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February 27, 2025

Popcorn-making nonprofit expands to larger space amid growing demand

Workers for Prospector Popcorn stand inside the new factory space in Ridgefield. In the photograph, from left to right, are Jesse Chelednik, Tara McGlynn, Maggie Gould, Gianni Gorham, Connie Betts, Matt Diaz, Dillon Tepfer, Ryan Wenke and Adam Ingberman.
By Michael Juliano

Business at Prospector Popcorn is popping so much that the Ridgefield nonprofit is building a full-scale factory to keep up with orders and create jobs for persons with disabilities.

Parent entity The Prospector recently leased a 5,000-square-foot space at Nod Hill Brewery, 137 Ethan Allen Highway, to house a factory that can produce much more popcorn for the rapidly growing business.

Another subsidiary of The Prospector is Prospector Theater, a nonprofit, four-screen movie theater also located in Ridgefield. It began making the popcorn for moviegoers in a 325-square-foot upstairs kitchen since opening in 2014.

But orders have overwhelmed the tiny space since the business started offering the snack to consumers and businesses and set up a Prospector Popcorn website in 2021.

“With the rise of streaming and the pandemic, it just made sense to go into this gourmet popcorn business because we had an eight-year proof of concept of selling it here,” Prospect CEO Ryan Wenke told the Hartford Business Journal. “We’re getting into over 100 hotels across 30 states and into regional supermarkets.”

The space, which will be leased for five years from owner Riverside Real Estate LLC, will contain air poppers, caramelizers, chocolate drizzler machines, ovens, cooling tables and a dishwasher, he said.

“It’s a lot of room to play with for sure,” he said. 

The factory, which will initially employ about 10 out of Prospect’s 120 employees, will continue making a variety of flavored popcorn that includes maple walnut ice cream, hot chocolate, strawberry ice cream and jalapeño cheddar, among others.

Prospector Popcorn makes about $250,000 in annual revenue off of about 45,000 bags of popcorn per year, Wenke said.

“It’s tough to keep up,” he said. “We’ve also had some inquiries about an airline seeing if they could get us.”

The Prospector aims to increase annual popcorn revenue to $1 million to supplement donations and about $2.3 million in revenue from the movie business and events to cover $4 million in annual payroll.

“We’re going to nail down the exact number of bags per year that would be required to break even,” he said. 

Wenke said The Prospector’s ultimate focus is on employing persons with disabilities, not making money.

“Everything starts with the mission,” he said. “We exist to create employment opportunities for people with disabilities.”
 

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