how a Lyonnais popularized popcorn in cinemas

Established in the south of the Lyon metropolis since 1994, the company “Benoit Ciné Production” imported from the United States the tradition of eating popcorn in projection rooms. A daring gamble, which still pays off, more than 30 years later.

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For Patrice Benoit, it all started 31 years ago, when he was a sales director in a large company. His father, the head of a dried fruit trading company, told him of a suggestion from one of his suppliers based in California. The latter therefore suggests getting into popcorn, already very present in American cinemas since the 1930s, but almost unknown in France. Patrice then takes what he considers today to be “the best decision of his life”. He left his company, where he had a good position, to create his own company. It’s decided, he will specialize in the sale of popcorn with the idea of ​​selling it in French cinemas. We met Patrice in his factory, located in Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu in the Rhône.

Very present in the 1930s in the United States, popcorn arrived in French cinemas 60 years later. • © Bénédicte Millaud

When he started out in 1994, Patrice’s ambition seemed far-fetched, not to say unrealistic. “It must be said that in France almost no one consumed, or even knew about, popcorn. explains the entrepreneur. “The Pathé group had fun launching a small production of popcorn for the cinema, but it didn’t really take off. remembers Patrice. “There was even a first company that tried to market it in 1992, but it filed for bankruptcy barely two years later because it didn’t work.“, he continues.

Patrice’s decision to abandon his position as sales director in a thriving company at the age of 27 to start from scratch and create a new market in France was not well received by those close to him. “Most of my friends called me crazy.” smiles the business manager, “I was criticized for doing anything, I couldn’t count the number of times I was told ‘it will never work’“.

But Patrice held on, “you had to believe it“, he proclaims, as if to congratulate himself for not having let himself be discouraged by the negativity he encountered. “We approached cinema executives one after the other. At first, they themselves didn’t believe it, they answered me: ‘In France, we don’t eat corn, we’re not chickens‘. I had to leave them stock to sell on site to show them that it was going, that customers were buying, and I would only then come and invoice them for it.” he explains.

This conquest of French cinemas is the fruit of a mixture of ambition, perseverance, but also luck, recognizes Patrice. “I arrived just when it started to work, when the French consumer said ‘ultimately, this little confectionery is nice in front of a film‘. A change in consumption habits perhaps linked to the growing influence of the “American Way of Life” in French culture? Difficult to say, the fact remains that in 1994, through Patrice Benoit, popcorns quickly spread to most of the country’s large theaters. “Very quickly, as soon as we offered very sweet popcorn in cinemas, presented in warmers adapted to make them very crispy, it sold out. welcomes Patrice.

Popcorn therefore became popular quickly, but first in smaller quantities, as he explains: “Initially, we mainly sold very small volumes, in 70 cl format. For comparison, at present, the best-selling format is 2.3 L (3.5 times more, editor’s note)“.

Immediately Patrice thinks he understands what is so popular about this novelty, “it’s the sharing effect that was so appealing. We rarely go to the cinema alone, and popcorn is easy to eat with several people, everyone can come and dig into it. And then there is the volume effect, for a few francs at the time, a few euros today, you have a voluminous and well-filled cup. We have the feeling of having much more than if we had bought other sweets for the same price.

A long-term success, since 31 years later, it is the most consumed product in French cinemas. One in five spectators buys them. A success which delights Patrice, who took advantage of his pioneering position to establish himself on the market; it is today the leading French producer of popcorn, and supplies 80% of the cinemas which offer it, particularly in large chains such as CGR, UGC and Pathé Gaumont.

In terms of volume, the Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu factory, southeast of Lyon, produces and sells the equivalent of four swimming pools of popcorn every day, or 200 m3. “We can say that all commercial cinemas in France sell them. rejoices the confectioner. And when we know that 96% of its production is sold in these cinemas, we understand why.

To get there, the entrepreneur had to understand the cultural preferences of the French market. “Our popcorn is still very special”, explains the specialist, “It is strongly adapted to the tastes of the French. Already, 80% of the popcorn sold is sweet. But, it must also be said that the recipe is a little more elaborate; We found a way to sweeten corn kernels to the core, by soaking them in a sugar marinade while cooking. The oil, sugar and corn heat and pop together, which adds a much-appreciated popped cereal taste, in addition to the caramelized sugar.”

There is no question of simply sprinkling refined sugar on plain popcorn, even if it adds complexity, since the corn “pops” at 250°C, the temperature at which sugar can burn. “It’s like a coq au vin, even with the best chicken and the best wine, if you just add the sauce afterwards rather than cooking with it, you won’t have the best dish. After all, we are from Lyon, we represent the capital of gastronomy, so even for popcorn, we do what is best“, he smiles.

On the production side too, the mechanical engineer was keen to insert himself into the French, or even local, economy. Established in the Lyon suburbs since its creation, the company Benoît Ciné Distribution today employs 46 employees. She sources organic peanut oil from Doubs or Dauphiné, uses only French sugar, and buys corn produced in Gers, rather than cheap American corn. “It’s important to make French agriculture work“, explains Patrice, “and then it’s a guarantee of quality, with American corn, we know that we can end up with mixtures based on GMOs“.

After having created it and at the same time conquered it, Benoît Ciné Distribution continues to adapt to the French popcorn market. The company is currently developing a new range of flavored and colored popcorns to follow movie trends. For example, she will offer blue popcorns, blueberry flavor, for a film like Avataror even roses, raspberry flavor, for a film like Barbie.

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