The fascination
of popcorn.
Especially when I first started my own business, I wasn’t much of a strategist. Instead, I followed my sense of adventure and intuition. I threw myself into the fray, tried things out, made mistakes, found spontaneous solutions to problems, and had my share of both good and bad luck. But eventually, the range of possibilities expanded, and my ideas began to bear fruit. The fact that I ultimately made my living selling popcorn was basically a coincidence — but a wonderful one!
Illustration: Jan Robert Dünnweller
«The tough times were the best, because they helped me grow, made me question myself, and encouraged me to try new things.»
The Early Days
When I started my own business in 1974, I was still practically a kid. I was 24 years old, had completed an apprenticeship as a retail salesman, was a hippie and a DJ, had experimented with psychedelic drugs and meditation techniques, and had traveled to India on the Hippie Trail.
After I returned, I desperately needed a job. That’s how I came across an ad in the Frankfurter Rundschau: A company in Frankfurt am Main that dealt in popcorn machines and corn was looking for a salesperson. The boss was a real character, the horse-trader type — a shrewd businessman with a keen insight into human nature. His premises were in the basement of a private home. There he sat at his desk, always with a cigar in his mouth, even when it had long since gone cold. And sometimes the ash would fall onto his belly, which was the result of his love of chocolate.
Besides the boss, there was only one other person at the company: an accountant who also served as the secretary. I introduced myself and got the job. From then on, I drove a pale yellow Ford Granada station wagon through Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Austria to deliver the merchandise and show customers how the popcorn machines worked.
At the time, my employer was the only company in Germany serving this market niche. He also held the exclusive distribution rights for American machine manufacturers. His customers were primarily carnival operators, who were just beginning—on a sporadic basis — to offer popcorn at state fairs. It’s hard to imagine: Back then, many people still viewed corn as nothing more than chicken feed, and by no means everyone was familiar with this snack trend from the U.S.
Popcorn eventually made its way to Germany mainly through the U.S. military. Back then, a lot was done at U.S. military bases in Germany to ease the soldiers’ homesickness and strengthen their sense of community. Among other things, this meant preserving their home culture even while abroad—which is why military bases often had basketball courts, movie theaters, and, of course, popcorn machines.
So my boss turned out to have a good nose for business: Back then, popcorn was slowly starting to catch on here as well. Plus, everyone involved made a nice profit: Not only did the distribution of the machines and accessories bring in good money, but so did the sales. After all, corn was cheap and the profit margins were high.
«‹I'll just start a company, sell it after ten years, and then retire›, I thought back then, in my youthful optimism.»
Dreams
and Illusions
I stayed with the company for about a year and a half, immersing myself in the world of carnival operators—a world usually closed off to outsiders, with its unique customs and code of honor—and gained valuable experience. My desire to start my own business also grew.
«I’ll just start a company, sell it after ten years, and then retire», I thought back then in my youthful optimism. If I’d known what I was actually getting myself into, I might not have mustered the courage to do it, I think today. But in this case, I’m glad for my initial illusions, because my confidence carried me through back then.
I bought a popcorn machine and started making popcorn in the garage of our single-family bungalow, packing it into plastic bags, loading it into my used Opel Caravan, and selling it at Langener Waldsee. Sometimes business was good, and sometimes it was bad.
I still remember one day from the early days of my self-employment very well: I ran out of gas just a few kilometers from home. Helpless and without a penny to my name, I was standing on the side of the road when a driver stopped, reached for his spare gas can, and, smiling, poured gas into my tank.
I felt incredibly awkward about it, especially since I had to admit that I couldn’t pay him for it. At first, he gave me a dirty look, but then it occurred to me that I could offer him some of the Indian handicrafts from my trunk—the ones I’d imported and was selling at flea markets. He picked something out, filled up my tank, and I was able to drive home.
Soon after, however, the pressure to make money intensified. I married young and became a father at age 25. This only made me throw myself into my work even more, and I looked for a way to get into the business of selling popcorn and cotton candy machines as well as almond roasters myself. That wasn’t exactly easy — after all, my former employer still held the exclusive distribution rights for the American manufacturers.
