorn Kitchen B-Corp
- Turning our online business around
- Joining mutually beneficial alliances like Buy Women Built
- Exporting to the USA
What obstacles have you had to overcome?
Cash, cash, cash and cash! It doesn’t get any easier, the world seems very risk adverse at the moment and even with a track record of scaling businesses the industry’s default position is caution!
How do you balance work and family?
Ha ha at this present moment I don’t – Crunch Corn is like a young demanding child, growing at pace and requiring a lot of nurturing!
What wise words can you share with up and coming entrepreneurs?
- This is not easy, brace yourself for a real rollercoaster ride
- Surround yourself with supportive family and great, trustworthy colleagues who not only share your vision but bring different skills to the party!
- Get yourself a good accountant!
- Take time to pause! Celebrate the highs, learn from the mistakes and then move on! Whatever you do don’t waste time dwelling on the mistakes, wrong turns or ‘what ifs.’
- If anyone lets you down – don’t get angry it serves no purpose and is wasted energy. Dust yourself down, find a new solution and move on (even if it hurts).
- Try and take down time every day – even if it’s a 10 minute walk – look after your mental health and eat well feeding the machine with nutritious food!
Check out the Crunch Corn collection.
