Theatrical giant AMC Entertainment announced it’s “expanding its business outside of the traditional theatrical exhibition industry with plans to capture a piece of the growing multi-billion dollar popcorn market.”
That means it will be selling AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn through four new platforms starting next year, including at AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn kiosks at select mall retail locations around the country.
The company will also make the popcorn available through food delivery-to-home services, and it will sell “To Go” packages at its theatres of freshly popped popcorn for takeout and/or pickup.
Later in 2022, AMC plans to offer prepackaged and ready-to-pop microwaveable AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn at supermarkets and convenience stores around the country.
The announcement comes ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings next Monday and as Aron continue to engage with the meme stock’s millions of retail investors who helped save the company from Chapter 11 and continue to support it.
AMC said the U.S. multi-billion popcorn market is expected to grow significantly over the next several years. “With the popularity of AMC Theatres’ Perfectly Popcorn, and given AMC’s current position as the largest freshly popped popcorn provider in the United States, AMC believes that an expansion into the sale of popcorn on a retail basis outside of theatres is a natural extension of AMC’s core business.”
AMC initially plans to launch up to five “AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn” stores, counters and/or kiosks in shopping malls around the country in the first half of 2022. These initial locations are likely to be in malls without an AMC theatre location. AMC plans to have up to 15 retail stores open by the end of 2022 with more opening in 2023 and beyond and also selling candy, Coca-Cola options and bottled water.
“The announcement that AMC will become a competitor in the multi-billion popcorn market is so natural and logical, one wonders why the idea has not been tried before,” said the company’s indefatigable CEO Adam Aron.
“AMC Theatres currently pops in the range of 50 tons of popcorn per day. But the popularity of popcorn extends well beyond the doors of our movie theatres. With this new AMC initiative, we expect to reach entirely new segments of the U.S. population with our popular AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn. For AMC Entertainment, this is an opportunity to diversify our business and to create a new revenue stream for our company, all the while delighting popcorn lovers whether they are in our theatres, are on the go, or find themselves in the comfort of their own homes.”