Good Neighbor Podcast: Port Saint Lucie
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Port Saint Lucie. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Benjamin John helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Port St Lucie, Florida.
Is your business serving the residents of Port Saint Lucie? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpPSL.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Port Saint Lucie
EP# 259: Steven Maier's Journey from College Hustler to Gourmet Popcorn Success | Overcoming Business Challenges and Crafting Mouth-Watering Flavors
What makes Steven Maier with Maier's Gourmet Popcorn a good neighbor?
Ever wondered how a simple college side hustle can blossom into a thriving gourmet popcorn business? Join us as we sit down with Steven Maier of Maier Gourmet Popcorn to uncover the secrets behind his delicious success story. From the bustling farmer's markets to a popular brick-and-mortar store in Jensen Beach, Steven shares his incredible journey and the mouth-watering array of flavors that keeps his customers coming back for more. Discover the meticulous process behind crafting high-quality gourmet popcorn and learn some surprising truths about its health benefits along the way.
But it’s not all smooth sailing in the world of snacks. Steven opens up about the hurdles he faced, including a significant rebranding challenge when a larger competitor forced them to change their original name, Doc's Gourmet Popcorn. Through resilience and a steadfast commitment to quality, Steven has navigated these obstacles with grace. Plus, you’ll hear about his personal passions for golf and motorsports, and how these hobbies mirror the ups and downs of running a successful business. Tune in to find out how you can get your hands on some of Maier Gourmet Popcorn’s delectable offerings and support a business built on dedication and flavor.
To learn more about Maier's Gourmet Popcorn go to:
https://www.maierspopcorn.com/
Maier's Gourmet Popcorn
(772) 812-1704
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Garfield Bowen.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you looking for some popcorn? Well, some may be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Stephen Mayer, with Mayer Gourmet Popcorn. Stephen, how are you doing today?
Speaker 3:Doing good. Garfield, Thank you for having me on.
Speaker 2:Listen, we're excited to learn all about you and your business. Tell us about your company.
Speaker 3:So we specialize in gourmet popcorn, obviously as the name of the company presents itself. We do cheeses, different caramels, caramel with nuts, kettle butter, all that good stuff we ship. We're over in Jensen Beach, we're local. We do some of the farmer's markets around town in Fort Pearson-Stewart. We also have a food truck which we go to events with. So you can find us pretty much anywhere in-store, online around town, and we have some wholesale accounts as well with some local businesses.
Speaker 2:So I guess all you need is the movie. Right, you got the popcorn.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly. You just need the movie or a football game or whatever you're looking to relax with, and we'll provide the snacks.
Speaker 2:So, Stephen, how did you get into this business?
Speaker 3:So we'll go back almost nine, 10 years. I just graduated high school, was going into college and was basically looking for a little side hustle on the weekends to kind of make some little pocket money while I was in school. And kettle corn wasn't a big thing down here, as it is more so in the mid-Atlantic regions, northeast mid-Ohio, and that's where it started. It was just a kettle and I had a lemonade cart and my first gig was at the Stuart Market here downtown on the weekends and it was just once a week and that's where we got our start. I would come home on the weekends. I graduated from UCF with a degree in finance. I would come home on the weekends, make a little money and go back up, and so as I got closer to graduation it was starting to gain some steam and people really loved the product and I thought you know, why not give it a shot? Roll with it? Uh, be my own boss. And so after graduation, saved up some money during that time, bought a trailer, started doing bigger events. Um bought more equipment to do other flavors in addition to the kettle. Trailer started doing bigger events. Um bought more equipment to do other flavors in addition to the kettle.
Speaker 3:We started doing some caramel corn, um was doing basically a circuit, we were doing the martin county fair, we were going as far north as orlando for events, the gulf coast down south, and then the next logical step was we need a brick and mortar to do wholesale internet sales. You can't do it out of a food truck. So we picked a great time to open a store, right during COVID in 2020. And so that kind of put things on hold for about six to eight months and we wanted to open right at the beginning of that year, but we didn't open the store until October of 2020.
