Word of mouth: popcorn's gourmet makeover Firth, 30, originally from Auckland, New Zealand, remembers his father making popcorn in pans on the cooker when he and his older brother, Sam, were children; but it was not until he was in his late 20s, and working in the advertising department of a newspaper in Auckland, that he rediscovered his childhood snack. A friend from work was helping his friend sell popcorn at a food market every Saturday. I saw them getting busier and busier, growing from one market to four and then being stocked in supermarkets. I knew I wanted to move to the UK before I was 30 (when my chance to get a two-year work visa would run out) and I thought I could try that there. Firth chose a good time to launch his business. In the past three years the popcorn industry has exploded; there are now at least eight brands of artisan popcorn in the UK, ranging from established brands such as Tyrell's to smaller companies such as Joe & Seph's and Lovedapopcorn. According to the market analyst Mintel, the whole UK popcorn market is worth £53 million, and last year sales increased by 10 per cent. Popcorn has become popular in part thanks to its healthy image - a bag of popcorn with no toppings typically has fewer than 120 calories in a 30g bag. Firth makes no claim to the health benefits of his popcorn but it is gluten-free ('That was accidental; I just chose the corn with the best flavour"), dairy-free (unlike some brands that use butter), and it does not contain additives or preservatives. Sam, 33, helps Mathew make the Saturday popcorn before two helpers arrive at 7am to bag it up (all the brown paper bags are hand-stamped with the logo). About 200 bags go straight to Partridges food market in Chelsea, where a friend helps run the stall - 'If you get there by 9.30am the popcorn is still hot; we are the fresh bread of the popcorn world" - and the rest are boxed up for retailers. Finding retailers initially was not as hard as we thought it would be," he said. We had the exposure from being in the market, which made a big difference. Firth sells more than 1,000 bags a week, all made on Saturday mornings, to delis, cafes and pubs in south-west London, through his website and, since December, to Fortnum & Mason, where it has been extremely popular. Georgina Haszlakiewicz, an assistant grocery buyer at Fortnum's, said the team had been looking for a brand of popcorn for some time. 'As soon as we tried Toasted Gourmet we knew we'd found the one," she said. We love that they have kept it simple and developed one flavour that appeals to all palates. Last month Firth gave up his day job to concentrate on the business full time, and he predicts that by the end of this year his turnover will be £500,000. He plans to expand the number of retailers and increase the range of flavours, 'but I'm a perfectionist; the last one took me a year, and I want to make sure I get it just right. This year he hasn't had much time to spend with his girlfriend of eight years, Ebeny Kurz, who moved to Britain with him. Ebeny has been amazing about it," Firth said with a smile. In fact, I want to use this article to ask her to marry me. toastedgourmetpopcorn.com