Butterkist
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1914
- HeadquartersSlough, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Butterkist does
Butterkist is a UK popcorn brand founded in 1914 (originally as B-kist) and currently operated as a brand of KP Snacks Limited, a private limited company registered in England and Wales. The brand manufactures and sells pre-packaged popcorn through major UK grocery retailers, with production consolidated at a single facility in Pontefract that has operated since the 1990s. Its portfolio is anchored by four core ready-to-eat flavours — Crunchy Toffee (the signature toffee-coated product), Tasty Sweet, Deliciously Sweet & Salty, and Simply Salted — alongside a microwave popcorn line and a recurring cadence of limited-edition seasonal flavours. All products are positioned as gluten-free wholegrain snacks with no artificial colours or flavours, targeted at UK consumers seeking ready-to-eat popcorn for movie nights and home entertainment occasions. The brand claims the #1 popcorn position in the UK by value per NielsenIQ Scantrack data (MAT to September 2025) and holds three 2024 Great Taste Awards.
Butterkist's commercial model is wholesale CPG through grocery distribution, with products listed across the four largest UK retailers — Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsburys, and Asda — and pricing set by each retailer rather than by the brand. There is no direct-to-consumer or owned e-commerce channel; the brand website functions as a marketing and product-information site rather than a transactional storefront. Marketing investment centres on entertainment-occasion positioning: in 2025 the brand returned to TV advertising with two cinematic ads and launched co-branded promotions with Universal Pictures (Wicked: For Good) and Paramount+ (a streaming service bundle promotion running February–May 2026). Go-to-market is supported by an active presence on Instagram, X/Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok under the handle @butterkistuk. Revenue, ownership above KP Snacks, and financial detail are not publicly disclosed; the BUTTERKIST trademark is registered to KP Snacks Limited, which also owns adjacent snack brands such as Hula Hoops, McCoy's, Tyrrells, Pom-Bear, and Popchips.
Butterkist firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Butterkist
- Legal name
- KP Snacks Limited
- Website
- https://butterkist.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1914
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Butterkist industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Snack Foods
- NAICS
- Other Snack Food Manufacturing (311919)
- SIC
- Food And Kindred Products (2000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Popcorn & Puffed Snacks (CRADABAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Popcorn Manufacturing (AFAKAIAC)
Keywords
Where Butterkist is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Slough
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Butterkist business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel
Revenue model
- Pre-packaged popcorn product sales: Butterkist generates revenue through the sale of pre-packaged popcorn products sold through major UK retail chains. Products are available in multiple formats including sharing packs, price-marked packs, and multipacks across sweet, sweet & salty, salted, toffee, and specialty flavours.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Butterkist product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Butterkist manufactures and sells pre-packaged popcorn products for UK consumers, offering ready-to-eat sharing packs, price-marked packs, and multipacks across sweet, sweet & salty, salted, and toffee flavour varieties, plus a microwave popcorn line. The brand is positioned as the UK's movie-night snack of choice and is sold exclusively through major UK grocery retailers.
Product overview
Butterkist is the nation's favourite popcorn brand offering a portfolio of ready-to-eat and microwave popcorn products. The core range consists of four main flavours: Crunchy Toffee (signature product), Tasty Sweet, Deliciously Sweet & Salty, and Simply Salted. Additionally, Butterkist offers limited edition seasonal flavours and a microwave popcorn line with three flavour variants. All products are positioned as movie-night snacks suitable for sharing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Crunchy Toffee Popcorn Butterkist's signature toffee-coated popcorn made with glucose syrup, sugar, salted butter, and cane molasses. The brand's best-known product, sold in sharing packs and multipacks.
- Tasty Sweet Popcorn Sweet popcorn snack made with popped maize, sugar, and rapeseed oil. Available in 100g sharing pack, 70g price-marked pack, and 6x12g multipack. Gluten-free, source of fibre, made from wholegrains.
- Deliciously Sweet & Salty Popcorn Popcorn combining a balance of sweet and salty flavours. Made with popped maize, sugar, rapeseed oil, and salt. Available in 100g, 70g, and 6x12g multipack formats.
- Simply Salted Popcorn Savoury popcorn snack, perfectly salted, made with popped maize, rapeseed oil, and salt. Available in 80g and 50g packs. High fibre content.
- Tasty Sweet Microwave Popcorn Microwave popcorn variant ready in minutes, made with maize, palm oil, and sweeteners (maltitols, sucralose). High in fibre with no artificial colours or flavours. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Available in 3x60g pack.
- Deliciously Sweet & Salty Microwave Popcorn Microwave popcorn with sweet and salty flavour, made with maize, palm oil, salt, and sweeteners (isomalt, sucralose). Available in 3x60g multipack.
