For the Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n POP! Gourmet Popcorn, a leading premium popcorn company headquartered in Kent, has received two national food industry awards, including a Gold sofi\u2122 Award at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York and the Most Innovative New Product at the Sweet & Snacks Expo in Chicago.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n POP! Gourmet Popcorn won a Gold sofi\u2122 Award at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York for its Rogue Blue\u2122 flavor made with award-winning Blue Heaven\u2122 cheese from Rogue Creamery of Central Point, Ore. The snack received the award in the Outstanding Snack Food category.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Since 1955, the Fancy Food Shows have been North America’s largest specialty food and beverage showcase of new and innovative food products.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n In addition, POP! Gourmet Popcorn won the Most Innovative New Product award in the Savory Snack category for its new patent-pending jalape\u00f1o Fire Corn\u2122, which debuted at the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago in May. The spicy new flavor, in collaboration with B.A.’s Fire Corn, features a unique jalape\u00f1o infusion that gives the popcorn a surprising kick of heat.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Sponsored by the National Confectioners Association, the Sweets & Snacks Expo featured more than 550 food companies showcasing the newest confectionery and snack products in one place.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “The amount of traction and exposure we’ve received this year has been incredible,” said David Israel, founder and CEO of POP! Gourmet Popcorn. “These industry awards really speak to our growth as we continue to increase our product line and availability for snackers around the world to enjoy truly unique flavors of gourmet handcrafted popcorn.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n POP! Gourmet Popcorn can be found in multiple specialty food stores and retailers in the Seattle area including Hudson News, Made In Washington stores, Tully’s, Metropolitan Markets, QFC, Four Seasons Hotels, Vintage Park hotel, Uwajimaya, Safeco Field, CenturyLink Field and more. Additionally, POP! Gourmet Popcorn will be available at select national retailers beginning in Q4 of this year including Bristol Farms, Costco, Zabars Markets, Kroger, Burkes and Bealls, as well as internationally in four countries including Indonesia and Thailand.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n