A Chennai-based company’s initiative to grow popcorn maize domestically has helped to bring down its imports from 70 per cent a decade ago of India’s demand to 15 per cent currently, even as domestic production has expanded over 2-½ times.  

“Until 2015, the Indian popcorn market comprised popcorn maize grown in Karnataka and imported ones. With the steady expansion of maize cultivation for popcorn, the market size has grown from 50,000 tonnes to 1.3 lakh tonnes, with domestic production rising from 15,000 tonnes to 85,000 tonnes,” said SBP Pattabhi Rama Rao, Managing Director, Gourmet Popcornica Pvt. Ltd. 

Rao, whose family has traditionally been in farming and owned sugar mills in the past, is the man behind the dramatic surge in popcorn maize production in the country and the fall in imports. Gourmet Popcornica, founded in 2014, has gone all out to build the country’s popcorn value chain, from hybrid seed and farmer partnerships to kernel processing, storage, supply to cinema halls and branded retail products.  

Strategic partnership

Gourmet Popcornica was born of a strategic partnership with Preferred Popcornica of the US, combining world-class farming expertise and kernel quality with Indian cultivation and processing.

“Initially, we imported these seeds and cultivated them on a trial basis during the October-December period of 2016. Then, in January-March 2018, we started cultivating them on 840 acres,” said Rao. 

Today, over 17,500 farmers across nine States are growing this popcorn maize on over 36,000 acres (through contract farming). The crop is grown in Andhra Pradesh, where it all began in 2016, Chhattisgarh (from 2023), Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat (since 2024) and Tamil Nadu, where it was introduced last year and is still being tested.

Inputs at credit

“To get growers interested, we began providing crop inputs on credit. This eliminates the main problem they face - getting loans. We also buy 100 per cent of the crop despite any quality problem and pay them directly through bank transfers. All financial details are shared via WhatsApp with growers,” said the Gourmet Popcornica Managing Director.

The popcorn company, which employs 800 personnel, has begun to modernise cultivation to help growers cut costs, especially on labour. “We have begun to deploy automated seed planters and will introduce corn cob harvesters this year. The target is to mechanise the harvest of at least 10 per cent of the 36,000 acres in 2026,” said Rao. 

From 100 per cent manual plantation in 2017, about 30 per cent of farmers have planted popcorn maize using seed planters (from single row planters to four row planters). “All this, with a commitment on the part of Gourmet Popcornica to buy back the entire produce, is an industry first,” said the company’s managing director.

Farmer, central to its efforts

The company, India’s largest grower of popcorn maize and the fifth-largest in the world,  has introduced drone spraying of the maize crop. The company plans to mechanise the harvest of at least 10 per cent of the 36,000 acres this year. The introduction of mechanised farming, including the use of seed planters, corn cob harvesters and spraying by drones, has benefited farmers by increasing yields and income. 

Rao said he joined Satyam Cinemas, where he began learning the popcorn business before venturing into the growth of popcorn maize. “Gourmet Popcornica began the effort towards the corporatisation of farming, with the recognition of the farmer as central to our efforts. With a deep understanding of the farming ecosystem, we have several firsts to our credit – both specifically in popcorn maize farming, as well as farming in general,” he said. 

Once farmers harvest the crop, the wet cob is moved to the company’s processing facilities at Musunuru in Andhra Pradesh.  There, it is dried, sorted, processed and stored in cold storage until it is ready for dispatch. 

Quick customer support

“At least 90 per cent of our popcorn maize processing is automated. We have four lines to process 29 tonnes of maize per hour,” said Rao, adding that the company’s cold storage capacity was 45,000 tonnes..  

This has helped Gourmet Popcornica to customise recipes and become the go-to for all popcorn needs. “Our popcorn is available at over 2,200 cinemas across India. We are the preferred suppliers to India’s largest cinema chains, offering customised flavours and blends,” he said. 

The company has come out with premixed popcorn flavours and seasonings developed by its in-house team. In addition, Gourmet Popcornica supplies to large popcorn manufacturers, supermarkets, and over 100 bulk commodity traders across India. 

On-ground and remote support, with quick resolution of issues, including guaranteeing 100 per cent replacement of the product to ensure their satisfaction, are some of the measures that have helped the company. 

Expanding beyond maize

This has helped the company to increase its earn ₹400 crore in 2025 from zero a decade ago. The maize success has now encouraged the company to expand its activities to oil palm. “Today, one of every two popcorns sold in India is ours,” said Vinay Nagpal, Head- Customer Experience at Gourmet Popcornica.

“We have a total command area of 9 lakh hectares under oil palm in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Oil palm is grown across 12 mandals on over 2.5 lakh acres in Andhra Pradesh, with an additional 3,000 acres being planted by us,” said Rao.

In Odisha, oil palm is grown in 6.5 lakh acres in Kalahandi district with 5,000 acres being added recently. 

“Actually, we were given the oil palm plantations by a company which was impressed with our contract maize farming,” said the Gourmet Popcornica managing director.

The company plans to enter production of paddy, mustard, oats, corn and high-oleic peanut seeds, he said.

Published on June 14, 2026