If you were wandering around the Upper West Side in the mid-2000s, you probably smelled it before you saw it. That rich, buttery, sugar-spun aroma that seemed to hang in the air like a cloud. It came from those sleek shops with the red bags. Dale and Thomas Popcorn wasn’t just a snack; for a few years there, it was basically the "it" brand of the gourmet world. It had the celebrity backing, the massive retail footprint, and flavors that made your local movie theater’s bucket look like cardboard.
But then, the shops started vanishing. The name on the bag changed.
You’ve likely seen those red bags of "Popcorn, Indiana" at the grocery store lately and wondered if it's the same stuff. It is, but the road from a small-town Indiana mayor to a corporate acquisition by a private equity-backed food giant is a bit of a wild ride. Honestly, the story of this brand is a perfect snapshot of how a niche "chef-crafted" idea tries to scale into a national powerhouse—and what gets lost in the shuffle.
The Unlikely Pairing: A Mayor and a Point Guard
The name "Dale and Thomas" wasn't just some marketing guy's random idea. It was literal. The "Dale" was Dale Humphrey, who at the time was the actual mayor of a tiny dot on the map called Popcorn, Indiana. Population? Barely fifty people.
The "Thomas" was Isiah Thomas. Yeah, that Isiah Thomas. The Hall of Fame Detroit Pistons legend and former New York Knicks coach.
It started around 2004 when entrepreneurs Warren Struhl and Richard Demb had this kernel of an idea—pun intended—to turn popcorn into a luxury item. They visited the town of Popcorn, got inspired by the mayor’s stories of local farmers, and launched the brand. Isiah Thomas walked into one of their early Manhattan shops, took a bite, and apparently, it hit him right in the nostalgia. He remembered his mom popping corn back in Chicago because it was a cheap, filling staple when money was tight. He didn't just want to eat it; he wanted to own it.
He became a partner and the face of the brand.
Why Everyone Was Obsessed With the Flavors
Before these guys came along, "gourmet" popcorn usually meant three things: butter, cheddar, or that weirdly crunchy caramel from a tin. Dale and Thomas blew the doors off that. They had a "popcorn chef" (Ed Doyle) who treated the kernels like a canvas.
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They ended up with over 100 flavors. Some were honestly a bit much, but others, like the Hall of Fame Indulgence, were legendary. We’re talking:
- Real dark chocolate drizzles.
- Peanut butter coatings that actually tasted like peanuts.
- White cheddar that didn't leave your fingers neon orange.
The business model was aggressive. They opened flagship stores in high-traffic spots like New York City and New Jersey. They pushed hard into the gift basket market, positioning themselves as the high-end alternative to flowers. For a while, it worked. In 2007, the company was projecting $50 million in sales. They wanted to "do to popcorn what Starbucks did to coffee."
The Pivot to Popcorn, Indiana
Scaling a chain of fresh-popped boutiques is expensive. Really expensive. Rent in Manhattan doesn't pay itself, and maintaining the quality of 100 different flavors across multiple retail locations is a logistical nightmare.
Somewhere along the line, the company realized the real money wasn't in the boutiques—it was in the snack aisle. They began leaning heavily into the Popcorn, Indiana branding for their pre-packaged bags. It felt "authentic." It felt like it came from a farm, even if the headquarters were eventually in Westport, Connecticut and the bags were being shipped to every CVS and Safeway in the country.
By 2012, things got rocky. There was a massive voluntary recall due to potential Listeria contamination in some of the bags. While no one got seriously hurt, a recall of that scale is a body blow for a "premium" brand. Shortly after, the physical Dale and Thomas storefronts started closing down. The "Dale and Thomas" name was slowly phased out of the consumer's mind, replaced entirely by the "Popcorn, Indiana" label you see today.
Who Actually Owns it Now?
If you’re looking for the original Dale and Thomas LLC today, you won’t find it. In August 2017, the brand was acquired by Eagle Family Foods.
Eagle is owned by Kelso & Company, a private equity firm. This is usually the part of the story where the "boutique" feel dies and the "efficiency" takes over. When a big food conglomerate takes over a craft brand, they focus on what sells: Kettle Corn, White Cheddar, and Sea Salt. The days of 100 experimental flavors and Isiah Thomas promoting "chef-crafted" batches are largely over.
Interestingly, the brand even faced a class-action lawsuit in 2022. Some folks were upset because the name "Popcorn, Indiana" implied the corn was grown and popped in that specific town. In reality, while it started there, the production had long since moved to industrial facilities. It’s a classic corporate branding struggle: how do you keep the "small town" soul when you're selling millions of bags a year?
The Legacy of the Red Bag
So, what’s the takeaway? Dale and Thomas basically proved that people will pay a premium for popcorn if you market it correctly. They paved the way for the current explosion of "clean label" and "gourmet" snacks like SkinnyPop or Boomchickapop.
Is the popcorn you buy now under the Popcorn, Indiana name the same as the stuff from the 2005 boutiques? Kinda. The recipes have been streamlined for mass production, and you won't find the Mayor of Popcorn, Indiana personally overseeing your batch. But that red bag is still a direct descendant of the "popcorn-as-Starbucks" dream.
How to Get the Best Out of Your Popcorn Today
If you’re missing the old Dale and Thomas vibe, here is how you handle the modern snack landscape:
- Check the "Best By" Date: Mass-produced gourmet popcorn lives and dies by freshness. If it’s within two months of the date, the oils can start to taste a bit "off."
- Look for the Kettle Corn: Of all the surviving legacy flavors, the Kettle Corn from the current Popcorn, Indiana line is the closest to the original "sweet and salty" balance that made them famous.
- DIY the "Drizzle": Since they don't sell the hyper-expensive chocolate-drizzled tins in stores as much anymore, the secret is just melting high-quality Ghirardelli chips and drizzling it over a fresh bag of their Sea Salt flavor. It's basically what the "popcorn chef" used to do.
The boutique era of Dale and Thomas is gone, but they changed the snack aisle forever. They took a 5-cent staple and turned it into a $50 million empire, proving that even a tiny town in Indiana—and a legendary point guard—can catch lightning in a bottle. Or, well, a red bag.
Next Steps for Popcorn Lovers
If you want to experience the "real" Indiana popcorn legacy, your best bet is to look for smaller, independent growers like Yoder Popcorn or Amish Country Popcorn. These brands still focus on the specific kernel varieties (like Ladyfinger or Mushroom) that the original Dale and Thomas founders were so excited about back in 2004. Unlike the mass-market bags, these smaller labels often sell the raw kernels, allowing you to control the oil and seasoning at home for a much more authentic "gourmet" experience.