SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – It’s one of America’s favorite snacks. Popcorn is one of the oldest known snacks in the world dating back roughly 5,000 years and one of the leading popcorn makers calls Sioux City home.
“Sioux City is home because the founder, (Cloid Smith), the first crop of jolly time popcorn, was raised around Odebolt, Iowa, which is about one hour east of here,” said current company president Steve Huisenga. “And the founder came to Sioux City to sell his grain. At that point, most of the popcorn was sold on carts, street corners that kind of thing. The vendor challenged him to find a better spot for his crop because he didn’t want to pay that amount and they moved to Sioux City and started Jelly time popcorn that year.”
Jolly Time Popcorn got its start as a small seed store in 1914 by Cloid Smith and the Smith Family.
“So the first year they shelled the popcorn in their basement,” explained Huisenga. “In the second year, they shelled it in their garage and for the last 108 years it’s been right here.”
Family-owned for over a century, Jolly Time has grown to have its product in all 50 states and over 30 different countries.
“So we have two fifth-generation family members here and we’ve been on this site since 1916. So 108 of those 110 years have been right here in Sioux City on this spot.”
Not only has the company stayed in the family, but many of the farmers it sources its popcorn from are also family-owned.
“We’re working with families of farmers too, so we’re we’re 4th and 5th generation family business, but we working with a lot of 4th and 5th generation family farmers too and they’re really the key to our success,” said Huisenga.
That success is not just produced but grown in Siouxland.
“If you draw about a 100-mile circle around Sioux City, you will get our growing area. Most of our popcorn is grown in Nebraska. Nebraska sits on an aquifer lake, so you can get water and it kind of takes Mother Nature out of it a little bit. And we also have a growing area around Schaller, Iowa where we have a storage and cleaning facility.”
Located at One Fun Place off Floyd Boulevard on Sioux City’s northside, each bag of Jolly Time’s popcorn is created here. From kernels to your favorite microwave flavor, the team at Jolly Time strives to keep this global brand local at heart.
-“We process about 80 billion kernels a year and we’ve sold over 3 billion microwave bags since we started getting in the microwave business,” said Huisenga. “Yeah, we celebrate popcorn every day around here.”
So the next time you’re craving a salty snack, grab a bag of Jolly Time popcorn and know it was created right here in Siouxland.
“And it’s about families and fun and good memories,” Huisenga said.
Huisenga is the first non-Smith relative to lead the company, taking over as President in 2024, but he Huisenga is no stranger to Jolly Time. He’s worked with the company since 1990.
The Smith Family is still highly involved in Jolly Time Popcorn and its Sioux City roots.
“I’ve been with the company for 35 years,” he explained. “I started in sales and marketing in April first actually. So my first 30 years were spent in sales the last five years were in sales and marketing. And then just the last year for President.”
Jolly Time isn’t just a family-owned company, but family-oriented in its production as well. Huisenga says they couldn’t bring popcorn to the world without the Siouxlanders who work with them every day.
“Because they’re really the reason that Jolly time is what it is. We’ve got 175 employees in our family and we appreciate all of them,” he explained. “It’s really been a great thing. We have really good people here and we have talented people here that have been here for a long time so it takes everybody.“
To learn more about Jolly Time’s history in Siouxland, visit their website here.
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