Cousins serving up sweet popcorn from old family recipe

What’s a movie night without popcorn, and what’s popcorn without drizzled chocolate, marshmallows, and candy?

Four budding entrepreneurs have just opened an online popcorn shop and are using an old family recipe of popcorn filled with sweets.

Harper Jackson, 8, Lily Jackson, 8, Layla Van Hoof, 11, and Landon Van Hoof, 7, are cousins who are excited to dish out Junk Food Junkie – their homemade popcorn treat that has been in the family for years, dating back to when their grandmother would pop the sweet stuff on Friday nights. 

Sarah Jackson, mom to Harper and Lily, fondly remembers those Friday nights growing up in Newfoundland when she and her sister, Heather Van Hoof, Layla’s and Landon’s mom, couldn’t wait to dig their fingers into a bowl of the decadent kernels.

“My mom was really great at making things fun for kids. She would call it a special name and would just throw things she had in the cupboards into the popcorn and that just made it so much more fun.”

The tradition has now been passed down to the kids, who say Junk Food Junkie is their favourite all-time snack to snuggle up with and watch a movie together.

“It’s really fun to look forward to having it,” said Layla. 

“We always have it when we get together for sleepovers so that’s really special.”

Junk Food Junkie is available to order at the company’s Facebook page. Bags are $10 each. The team can also make $5 custom loot bags for birthday parties. 

All the recipes are made up by the children and, of course, the more candy the better.

“We would usually have M&M’s or Smarties or gummy bears and that was like a favourite thing, but now we’re like going beyond that,” said Harper.

The signature flavour is Rainbow Roads, which includes Skittles, blue chocolate, nerds, rainbow marshmallows, and “lots of rainbow stuff,” said Landon.

Starting next week, that will expand to include Grinchmas Eve and Candy Cane Hot Chocolate. 

The cousins, and best friends, say they do everything together, so it was only natural that the four decided to go into business together.

The foursome credits their nanny with coming up with the idea for the popcorn business after they were discussing possible ventures.

“One day we were all together and we were thinking of a kids’ business where Layla could write, Landon could draw and I would bake stuff, same with Harper,” said Lily. 

Their nanny suggested they sell the popcorn they love and then “’boom’ – Junk Food Junkie.”

The kids have always had an entrepreneurial bug, having run lemonade stands, and even a lip balm business for Layla.

Whether that will translate into long-term business careers remains to be seen.

Landon would like to run a corner store and Lily would like to become a family doctor.

Lily and Layla say if the popcorn business takes off, they may just stick with it.

“I really want to be a teacher, but if this business gets really good then I would love to open a store at the mall,” said Harper.

Follow Junk Food Junkie on Instagram at @junk.food.junkie1.