- Simply Salted Microwave Popcorn Microwave popcorn with simple salted flavour, made with maize, palm oil, and salt. Available in 3x60g multipack.
- Crunchy Cookies & Cream Flavour Toffee Popcorn Limited edition toffee popcorn combining classic cookie taste with chocolate and vanilla notes. Made with fat reduced cocoa powder. Available in 155g pack.
Companies that use Butterkist
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Butterkist technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Butterkist partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Paramount+coreButterkist has partnered with Paramount+ to offer consumers a free month of Paramount+ streaming service with every participating Butterkist product pack. The promotion runs from 02 February 2026 to 25 May 2026. After the first month, the plan auto-renews at £7.99/month unless cancelled. This partnership reinforces Butterkist's positioning as the ultimate movie-night snack.
- Universal PicturescoreButterkist partnered with Universal Pictures for the Wicked: For Good movie sequel - the second year of their silver-screen partnership. The 2025 collaboration saw Butterkist launch a limited-edition Fizzafying Lemonade flavour popcorn inspired by the Wicked saga. This partnership supports Butterkist's movie-night positioning.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Butterkist competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Propercorn: UK-founded premium popcorn brand selling ready-to-eat flavoured popcorn through major grocers and D2C. Direct competitor to Butterkist on UK popcorn shelf, with overlapping flavour formats and a similar retailer-led distribution model.
- Metcalfe's Popcorn: UK-based popcorn brand offering sweet and savoury ready-to-eat popcorn, stocked across major UK grocers. Comparable to Butterkist in product format, target consumer, and grocery-channel distribution.
Emerging players
- Pipcorn: US-originated premium popcorn brand using heirloom corn with clean-label positioning. Comparable to Butterkist on popcorn format and better-for-you cues, though currently smaller in the UK and focused on premium/D2C channels.
- Popcorners: Popcorn-based snack brand (Boulder Brands / Utz) selling popped corn chips in the US and selected international markets. Comparable to Butterkist as a popcorn-format snack targeting shared/snacking occasions, with overlap on flavour-led innovation.
Broad incumbents
- SkinnyPop: Anglo-American popcorn brand owned by Amplify Snack Brands / Hershey, sold across mainstream grocery in the UK. Comparable to Butterkist on popcorn format and grocery distribution, but with a better-for-you positioning and broader international reach.
- Smartfood: Frito-Lay (PepsiCo) ready-to-eat popcorn brand with established UK and US distribution. Comparable to Butterkist on popcorn format and movie-night occasion usage, though backed by a significantly larger parent.
- Tyrrells: Premium hand-cooked crisp and popcorn brand within the KP Snacks portfolio, sharing parent ownership with Butterkist. Comparable on UK grocery distribution, premium-snack positioning, and the KP Snacks operating and trade marketing infrastructure.
- Popchips: Popped snack brand also under the KP Snacks umbrella, sold in the UK and US. Comparable to Butterkist as a sister popcorn-format brand sharing the same parent, distribution channels, and product innovation pipeline.
- Walkers: PepsiCo's flagship UK crisp and snack brand, dominant in the broader UK savoury snack category. Comparable to Butterkist as a UK grocery-anchored CPG brand competing for shared snacking occasions and shelf space, though much larger and broader in portfolio.
Regional players
- Seabrook: UK regional crisp and snack brand distributed primarily through Northern UK grocers and convenience channels. Comparable to Butterkist as a UK-only branded snack manufacturer reliant on grocery distribution, though operating in crisps rather than popcorn.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Butterkist social profiles
Digital presenceButterkist financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Butterkist leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Butterkist funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Butterkist M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Butterkist
What does Butterkist do?
Butterkist manufactures and sells pre-packaged popcorn products for UK consumers, offering ready-to-eat sharing packs, price-marked packs, and multipacks across sweet, sweet & salty, salted, and toffee flavour varieties, plus a microwave popcorn line. The brand is positioned as the UK's movie-night snack of choice and is sold exclusively through major UK grocery retailers.
Is Butterkist a public or private company?
Butterkist is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Butterkist founded?
Butterkist was founded in 1914. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Butterkist based?
Butterkist is headquartered in Slough, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Butterkist make money?
One revenue line is on record: pre-packaged popcorn product sales.
Who are Butterkist's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Propercorn and Metcalfe's Popcorn. Emerging players are Pipcorn and Popcorners. Broad incumbents are SkinnyPop, Smartfood, Tyrrells, Popchips and Walkers. Seabrook is listed as a regional player.
Does Butterkist have an API?
No public API is recorded for Butterkist.
What industry is Butterkist in?
Butterkist's product category is Snack Foods. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRADABAH, Popcorn & Puffed Snacks, with a secondary code of AFAKAIAC, Popcorn Manufacturing. Its NAICS code is 311919 and its SIC code is 2000.