NORFOLK, Va. — If you’re walking on Cromwell Road, you might come across a sweet smell that will stop you in your tracks — that’s because of Jody’s Gourmet Popcorn.
“And now we’re shipping all over the United States. We ship to Iceland. We ship to the Mid East. We have customers in Canada and in Europe,” Jody Wagner, president of Jody’s Popcorn, said.
Jody’s Gourmet Popcorn has been making the crunchy treat for 20 years.
Each day, the company produces about 24,000 bags in a variety of flavors. But like many businesses, it has had to adjust to tariffs.
“It's been challenging,” Wagner said.
Since the tariffs went into effect, Wagner said many overseas customers have no longer wanted to work with them, causing issues with exporting.
“On the import side. We import some of our packaging materials. None of our food but some of our packaging materials and we’ve faced really significant increases because of the tariffs,” Wagner said.
But despite the increases, Wagner said local customers continue to shop and support the business, with some even stopping by for the free sweet smells coming out of the warehouse on Cromwell.
“And we’re glad to give people a taste. We want people to be able to experience the product,” Wagner said.
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