History
Superpop Pty. Ltd. first began to manufacture popcorn in 1987 in a 1000 sq ft factory in Bayswater, Victoria with one employee & zero sales. The original idea was to supply the route trade with a variety of flavoured popcorn snacks but due to a lack of experience & marketing expertise other avenues were required to produce sales.
We turned our attention to supplying schools, as we believed that children would enjoy the product & that it was a relatively healthy snack. A number of tasty flavours were developed & we quickly found a niche on which to expand.
In 1990 Superpop purchased Panda Popcorn - one of Australia's original popcorn companies - famous for producing most of Victoria's coloured popcorn since the early 1960s. This was also significant because this company was partly owned by the Hoyts Corporation & we now had our first major break by selling popcorn & ingredients to a major Australian cinema chain.
In 1992 our major competitor, Movietime Popcorn was taken over as Bill & Zola Proctor decided to go home to concentrate on their interests in cinemas in the USA. Movietime had created a niche by expanding their Butter flavoured & Coloured popcorn into supermarkets across Australia & had significant sales in many cinemas.
In 1994 Superpop purchased its current head office site in Mt Waverley & built state of the art popcorn manufacturing facilities. Located on the Monash Freeway deliveries could be expedited to suit customer needs & the popcorn never tasted better as larger, more efficient machinery was installed.
1996 saw Superpop expand into Sydney with the immediate benefit of being able to provide speedy service to our NSW customers. Over the next 2 years we took over Popsy Popcorn (Victoria) & Jumpin' Joey Popcorn (NSW) & moved into new premises at Minto (1998).
In 2001 we decided that we needed to offer even better service to our customers in the north of Australia so we started up our Brisbane office & warehouse. Almost immediately the benefits were felt as customers from Maroochydore to the Gold Coast could receive emergency supplies if things went wrong with their ordering. And the people in Darwin & in the far north could expect product in days.
2005 saw us establish our warehouse in Perth, finally securing distribution from coast to coast in Australia.
As a result of our improved efficiency, our customers have asked us to do more & more culminating in a request to extend our lines of distribution to New Zealand. Ever happy to co-operate, we now have a warehouse in Auckland.
From our humble beginnings as a popcorn manufacturer we now supply a wide range of products. New machinery has been installed both here in Australia & in South East Asia to produce products ranging from microwave popcorn to paper drink cups. Along with producing the best tasting popcorn in Australia we have now become a one stop shop for all cinema & concessions outlets.
Janis Kondarovskis
Managing Director
Frequently Asked Questions: How it all Works.
Do you sell a quality product?
Movietime Popcorn has gained a reputation over the last 19 years as a supplier of top quality corn, oil, salt & other related goods. We have now moved our focus towards being the 'One Stop Cinema Shop' where we now suppply all candy bar requisites.
Why did Superpop Pty. Ltd. become the 'One-Stop Cinema Shop'?
Most Cinema Operators are busy enough organising the everyday running of their cinema to be bothered with waiting around for daily deliveries or worse still, paying somebody else to take deliveries. Think of how much time & money could be saved if most deliveries came at a pre arranged time every week. It is worth it for the convenience alone.
I have a small storeroom.
Will I now have to order large amounts? The cinema operator will end up ordering less of each individual item every week because the deliveries will be regular. No longer will it be a requirement to order a tonne of corn or a storeroom full of serving cups.
The advantage for Superpop Pty Ltd. is that we are able to defray the cost of freight over a number of products. Under normal circumstances it is uneconomic to send a few bags of corn but all this changes when we can add other non-food items.
The end result is that the cinema operator orders only what is required saving the company time, space & money.
But will the Cinema Operator actually save money if purchases are made from a non-specialist supplier? Surely it is better to buy corn from the corn expert, straws from the straw expert & so on?
Under normal circumstances the answer is 'YES'. You would not want to purchase corn from a general wholesaler because your profit depends on the quality & expansion of the product. You certainly wouldn't want to have corn being stored by a company that doesn't understand weevils, moisture content or the difference between varieties of corn.
However Superpop Pty. Ltd. has been supplying most major cinema chains since 1987. We do understand corn. And popping oil. And flavoured popcorn salt.
Our non-food items are all sourced from major, reputable companies or we manufacture our own. This had the effect of ensuring that premium quality is maintained - just have a look at the quality of our paper cups. And have a look at the price also.
But does Superpop Pty. Ltd. understand non-food items & will I save money by purchasing from Superpop Pty. Ltd.?
We have had to learn to understand these products & we only use reputable suppliers. Often it is these large multi nationals that come to us & ask us to distribute products because they are unable to deliver small quantities directly to cinemas. 
Why doesn't Superpop have a fixed price for all customers, Australia wide?
