Today we’d like to introduce you to Yager Cantwell.
Hi Yager, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Poppin’ Duo began during my junior year of high school. At the time, I knew I wanted to pursue college to become a mechanical engineer. Throughout high school I took many engineering classes, building robots and competing at state championships. I decided it would be best to create a business that could help fund my college education, and so Poppin’ duo was created. My first events were not so great, I was 17 and I lost about $200 attending my first event, as in costs were much higher than the revenue we generated. It was discouraging but I kept on going. During our first 2 years of business, we only did a handful of events. Then I went to college and I put Poppin’ duo on the back burner. It turned out that college isn’t what I thought or wanted it to be and I ended up dropping out to pursue kettle corn full time. This came with bumps and blockades, like when I went to try and purchase a van for my business I couldn’t qualify for a vehicle loan at the time.
Through that process, I met someone who invited me to sell solar. This opportunity eventually landed me into a sales position and then I became a marketing manager and had about 8-15 people working under me depending on the time of the year. This management position taught me many skills to lead and work closely with employees. When Covid caused the lockdowns, solar went on pause and I decided I would launch our full time operation of kettle corn at the Oceanside pier. I had been invited to be a vendor the prior year but I decided to stick with solar because of the learning that came with it. Fast forward to where we are now, we have 2 booths, work at 2 weekly farmers markets, the beach ~7 days a week, and attend many large scale events, private events, wineries, etc. you can even order kettle corn online now as well. It’s been a long journey and I absolutely love what I do. It pays the bills and I know I’ll always be involved in businesses and creating more jobs for my awesome team.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The ride’s been smooth, except for my early years of business when I was 17 and had no idea what I was really doing. Some events lost money, sometimes things would break at events causing lots of fun issues. But other than that I’ve been able to be quite successful without too many hiccups.
We’ve been impressed with Poppin’ Duo Inc., but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We’re a gourmet popcorn and lemonade company based out of Oceanside, CA. We make a variety of flavors of kettle corn and popcorn along with freshly squeezed lemonades. We’re known for our outstanding appearance and presentation of food.
In the modern world, presentation and appearance has a considerable impact on first impressions. Whether it’s scrolling through Instagram or walking down a street, eye-popping and attractive businesses create success when tied together with good food and good customer service. I’m most proud to be able to set myself apart from other businesses that may not focus on the presentation of their business and product. In reality, kettle corn is almost always the same, but the business behind the products is very different. This is why I created Poppin’ Duo, to show that a popcorn company can be much more than boring, it can be explosive and exciting.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I was fortunate enough to grow up in a family that took summer vacations to Canada. We went almost every summer of my childhood, from being born to about 19 years old, I would spend 1, 2 or 3 months in Canada for the summer. My family owned this small cottage island in the Great Lakes, just north of Michigan. We would have to get all of our groceries from a town about 30 minutes from the Marina, and then take a 15-minute boat ride to the island. Every day in the bay was great, from beautiful blue skies, to 15-20 feet of clear freshwater, to the night time stars that would overwhelm the night sky with light, the bay was my favorite place as a child. Many of my most memorable family moments all happened in the bay. It’s too hard to say there is a ‘favorite’ because there were just too many great moments in the bay.
Pricing:
- Kettle Corn and other flavors $8
Contact Info:
- Email: yager@poppinduo.com
- Website: www.poppinduo.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/poppin_duo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PoppinDuo
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/poppin-duo-oceanside
