Editor’s note: Made in Tarrant is an occasional Q&A series on small businesses started in Tarrant County. Submit your business here.
Seven years ago, at the ripe old age of 5, Audrey Harrison told her father what she wanted to do: run a business. She didn’t know what business exactly but that was her dream.
Her father, Jeff Harrison, a former race car driver who is now a public speaker and author of a book, “Winning Formula,” was the right person to help her with that desire. The two have now built a popcorn business that has grown from a front yard in Grapevine to selling along Grapevine Main Street to now being featured at stores in Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. They also sell online, on Amazon and in a few local stores. The popcorn comes in three flavors: Kettle Corn, Caramel and Cheese. The Harrisons live in Roanoke.
Website: www.audreyspopcorn.com
Email: audreysempire@gmail.com
YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@audreyspopcornfans
Business editor Bob Francis spoke with Audrey and her father, Jeff Harrison, about her business.
Francis: How did you start?
Audrey: I just went into business when I was 5 years old. It took us a while to figure out what we wanted to do, but we landed on popcorn after a few months. We then started learning how to make it, and it took us a while to really figure it out.
Jeff: We burned a lot of popcorn, but we finally found the recipe. We started going door-to-door in our neighborhood and selling it. We did that for a few years. We just set up a little table with, like, 80 bags of popcorn. In 2022, we partnered up with a factory. Now they make it for us, so we can sell more and have more flavors. And compared to our 80 bags, they can make 80,000 bags every day.
Francis: How did you find the manufacturer?
Audrey: We found the people that make our popcorn while selling at historic Grapevine. They just came up to us and asked me how we made it. They were like, “Hey, we own a fourth-generation company that makes all the equipment for popcorn.”
Jeff: Audrey had already saved up $2,000 to expand production by that point. I literally bought maybe $50 worth of supplies for her to start, but it’s her own money from the business she’s invested in. We don’t use any debt.
Francis: And how did you get into Hudson’s at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport?
Audrey: We met a woman who works at the airport in charge of the businesses there. She said, “We need this in the Hudson’s stores.”
Jeff: Then in August, we started onboarding with them, and now we’re in the DFW Airport and also in Houston and in Love Field.
Francis: I noticed from the photos that Audrey’s Popcorn is located right between the FritoLay display and the Coca-Cola display. That’s pretty heady company for a business started by a 5 year old.
Jeff: Don’t think Audrey doesn’t know what that means. But she’s out there every – nearly every – weekend offering samples and selling the products.
Francis: What’s your best seller?
Audrey: I think they sell pretty evenly.
Francis: Do you know how sales have gone at the airports?
Jeff: Their first week, she was number one. But it’s hard for us to measure because we don’t get the data. We’ve been going up almost every weekend since we got there. This morning we got our first reorder. They bought a ton up front, so this reorder is significant. Based on what they’ve told us so far, we’re roughly selling about 10 bags in each store a day.
Francis: And now you’ve started speaking to some entrepreneurial groups about your story?
Jeff: Yes, we’ve spoken to Success North Dallas, the SMU Cox School of Business, and we’re about to speak to the TCU Neeley School of Business. Our talk is titled, “Can You Sell Better than a Fifth Grader?”
Francis: What’s your next step?
Jeff: Hudson’s has literally thousands of stores. So who knows what might happen.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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