As cinemas are located all over Australia we have found that it is better to give individual cinemas a quotation that takes into account individual differences such as freight, sorts of products required & quantities used per annum. It doesn't make sense to give a fixed price for all when every location varies.
But how will I know if I am getting a good deal on all my Candy Bar requisites?
The proof lies in the Movietime Savings Calculator - a spreadsheet where the cinema operator is asked to input pricing & volumes for any items that are purchased & Superpop will e-mail the calculator back showing savings. You will be able to see the savings or loss per item but most of all you will be able to see how much is saved weekly, monthly & yearly.
If you do not have e-mail we will print it off & fax it to you. Unfortunately you will not be able to play with the figures to see what might happen if you could get the price of some items reduced by a few extra cents.
We have been amazed at the surprise of some operators who have realised that saving a few cents can become an annual saving of thousands of dollars. The Movietime Savings Calculator then becomes your formal quotation for the supply of goods. If after looking at the calculator & you feel that you don't need to save any money or wish to remain with your existing supplier, you are free to proceed as before. Nothing has been lost. There is no obligation.
Am I charged extra for freight to my cinema?
No! This is why we give you your very own quotation, which is free into store.
If you don't charge extra for freight, are you sure that you can deliver to my cinema & can you do it on time?
We have our own warehouse & employees in Melbourne, Sydney,Brisbane & Perth. This means that we are in direct control of all deliveries & can, in emergencies express deliver stock to you. Currently Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast & Perth can be delivered (in an emergency) same day. Normally however we arrange set delivery dates so that everybody knows what is happening.
Regional Australia: Country areas are surprisingly well catered for by individuals & small freight companies. Many of these people make a daily run to their capital city & return home every evening. If orders are placed in plenty of time & we can deliver to their yard on time, chances are that stock will reach your country cinema next day.
Many of these operators know the locals & we have often had deliveries made on a Saturday morning or the cinema manager has gone down to the freight depot to pick up the goods. In many cases it assists all parties if you can point us towards a preferred carrier in your area. It simply saves everybody money, time & effort.
What does the Cinema Operator have to do? The Cinema Operator has to know what must be purchased every week & must ensure that an order is placed in time for the weekly / fortnightly delivery. We are able to assist you here by working with you to develop a compatible fax form or e-mail to send to us. All items must be listed on the form so that a conscious decision is made to select all that is required for the next 10 days.
When should the cinema operator place an order?
An order should be placed as early as possible. We will always get stock out immediately but I have seen delays, strikes, truck accidents, pallets being left off trucks & much more. I believe orders should be placed on the same day every week because then you or your staff can get into a routine.
We can have our people ring your cinema weekly / fortnightly for an order if this makes it easier.
What is the best way to order?
You can phone in orders but a systematic approach is always best. Ordering by e-mail, fax or via the internet has advantages. If you use the Movietime Checklist all you have to do is indicate how many items of each are required & you have a written record.
How much should I order?
Only you know the answer to that but you should order enough stock for at least 10 days. You do not want to run out on Saturday night. It is essential that you use your Movietime Checklist because you don't want to forget something & we don't want to be running around on a Friday evening trying to organise freight when everybody has gone home.
It is the system that makes everything work. The junior at your local fast food outlet will always ask you to upsize your fries because he has been taught the system. If we can work out a suitable system that applies to ordering & deliveries in your Candy Bar, you will have one less thing to worry about.
Are there any other advantages of purchasing Movietime products?
We have made it company policy to try & assist all cinemas wherever possible. Movietime Customers receive on going information to keep their cinemas up to date with the latest ways of saving money. The following (free) laminated information guides are available:
1. Movietime Good House Keeping Guide: Shows operators how to look after their storerooms without necessarily employing outsiders. Describes how to find infestations of vermin & what to do with simple ongoing measures.
2. Movietime Corn Policy: Describes how to look after your corn & what each party should do to keep your corn popping large.
3. Movietime Popper Maintenance via Proper Cleaning Procedures: The biggest single cause of popper breakdown is due to inadequate cleaning of the popper. Our serviceman (trained by Bill Proctor in 1987) has recorded what all Managers should know but rarely pass on to incoming employees.
4. Movietime Guide to Sugar Corn: Step by step guide of how to make it.
5. Parts & Equipment: We are an authorised Gold Medal supplier. We have over $250,000 of Cretors & Gold Medal parts in stock. If you have a breakdown, don't wait for a week for the parts to arrive from the USA - give us a call.
What do I do now?
If you are satisfied that you are getting a good deal - place an order & see what happens. Remember we also realise that if this is not a win-win situation for you then you will not be a customer for long.
You can even do a short-term trial to see if what we promise, works. What have you got to lose? Try us!!
CONTACTS:
Melbourne (03) 9791 7779
Sydney (02) 9824 6444
Brisbane (07) 3712 0222
Perth 0425 791 386
E-MAIL weborders@superpop.com.au