![]() | |
Product type | Microwave popcorn |
---|---|
Owner | Conagra Brands |
Country | United States |
Introduced | 1981 |
Markets | Worldwide |
Previous owners | Golden Valley Microwave Foods |
Website |
Act II is an American brand of microwave popcorn that is ostensibly based on the look and taste of movie theater popcorn. It is currently made and distributed by Conagra Brands. Act II was preceded in the popcorn market by Act I, an early microwave popcorn that had to be stored in the refrigerator due to its real butter content. Act I was introduced in 1981. In 1984, Act II, a shelf stable microwave popcorn was released, becoming the first mass-marketed microwave popcorn. [1]
Act II was manufactured by the Golden Valley Microwave Foods [2] (frequently abbreviated as GVMF on the packaging) company of Edina, Minnesota. GVMF was later bought by ConAgra Foods in 1991. [3]
The Edina facility was closed and manufacturing moved to other manufacturing plants in the US and Mexico.
The popcorn bag used in Act II was invented by James Watkins, a former engineer for the Pillsbury Company in Minneapolis, MN and then Founder/President of Golden Valley Microwave Foods.
Popcorn is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated; the same names also refer to the foodstuff produced by the expansion.
A frozen meal, prepackaged meal, ready-made meal, ready meal (UK), frozen dinner, and microwave meal is ultra-processed food portioned for an individual. A frozen meal in the United States and Canada usually consists of a type of meat, fish, or pasta for the main course, and sometimes vegetables, potatoes, and/or a dessert. Some frozen meals feature Indian, Chinese, Mexican, and other foods of international customs. Another form of convenience food, which is merely a refrigerated ready meal that requires less heating but expires sooner, is popular.
Conagra Brands, Inc. is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, and food service establishments. Based on its 2021 revenue, the company ranked 331st on the 2022 Fortune 500.
Bugles are a corn snack produced by General Mills and Tom's Snacks.
Orville Clarence Redenbacher was an American food scientist and businessman most often associated with the brand of popcorn that bears his name which is now owned by Conagra Brands. The New York Times described him as "the agricultural visionary who all but single-handedly revolutionized the American popcorn industry".
Pop Secret is an American brand of popcorn, owned and marketed by Snyder's-Lance – a subsidiary of Campbell Soup Company since 2017. Snyder's-Lance had acquired the Pop Secret brand from Diamond Foods in early 2016.
Microwave popcorn is a convenience food consisting of unpopped popcorn in an enhanced, sealed paper bag intended to be heated in a microwave oven. In addition to the dried corn, the bags typically contain cooking oil with sufficient saturated fat to solidify at room temperature, one or more seasonings, and natural or artificial flavorings or both.
A popcorn maker is a machine used to pop popcorn. Since ancient times, popcorn has been a popular snack food, produced through the explosive expansion of kernels of heated corn (maize). Commercial large-scale popcorn machines were invented by Charles Cretors in the late 19th century. Many types of small-scale home methods for popping corn also exist.
Lund Food Holdings, Inc is an American supermarket operator. Headquartered in Edina, it owns the upscale supermarket chain Lunds & Byerlys. The company opened its first supermarkets in the Uptown area of Minneapolis. In 2015, it changed its name from Lunds to Lunds & Byerlys. It operates 28 stores in Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area of Minnesota.
Lean Cuisine is a brand of frozen entrées and dinners sold in the United States by Nestlé, and in Australia by Vesco. The brand began as low-fat, low-calorie versions of Stouffer's products. Today, Lean Cuisine includes traditional dinners, ethnic dishes, pizzas, whole-grain Spa Cuisine entreés, and panini. The headquarters of Lean Cuisine in the United States is located in Solon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.
Jiffy Pop is a popcorn brand of ConAgra Foods. The product consists of popcorn kernels, oil, and flavoring agents contained within a foil-covered, disposable aluminum pan. Once the paper outer covering is removed, the pan is held by an attached handle over a heat source such as a stove burner or campfire and gently agitated, causing the kernels to pop and push outward against the foil. The pan is then removed from the heat, the foil is torn open, and the popcorn is served.
Jays Foods, Inc., is an American manufacturer of snack products including potato chips, popcorn and pretzels. Jays Foods was founded in 1927 in Chicago, Illinois, and is currently a subsidiary of Snyder's of Hanover. Operating in several Midwestern states, Jays Foods' potato chips and popcorn maintain significant shares of their respective markets.
Breville Group Limited or simply Breville is an Australian multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances, headquartered in the inner suburb of Alexandria, Sydney. The company's brands include Breville, Kambrook and Ronson. In the UK and Europe the company, firming as Sage Appliances, goes to market as the Sage brand and as the Breville brand in the rest of the world.
The Lincoln Snacks Company was a manufacturer of caramelized popcorn and popcorn/nut mixes. Lincoln Snacks’ products are produced in Lincoln, Nebraska and sold nationally under the Poppycock, Fiddle Faddle and Screaming Yellow Zonkers (discontinued) brand names. Lincoln Snacks became a subsidiary of ConAgra Foods, Inc. on September 7, 2007.
Butterkist is a brand of popcorn owned by KP Snacks. It is the United Kingdom's best-selling brand of popcorn.
The American Pop Corn Company is a family owned popcorn producer. Founded in 1914, it is the oldest popcorn company in the United States. Its only brand, Jolly Time, is sold globally and in every state in America. It employs 185 people, and its headquarters are in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Weaver Popcorn Company, based in Van Buren, Indiana, is one of the largest popcorn companies in the United States.
Utz Brands, Inc., more commonly known as Utz, is an American snack food company based in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The company produces a variety of potato chips, pretzels, and other snacks, with most products sold under their family of brands. Utz is also a snack supplier to warehouse clubs and merchandisers.
Artificial butter flavoring is a flavoring used to give a food the taste and smell of butter. It may contain diacetyl, acetylpropionyl, or acetoin, three natural compounds in butter that contribute to its characteristic taste and smell. Manufacturers of margarines or similar oil-based products typically add it to make the final product butter-flavored, because it would otherwise be relatively tasteless.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)