Cool Job: Just Pop In! co-founders are perfectionists about popcorn
Twins Mandy Selke and Carly Swift have built a thriving gourmet popcorn business based on lessons from Grandpa Ed.
Forget about the snap and the crackle. Mandy Selke and Carly Swift are all about the pop.
Co-founders of Just Pop In!, these twin sisters always knew they would find a way to work together.
“We share the same love for creativity and hard work,” Swift said. “While at our corporate company, Automatic Data Processing, we also found creative happiness in painting retail businesses and home interiors on the side.”
The women credit their Grandpa Ed as the inspiration for their popcorn business.
“He would always put on a stove-top popcorn show, from when we were little girls through when we were home from college,” Swift recalled. “Since we were little, popcorn has been one of the ways we bonded together.”
In 2003, Swift and Selke teamed up to open Just Pop In! in Broad Ripple, building their brand on the tenets of positive energy, clever presentation and a top-shelf product.
“The overall culture of our company plays a big role in our end product,” Swift said. “Our product and company environment go hand in hand. We’re perfectionists when it comes to our small-batch popcorn recipes, label and packaging. It must be perfect and our trademarked toothpick has to be positioned just so on our bags, tubes and tins.”
Selke and Swift are the subjects of our Cool Job feature. They now oversee production of around 40 different sweet and savory popcorn flavors, and aim to open a new 5,000-square-foot facility on Cornell Avenue next year.
Question: What are your main job duties?
Answer: “We have similar roles and responsibilities. Mandy is the popcorn mixologist/chef; she ultimately creates all of the savory flavors and she handles our clients’ financial budgets, product recommendations and assists with custom art. Carly also handles financials of the company. Two years ago, we met a superhero accountant and bookkeeper who now takes care of that on our behalf.”
Q: Where do you find inspiration for your flavors?
A: “We find flavor inspiration in the foods we love. We’ve also been highly inspired by our local food movement, working with companies like Sun King and Smoking Goose. We take their bacon and mix it with our caramel for a caramelized bacon, mixed with a customized spicy hickory cheddar.”
Q: Do you each have a favorite flavor?
A: “Carly is a savory fan — favorite flavors are beer cheese and the new Sun King Bavarian Cheese & Ale Pretzel. We also partner with The Best Chocolate in Town for our chocolate pops. The ‘Lemony Snackets’ is a lemon popcorn covered in white chocolate and lemon zest sea salt. Mandy’s favorite savory is Spicy Ginger Curry and favorite sweet is double dark chocolate with vintage merlot sea salt.”
Q: What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
A: “One of the most rewarding elements is working with our staff. They are more than staff, they are family. We’re passionate about our people, our product, our community and our philanthropic efforts. Who knew that popcorn could be a platform to support many non-for-profit agencies? We are very serious HIV/AIDS advocates and supporters. Our job has allowed us to outwardly support a cause that’s in our hearts.”
Q: What’s the most challenging part of your job?
A: “The many hats we wear in addition to being present moms.”
Q: What personal traits have been key to your success?
A: “We are passionate and compassionate people. We have a high-spirited love of our Just Pop In! and everyone involved.”
Q: What advice would you give others who want to start a local small business here in Indy?
A: “Be you. Be authentic and genuine, and do what you believe in. There are many opportunities to be like someone else. Show yourself, show your worth, and go with your gut.”
More about Mandy and Carly
Name: Carly Swift/Mandy Selke.
Age: 41.
Family: Carly has a son named Hutton; Mandy has two children, Jett and Meta.
Education: Carly majored in African-American studies and speech communication at Indiana University, Mandy holds a B.S. in biology.
Favorite music: Carly loves Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks, Grateful Dead and Ryan Adams; Mandy is a fan of Depeche Mode, New Order and Social Distortion.
Favorite quote: "Nobody boos a nobody." — Mandy and Carly’s Grandpa Ed