Speaker 3:To open right at the beginning that year, but we didn't open the store until october of 2020. And so once that opened, we had a commissary to do proper food production and then word kind of slowly got out. We started having retail hours, um, and then we got the online store going and then slowly we got more wholesale accounts and it's been on the up and up ever since. So I wouldn't say it's taken off as fast as I would like, but it's every year as I produce the last. So we're heading in the right direction excellent.
Speaker 2:So, steven, what are some myths and misconceptions is is popcorn healthy?
Speaker 3:um, I'll be lying to you if I said it was, but some of them, like cheese and butter, you can get away with. They're low calorie, low sugar. I mean, obviously there's some carbs in there, but it's a snack food.
Speaker 3:I'll be honest with you. You got to have moderation and everything. Um, we're not in the business. I'm on the business to sell you on a, uh, healthy snack. This is something to indulge in, something to um, nice little treat for you, and that's what I think we pride ourselves on, is it's not what you're going to get at supermarket, it's not going to be your microwave popcorn.
Speaker 3:Um, a lot of time and effort goes into this. I think that's the one thing that people think like oh, it's popcorn, I can you make it in under a minute? Right? I'm like no, um, most of our products outside of the kettle take upwards of 45 minutes to an hour. The caramel is even close to two hours per batch. Um, and so that would probably be the one misconception. Um, because, and once I tell people that the kind of their eyes light up and I'm like, yeah, there's more that goes into it. I mean, it's not rocket science by any means, but, um, there is time and effort and we put a lot of pride into our product so your food is dangerous.
Speaker 2:then once you eat it, you got to come back for more.
Speaker 3:You got to be hooked. Yeah, a lot of our customers they are probably our top sellers are kettle corn and they call it kettle crack. It's very addictive in a good way.
Speaker 2:So, stephen, when you're not busy running your business, what do you like to do for fun?
Speaker 3:so don't get much time off, which a lot of other small business owners can agree with me on that. But when I am able to sneak away, um, I'm an avid golfer. I'm not good, but um, that's a totally different story.
Speaker 3:But I, uh, I love to get out there and um, because it's one of those sports that it's all a lot of mental and you can have one great shot and the next year over in the bushes, and so I think that relates honestly to business too. I mean, you're going to have a lot of obstacles, you're going to have a lot of ups and downs, just like you have a lot of ups and downs during a round, and it's how you compartmentalize these things and go short-term memory, go all right. We had this issue, we'll overcome it, um, and it's on to the next shot or it's on to the next thing during the day when you're at the office. So I I love golf, um, I love watching it, love playing it, um, and probably the other uh, wouldn't say hobby.
Speaker 3:But I grew up in motorsports, grew up racing, grew up working for a professional sports car team. That was my other job in college and I was on the pit crew, got to travel the country doing that. So on the weekends I was watching Formula One, imsa sports Car Series, indycar pretty much anything with four wheels.
Speaker 3:I'm watching it, so that's my other big interest as well.
Speaker 2:I must tell you I never saw golf put that way. I think I need to get out there and probably start playing some golf. It sounds pretty interesting. Let's change gears a little bit. Life often does this curveballs. Let's talk about one hardship, one life challenge, something that you've been through and you can look back today and say you're better and stronger because of it. What comes to mind?
Speaker 3:um, so I mean, ever since the start of this business, there's been a lot of obstacles, but there's definitely one that sticks out in particular. The original name of the company was Doc's Gourmet Popcorn, so to give you a little backstory on that name.
Speaker 3:my dad was a chiropractor for 32 years and he was the one that helped me get a little seed money to get this off the ground, so I thought I'd reward him by giving him naming rights to the company. So that was the original name and about a year a little over a year ago, around March of last year, I got an email and I thought it was a scam, because I've gotten emails like this before, and thought it was a solicitation and, as I'm reading into it and going a little more in depth had a little bit of merit to it, and apparently there is a company that's owned by Dippin' Dots, a little frozen ice cream company.
Speaker 3:It's a subsidiary known as Doc Popcorn. Our logos are completely different, everything's pretty different, but they are owned by a big conglomerate, and they got a lot more lawyers in deeper pockets than I do, so they said that it was too similar to their trademark and so we had to change the name and, as a small business, that's devastating, especially when you're in your infancy and you're just trying to get that brand recognition out there.
