HOLLAND, Mich. — For Benjamin Robinson, popcorn is more than just a sweet or savory snack. It's an art. It's a craft — his family's craft.
Benjamin's love for popped kernels started when he was a kid growing up in Grand Rapids. The taste, the texture, the smell — it was the perfect combination.
"We would always have movie night with popcorn and enjoy ourselves," Benjamin said.
However, their infatuation with popcorn runs deep.
"We did research and found out 94% of the world in 2018 loved popcorn," Benjamin said. "It's brilliant. It's a delicious taste. It's good for the digestive system. It goes good with movies. I mean, it's got the crunch. So many reasons why I love popcorn."
Benjamin said his dad would always make the best batches, simply using a greased-up skillet to pop the kernels. But the full recipe is still a secret to this day.
"Whatever he did to his popcorn, he kept it to himself," he said. "One day, I may try to get that information out of (him.) He's got a taste man. He's got to taste.”
The recipe might still be a secret, but the lessons learned are not. Benjamin has brought that old family tradition into his new home, with his wife and four young kids.
"What's the rule in my house?" he asked his son.
"Everybody has a job," his son replied.
In 2018, that rule was put to the test. The Robinsons decided to start a popcorn business together. Fittingly, they were going to call it Robinson's Popcorn.
"Me and my family went door to door selling T-shirts that said, 'I supported Robinson's Popcorn before they were popping.' In three weeks, we raised over %7,500. In three months, we raised over $12,000.”
With that early support from the community, Benjamin had no doubt this risk was going to pay off.
"You know how people have their own art?" he said. "This is my art. This is my craft. It's my family's craft.”
They bought a spot at Rogers Plaza in Wyoming and turned it into their storefront. It made his family even hungrier to taste success.
“We love doing it," he said. "We love making something that someone else loves to have. So it may not be 94% of the world, but if 25% of that world loves what you make, you got enough people.”
People loved the product, but the profits weren't there to start. They brought in just $14,000 in year one. However, it only went up from there, making $30,000 in year two, $68,000 in year three, and last year, more than $100,000.
Most of their traffic, about 90%, wasn't coming from inside the store. It was mainly through catering, wholesale and online.
So it was time for a change. His now-business partner David Wathne has an idea.
“When we tasted his product, and we saw their work ethic, and their commitment to what they their vision was, it was it was a natural, bringing them in," Wathne said. "That commitment for life, and work, and family, and faith — it was all there.”
Wathne is a career franchisee and owns a few Big Apple Bagels in his portfolio, including the one in Holland. In addition to giving Benjamin some business advice, Wathne also gave his family a new space to work.
So, for now, Robinson's Popcorn operates out of the kitchen there, but maybe some day soon, you'll be able to buy Robinson's Popcorn in every Big Apple Bagels that exists, and beyond!
Either way, the secret recipe seems to have nothing to do with food, and everything to do with friends and family.