«I often followed my intuition, not knowing for sure if I was right. But the interesting thing was: Whenever I truly opened myself up, new paths would emerge, and unexpected possibilities would pop up.»
With 3,500 DM in cash, I headed to Thessaloniki
But then luck smiled on me once again: I read in a newspaper ad that a shipment of Indian popcorn machines from Bangalore was for sale at the free port of Thessaloniki. I set off immediately, took a flight to Istanbul, and boarded a train there bound for Thessaloniki.
The next hurdle, however, wasn’t long in coming: I was sitting in a six-person compartment with three other travelers when I learned that each person was only allowed to bring 1,000 Deutschmarks into Greece. «If I get caught now, my money is gone», I thought, because I had 3,500 Deutschmarks with me to pay for the machines in cash. So I confided in my fellow travelers and asked if they would help me. They nodded, and so I gave each of them a stack of money. After crossing the border, I collected it all back—and everything went smoothly.
Incidentally, those somewhat chaotic situations — in which solutions came to me spontaneously, doors opened, or I received support from others — often reinforced my positive outlook on the world. Of course, over the course of my long career as an entrepreneur, there were also disappointments and bitter experiences. But in the end, the positive encounters always outweighed the negative ones.
At first, for example, I couldn’t afford to import popcorn kernels because I would have had to pre-finance a container with 800 bags, and I also lacked a warehouse large enough to store them. But eventually, I came across an importer in Hamburg who supplied the corn in smaller quantities — and on consignment, no less. Through my persistent search, I got to know many wonderful people who trusted me and gave me chance after chance.
Breakthroughs
and Setbacks
Selling the popcorn machines from Bangalore marked a breakthrough in my entrepreneurial career. I had them shipped from Thessaloniki to Germany, and they sold like hotcakes.
Now the business could really take off! In addition, my former boss had sold his company in the meantime, and the American industry had taken notice of me.
I secured the exclusive distribution rights for two competing manufacturers in the German market, and I also had myself listed in the industry directory «Wer liefert was?», where I was the only one listed for many years.
But even as business picked up, my early years were often still tough. There were many ups and downs, doubts, and fears. Instead of setting money aside, I often poured it into advertisements. As a result, there were a few times when I had no reserves left at the end of the year. I made this «mistake» several times — each time initially driven by hope and then frustrated at «having been so stupid».
Time and again, I had to solve problems on the fly and overcome challenges for which I had no master plan. I often followed my intuition, not knowing for sure if I was on the right track. But here’s the interesting thing: Whenever I truly opened myself up, new paths would emerge every time, and unexpected opportunities would pop up.
Today, I’d even go so far as to say: The tough times were the best, because they helped me grow, made me question myself, and pushed me to try new things again and again. Even my frustration over the money «wasted» on ads in the beginning faded away: Over time, those very investments brought in new customers — and eventually, the business grew almost on its own.
«Of course, over the course of my long career as an entrepreneur, there have also been disappointments and bitter experiences. But in the end, the positive encounters always outweighed them.»
Popcorn is coming
to the movies
Over the next few years, I even managed to expand the popcorn business in Germany to include an important new market: movie theaters. Today, when the aroma of freshly popped corn is a staple of every trip to the movies, it’s hard to believe how difficult it was back then to convince theater operators to sell popcorn. They had serious reservations: They said the loud crunching would disrupt the movie-watching experience, and that the white flakes would dirty the floors of the theaters.
But I saw a gap in the market and was passionate about it, so I threw myself into pursuing my goal with all my energy and creativity. Time and again, I set up booths with my popcorn machines at movie theater trade shows and promoted the snack from America.
That’s how I finally succeeded in becoming the first wholesaler to supply the German movie theater industry. Today, I can say with joy and pride: I am one of the popcorn pioneers in Germany.
Weiterreisen ...
Temples, gurus, and business. A trip to Delhi and Kathmandu. Once your appetite for travel is whetted, it only grows. That’s why I traveled to India again in 1974 — and this time, to Nepal as well. After all, Kathmandu was one of the well-known final stops on the Hippie Trail at that time.
Helmut Haase
Photography & Stories
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© Helmut Haase 1975 – 2026