Speaker 3:It's all your customers and online and so you basically got to start from scratch and we didn't have a lot of time to change the name, so we just went with the surname because it was easiest and, uh, so we switched and then had to scrap everything on the internet all of our logos, all of our bags, the front of the store, um, start reworking all the SEO online, and so I think time heals all. I mean, you just gotta kind of keep pushing away and plugging away, and I think we have done that. Luckily, we were able to keep the logo very similar Since, like I said, the logos were completely different. There was just the name they were worried about cause we just kept popping up right next to each other on search engines. So I think we've overcome that. Um, we still have the occasional customer, mostly snowbirds that haven't been down in six to eight months. They go are you, are you dogs like? Yes, same company, same ownership, same product, same great product, just a different name.
Speaker 2:A lot of people don't know that you have absolute right to your name. So a lot of time it's best to use your name when you're naming it if you don't want to go through the whole search process of registering a trademark, of registering a trademark. So, stephen, I'm going to put you on the spot a little bit. Okay, I know you have a lot to say about Mayor Gourmet Popcorn, but I want you to narrow it down to one thing, one thing that you want our listeners to remember about Mayor Gourmet Popcorn.
Speaker 3:I'd say, I mean, there's a lot out there and we do have a lot of customers that come up and ask, like, what makes a difference? And I'd say, like I told you earlier, we put a lot of pride into our product and we could, I could cut corners and I can use a kernel that's a third of the price that a lot of other people do and what you'll get at the movie theater. But we try to stay away from any artificial dyes and artificial sweeteners, anything like that, and use real ingredients in our product, and just that is the difference I think will set us over the top and I encourage all our customers that they come and say well, what about this?
Speaker 3:probably I'm like try both, and 99% of time, after someone's had someone else's product or something from the store, they come back and they say, wow, like that's the best popcorn I've ever had, and I put my money behind. I offer 100% money back guarantee if people don't like it. So I think just the time, the effort, the quality of the ingredients that goes into our product is what sets us apart. That's the one thing that I want our listeners to get across to is that if anything, I think our listeners are pretty much sold.
Speaker 2:They just have one question on their mind, and it's how? How can I get more information on Mayer Gourmet popcorn?
Speaker 3:So you can. First and foremost, we'd love to come by the store, swing by and see us. We're over in Jensen Beach, off Dixie Highway, right across the street from the Jensen Beach bowling alley. We're open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 to 6 during the week, 11 to 7 Friday and Saturday. If you can't make it to the store, you can go to our website. It's mayorspopcorncom, and you can also follow us on Facebook at Mayor's Gourmet Popcorn. You can follow us on Instagram at Mayor's Popcorn.
Speaker 3:We're posting on there new flavors. We're posting on there certain events we'll be at with our trailer and currently right now, every Saturday we do the downtown Fort Pierce Farmers Market, right there by the marina. Every Sunday we do the downtown Stewart Market at Flagler Park and for the summer months our trailer on Saturdays and Sundays will be at Sam's Club, in front of Sam's Club on US1 from about 11 to 5, weather pending, because mother nature is very inconsistent this time of year. But those are the ways you can reach us. And also I'd like to give a shout out to some of our wholesale partners.
Speaker 3:We are at a couple breweries in the area Isla Mirada brewery in the area Isla Mirada Brewery in Fort Pierce. You can get our popcorn Pop Life Brewery in St Lucie, west Fraser Creek Brewery right here in Stewart and then Mad Hatcher's Axe Throwing also in Stewart and also Palm City Farms off Citrus Great little produce stand. They have a lot of locally sourced products, not just ourselves, but a lot of Florida-based products too. So if you're looking to shop local, that's a great spot to go to.
Speaker 2:For those that just like to punch the numbers on the phone, is there a number that you'd like to share?
Speaker 3:Yes, I probably should have included that to begin with. Our phone number is 772-812-1704. And if you have any questions, you can email us at info at mayorspopcorncom, and I'll be sure to give you a prompt response.
Speaker 2:Listen, stephen. We really appreciate having you on the show. We wish you and your business the very best moving forward.
Speaker 3:All right, thank you very much, garfield.
Speaker 1:It was a pleasure to have me on. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Port St Lucie. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpportsaintluciecom. That's gnpportsaintluciecom, or call 772-362-3840.