It’s National Popcorn Day, and we’re bringing you the inside scoop on a local small business that brings some of our specialty popcorn to the millions of foodies and fans that visit Walt Disney World each year… Popcorn Junkie!
As a family-run business, Neal and Minetta Crosier took their small popcorn storefront in Orlando to new heights after becoming the gourmet popcorn supplier of the resort in 2018 when Disney leaders first discovered their tasty treats. They quickly began experimenting with new flavors for the resort and collaborating on new recipes with some of our Disney Chefs. Today, Popcorn Junkie is available across Walt Disney World parks and resorts – from Main Street, U.S.A. to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – and is even expanding to the high seas aboard the Disney Cruise Line fleet.
The Crosiers retail shop has catapulted into an extremely successful and profitable small business. Popcorn Junkie has grown from two employees to nine employees since working with Disney, allowing them to continue introducing fresh offerings for the resort and beyond – like the new Strawberry Crunch Popcorn that’s now available for a limited time at the Confectionery Kernel Kitchen inside Main Street Confectionery.
“We’ve increased our business at least 200% since working with Disney World,” Neal said. “I never dreamed that Popcorn Junkie would be growing so fast and expanding so quickly. It’s beyond what I imagined it would be, and I see great opportunity to continue to expand. It’s almost hard to believe it!”
Beyond Popcorn Junkie, Disney works with more than 2,500 small businesses in Florida and helps to power a massive small business ecosystem in the state. According to a recent study conducted by Oxford Economics, Walt Disney World generated $40 billion in economic impact in fiscal year 2022 and created thousands of jobs, both directly and indirectly. In fact, for every one direct job on-site at Disney, there are an additional 1.7 jobs created throughout Florida. Without this statewide job impact, Florida’s unemployment would jump from 3% to 5.4%, which would take Florida from the 21st lowest unemployment rate among all 50 states to the second highest unemployment rate in the country.
As you can see, economic growth in Florida sure is POPPIN’ with Disney fueling progress and prosperity across the state since 1971. To read more about our efforts in Florida and the recent Oxford Economics study, visit DisneyFlorida.com. And, the next time you’re visiting Walt Disney World, be sure to try some of the specialty popcorn provided by our friends at Popcorn Junkie!