{"id":22208,"date":"2025-10-26T21:33:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T21:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/22208\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T21:33:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T21:33:43","slug":"made-in-tarrant-can-you-sell-popcorn-better-than-a-fifth-grader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/22208\/","title":{"rendered":"Made in Tarrant: Can you sell popcorn better than a fifth grader?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: Made in Tarrant is an occasional Q&A series on small businesses started in Tarrant County. Submit your business here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u2019t know what business exactly but that was her dream.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her father, Jeff Harrison, a former race car driver who is now a public speaker and author of a book, \u201cWinning Formula,\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Website: www.audreyspopcorn.com<\/p>\n

Email: audreysempire@gmail.com<\/p>\n

YouTube channel: www.youtube.com\/@audreyspopcornfans<\/p>\n

Business editor Bob Francis spoke with Audrey and her father, Jeff Harrison, about her business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Francis: How did you start?\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Francis: How did you find the manufacturer?\u00a0<\/p>\n

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, \u201cHey, we own a fourth-generation company that makes all the equipment for popcorn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u2019s her own money from the business she\u2019s invested in. We don\u2019t use any debt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Francis: And how did you get into Hudson\u2019s at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Audrey: We met a woman who works at the airport in charge of the businesses there. She said, \u201cWe need this in the Hudson\u2019s stores.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff: Then in August, we started onboarding with them, and now we\u2019re in the DFW Airport and also in Houston and in Love Field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Francis: I noticed from the photos that Audrey\u2019s Popcorn is located right between the FritoLay display and the Coca-Cola display. That\u2019s pretty heady company for a business started by a 5 year old.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeff: Don\u2019t think Audrey doesn\u2019t know what that means. But she\u2019s out there every \u2013 nearly every \u2013 weekend offering samples and selling the products.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Francis: What\u2019s your best seller?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Audrey: I think they sell pretty evenly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Francis: Do you know how sales have gone at the airports?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeff: Their first week, she was number one. But it\u2019s hard for us to measure because we don\u2019t get the data. We\u2019ve 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\u2019ve told us so far, we\u2019re roughly selling about 10 bags in each store a day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Francis: And now you\u2019ve started speaking to some entrepreneurial groups about your story?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeff: Yes, we\u2019ve spoken to Success North Dallas, the SMU Cox School of Business, and we\u2019re about to speak to the TCU Neeley School of Business. Our talk is titled, \u201cCan You Sell Better than a Fifth Grader?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Francis: What\u2019s your next step?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeff: Hudson\u2019s has literally thousands of stores. So who knows what might happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n

Republish This Story<\/p>\n

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