Harry & David Moose Munch popcorn set to take on Hershey and Conagra

Harry & David is one of the brands operating under the online gifting retailer 1-800-Flowers, which sold its Chicago-native chocolate brand Fannie May​​ to Ferrero for $115m a year ago.

Moose Munch, which has traditionally been packed in of Harry & David’s gift baskets along with baked goods and wine, is especially popular during the holiday seasons, according to Steven Lightman, the company’s president.

However, with the popcorn brand’s wholesale business posting an 18% revenue growth year-over-year, Lightman said the decision was taken to split it out as a standalone brand for further development.

The brand has added three new flavors to its lineup, including dark chocolate peppermint, dulce de leche and hot chocolate.

“Moose Munch is important to us and we’re looking to grow it disproportionately so we can have more year-round everyday business instead of just during Christmas,” ​he said.

Two-fold strategy

Lightman noted Harry & David has a two-fold strategy to make Moose Munch stand out in the popcorn market.

“On one side, we partnered with companies [like Nestlé] to co-brand products such as Crunch and Butterfinger Bites Moose Munch. Our latest joint venture is with Cinnabon [Bakery Restaurant].”​

“It’s a way to push innovative products out into the marketplace to increase brand recognition,”​ he said.

The other part of the strategy is to launch single-serve bags in convenient stores across the US.

“We think this is what’s been attracting younger consumers to the snacks category [because of the on-the-go snacking trend], especially millennials and Gen Z,”​ he said. “We’re also expanding our presence from our website and our 45 existing retailers across the country to supermarkets and drug stores such as CVS.”​

‘The worst thing that could happen…’

Lightman said the popcorn market has never been this competitive with more startups entering the category and big companies like Hershey and Conagra acquiring them.

According to Euromonitor  data, PepsiCo’s Smartfood leads the category with the biggest market share, followed by Conagra Brands’ Orville Redenbachers and Amplify Snacks’ SkinnyPop (which was acquired by Hershey).

Although neither Harry & David nor its sister brand, The Popcorn Factory, have made it onto the top 15 US popcorn companies list, Lightman believes 1-800-Flowers, as their parent company, has deep pockets and is able to spend on R&D, marketing and distribution expansion, which will give them the edge.

“[Being acquired by a large food company] is the worst thing that could happen to us. We have a strong infrastructure, and we’re ahead of many of the smaller guys,”​ said Lightman.

“I believe our market share will continue to grow as long as we stay nimble, move the ship fast and adapt as the marketplace changes,”​ he added.