PROPER, the UK’s fastest-growing major snack brand, is continuing its mission to reinvigorate the microwave popcorn category with the launch of its best-selling Sweet & Salty flavour in its everyday microwave collection for the first time.
Sweet & Salty is PROPER’s biggest-selling popcorn flavour, generating more than £23.2m in sales over the last year (Total Coverage, Nielsen, MAT 05.09.26), and up 16% versus the prior year. Since launching in the PROPER Pop-Up Box, the UK’s first pop-up microwave popcorn box, it has become a standout performer within the range, proving strong consumer demand for the flavour in microwave formats.
The launch comes as microwave popcorn presents a significant opportunity for growth. It provides a unique at home experience, with nearly six in ten (58%) microwave popcorn shoppers purchasing no other popcorn format. Yet, despite this dedicated shopper base, the segment has experienced a steady decline in recent years, with limited innovation across the category.
PROPER has already begun changing that. Earlier this year, the brand launched the Pop-Up Box, bringing added theatre and convenience to the at-home popcorn moment and generating £1m in incremental sales since launch in March 2026.
The arrival of Sweet & Salty in PROPER’s core microwave collection is the next step in that journey, giving shoppers the flavour they know and love in a format they’ve been asking for, while helping bring fresh excitement back to the microwave aisle.
Alongside the launch, PROPER’s OG microwave popcorn collection (Salted and Sweet) has also had a glow up with a redesigned look for greater shelf standout. Both flavours have improved recipes, scoring significantly better in consumer testing, with Sweet now fully HFSS-compliant. Rebranded as Fresh Popcorn, the collection leans into the growing “sensemaxxing” trend, which champions richer, more immersive and experiential sensory experiences, bringing the unique aroma, warmth and theatre of freshly popped popcorn to life as the only warm offering in the CSN aisle.
Launching exclusively in Multipack (3 x 70g, £2.50 RRP), PROPER’s microwave collection will be available in Waitrose and Ocado from 21st September and rolled out across wider retailers from October. The collection maintains the brand’s quality credentials: wholegrain corn, high in fibre and under 100kcal per serve. PROPER is a certified B Corp, continuing to deliver on its commitment to better ingredients and responsible business.
Sandie Dilger, chief marketing officer at PROPER SNACKS, commented: “Microwave popcorn is as experiential as snacking gets. It’s a moment of theatre at home that people love and a firm favourite with families. We’re excited to bring Sweet & Salty – our number one flavour to our core microwave range – creating more ways for people to Practice PROPER Snacking at home.”
The launch builds on a period of impressive commercial momentum. PROPER SNACKS is growing 11 times faster than the category, and up 26% in the last year. PROPER is now a top 10 CSN brand, with PROPERCORN up +8% over the L12 weeks and now worth £38m RSV, having driven 84% of popcorn category growth over the last seven years.
