Ridgefield's Prospector Popcorn cooks up 'Down to Sparkle'

Ahead of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21, Ridgefield's Prospector Popcorn has launched "Down to Sparkle," a limited-edition flavor of their gourmet popcorn featuring 21 total ingredients.

The number 21 is significant because Down syndrome is also referred to as Trisomy 21. The term describes the arrangement of chromosomes possessed by those born with Down syndrome. To honor the occasion, the "Prospects" who staff both Prospector Popcorn and the Prospector Theater (also in Ridgefield) chose 21 of their favorite ingredients to make up the special popcorn including chocolate covered pretzels, marshmallows, Kit-Kat pieces and edible glitter. Three-quarters of the Prospects identify with a disability.

The Prospector Theater is a nonprofit which shows first-run films across four screens. Prospector Popcorn grew out of the theater's efforts to expand beyond its original location shortly before the outbreak of Covid.

"Obviously with the pandemic creating brick and mortar movie theaters is not a sound idea," said Ryan Wenke, the director of operations at the Prospector Theater and Prospector Popcorn. Plans to open a second location were shelved as daily operations of the theater were also replaced with remote work. "So, we sat down and we said, ‘Okay, what's something that we can do to share our sparkle?’"

"Sparkle" is what Prospects call the unique synergy that can happen when a person's passion and work perfectly match up. Wenke explained that "mining the sparkle" by determining which roles provide the greatest opportunity for an employee's passion to shine through is key to both the mission and success of the Prospector.

"How do we share that with others? Gourmet popcorn just made sense. It's something that we’ve been making for eight years. We already have a commercial kitchen, and just like a movie theater there's so many jobs that go into one bag of popcorn," Wenke said. "You have to pop it, you have to mix and bake it. Our production team does the bag design and the graphics we need to market the popcorn. We need web designers and people to run the e-commerce portion of it."

Wenke mentioned one Prospect who showed a passion for weighing the bags, a key task for shipping, who turned out to be an ideal match for the job.

"There is such great care and attention to detail that goes into every bag," he said. "When you pair somebody with a job that they love to do you’ll get a great product."

Prospector Popcorn is sold online and shipped to all 50 states and U.S. territories. Alongside eight popular staple flavors, the line has a rotating assortment of special edition flavors. Wenke said the business tends to be seasonal, with orders around holidays like Valentine's Day or Mother's Day often requiring the kitchen's full capacity to sell up to 800 bags a week.

"We want that number to keep growing, to eventually outgrow our space here. We’re definitely approaching the point where the space we have in the theater is at capacity," Wenke said.

"It's a labor-intensive process but the finished product is worth every minute," said Elizabeth Gallo, the Prospector's kitchen manager. "We have been able to keep up as our popcorn has become more and more popular by getting bigger, larger equipment. We have a commercial air popper now so we are able to make twice as much popcorn in less time than it used to take us to make a single batch."

Tara McGlynn, a production manager explained that flavors are themselves the result of a creative process.

"Sometimes our recipes are just a conversation, what if we did this or what if we did that? Sometimes the recipes are not spot on," McGlynn explained. "But when they do work, we’re like ‘Woo!’ You never know if you throw something in it will make a big difference."

In addition to expanding popcorn production, the Prospector Theater has plans to develop a job search portal and help other businesses implement the practices that have made it one of the most successful theaters in the area while ensuring vulnerable community members have the opportunity to work an above minimum wage job they care about.

While those are under development, Wenke said the best way to support this endeavor is to buy a bag of popcorn.

"You’re not just tasting delicious popcorn, but you’re helping to create meaningful work and jobs," he said.

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