Karmelkorn was an American popcorn retailer. It was founded in 1928 in Casper, Wyoming, by Mr. and Mrs. William O'Sullivan.“Story of Success,” Meridien Record-Journal, 18 March 1932, p. 17. The O'Sullivans patented their candy-coated popcorn and trademarked the product's name and logo in 1929. Initially, they licensed the product to existing confectioneries before creating a chain of franchised Karmelkorn stores. Within four years, the O'Sullivans had 535 stores licensed to sell its product in North America including candy stores and peanut / popcorn stands.“Necessity is the Mother of Invention,” The Ord Observer, 31 December 1931, p. 1. The original slogan of the product was "Delicious Karmelkorn: The Flavor That Can Not be Copied."
Licensed Karmelkorn merchants sold popcorn, caramel corn, and candied popcorn balls out of downtown storefronts and in tourist areas by beaches and resorts in its first generation. But by the 1960s under new owners, it began operating as Karmelkorn Shoppes, Incorporated.“Karmelkorn Maps Expansion Plans,” The Rock Island Argus, 2 February 1980, p. 3. The chain dropped its licensing program and, instead, franchised Karemelkorn Shoppe storefronts which were popular in suburban strip shopping centers and shopping malls. Franchise Growth Corporation in Rock Island, Illinois, acquired Karmelkorn Shoppes Inc. in 1969.“Quad City Community of Business & Industry,” The (Moline) Dispatch, 13 September 1969, p. 7. By 1982, the chain had 270 stand-alone Karemelkorn shops in 43 states.
In 1986, Dairy Queen's parent company IDQ (now part of Berkshire Hathaway) purchased Karmelkorn Shoppes, Inc. Dairy Queen began co-branding Karmelkorn with the Dairy Queen and Orange Julius brands. Beginning in 1987, many locations with the three product lines were rebranded as Dairy Queen Treat Centers. With the decline of shopping malls and the expiration of Karmelkorn leases in the malls, the chain eroded. By 2019, there were just six remaining Karmelkorn locations. In May of 2019, Dairy Queen International dropped support for its final six locations though retaining the Karmelkorn name and trademark. The brand is presently inactive.McCoy, Rosemary, Dairy Queen, Orange Julius, Karmelkorn in Empire Mall to close. Sioux Falls Business, 25 Jan. 2019 https://www.siouxfalls.business/dairy-queen-orange-julius-karmelkorn-in-empire-mall-to-close/
See also
List of popcorn brands
References