Did you know that 479 degrees Fahrenheit is the optimal temperature for making the perfect popcorn? We can bet the typical concession stand employees at your local movie theater didn’t.
“The Degree of Perfection”
Founder: Jean Arnold
Selling Since: 2008
Home Base: San Francisco, CA
Founded by Le Cordon Bleu London grad Jean Arnold, 479° Popcorn sells handmade organic popcorn with a corny, nutty flavor that only comes from non-GMO organic heirloom kernels.
If you’re like us you may wonder, how did a well-trained chef get into the popcorn business? Jean admits to being a popcorn fanatic who has a lot of warm, fuzzy memories of eating stove-cooked popcorn as a child. Her family snacked on it constantly, and she continues to eat it every single day.
“Jean discovered that 95 to 98% of conventional popcorn is grown to taste like nothing.”
After traveling and working abroad, Jean ventured back to the US and started snacking on homemade popcorn again. She always noticed that the taste “wasn’t quite there.” So because of her love of popcorn, she started doing research.
Jean discovered that 95 to 98% of conventional popcorn is grown to taste like nothing. It’s genetically modified to eliminate popcorn’s natural corny, nutty flavor (so it won’t compete with the added seasonings) and to produce large kernels so it takes less yield to fill a bag.
After learning this, Jean embarked on a quest to find old organic heirloom popcorn that still came in smaller kernels and kept the traditional nutty, corny flavor. She took a road trip around the country looking for this authenticity. The best variety she found came from Sacramento, ironically only about 75 miles from where she lived.
Jean introduced her secret organic heirloom popcorn to family and friends, and it became a hit. She went on to develop the 479° Popcorn line using high-quality, exotic seasonings inspired by her international upbringing and culinary training.
“There wasn’t any certain point when I knew I was going to make popcorn for a living, but between frustration and research, my hobby became a career,” Jean said.
To create distinctive popcorn flavors, 479° Popcorn sources organic ingredients from around the globe, from Pimentòn de La Vera to Vietnamese cinnamon. They grind their spices by hand every week, and blend each flavor combination in small batches. Their popcorn is never mass manufactured or stored in a warehouse. It’s shipped out the same day they make it, ensuring that it arrives fresh and delicious every single time. And 479° Popcorn is the only company in the US that makes caramel corn without corn syrup!
Try 479° Popcorn
Drooling yet? Try one of 479° Popcorn’s fantastic organic popcorn flavor sets today — but beware, you’ll never enjoy movie theater popcorn the same way again!


