Consumers are often surprised to learn that popcorn is a whole grain.
That’s right, if you take away the liquid butter and seas of salt – popcorn is on its own, a wholesome, healthy snack.
So then why put it in a chip?
Well, the folks at Popcorners saw the potential to capitalize on the “better-for-you” chip market by refashioning an old favorite – popcorn – into a trendy, newer snack pack – the chip. The result? Popcorners.
According to their packaging, Popcorners are, “the delicious new snack with the snap of a chip and the same wholesome goodness as popcorn”. The problem is – they’re really just a stripped down shadow of the former goodness that was popcorn.
You see, three cups (roughly 1 oz) of air-popped popcorn has 100 calories, 0 g fat, 0 mg sodium and almost 4 grams of fiber. Why then, does a 1 oz serving of Popcorners have 120 calories, 3.5 g fat, 280 mg sodium and “less than 1 gram” of dietary fiber?
Because, that is PRECISELY what happens when you process and package a formerly whole food: you add more fat and more salt to make it sell.
Now granted, Popcorners taste good – but so do lots of other whole grains when they’re smothered in salt and oil.
To top things off, whole kernel popcorn is a very low-cost whole grain option. But when it’s dressed up in fat and salt, despite the declining nutritional value, the cost per serving goes sky high too.
In summary, as the old adage goes – some things are better left alone. And it’s safe to say – as Popcorners proves – popcorn is, just one of those things.