Adam Sopher

Sopher is an economics graduate. Before starting his business he worked as a consultant at Deloitte and then as a retail consultant at Dixons; he has said he came from a corporate background but kept getting itchy feet and wanted to do something new and exciting.⁠[1][2][2]

Sopher’s father, Joseph, often travelled to the United States on business and brought back flavoured popcorn, then spent years testing recipes in the family kitchen; the brand name Joe & Seph’s is taken from his father’s name. In 2010 Sopher and his parents took the homemade popcorn to a food show in London, sold out within two days, and a few months later launched in Selfridges, the brand’s first retail stockist. At the time Sopher was still working full time at Dixons Retail; he and his mother soon joined the business. The family first sold from a stall at the Brent Cross shopping centre and made the popcorn in a kitchen in Park Royal rented by the hour.⁠[1][1][2][2][2][1][1][1][1][1]

Joe’s Gourmet Foods Limited was incorporated on October 7, 2010, and Sopher has been a director of the company since June 13, 2013.⁠[3][4][4]

In 2014 Joe & Seph’s secured listings across Cineworld’s UK cinemas and with World Duty Free at Heathrow Terminal 5, having already been sold on British Airways, easyJeteasyJeteasyJet is a low-cost airline and holidays group founded by Stelios Haji-Ioannou and headquartered at London Luton Airport in the United Kingdom. Flight operations began in 1995, and easyJet plc was listed in 2000.Open the full entry and Thomson Airways flights. As co-founder, Sopher said the brand deliberately avoided large supermarket chains and wanted to be only in outlets that presented the product in the right way and at the right price; airlines gave more brand exposure than “being in 100 retailers.” He also said the company would never outsource production or packing, and that exports then made up around 18% of the business.⁠[5][5][5][5][5][5][5][5]

At 30, Sopher was named to the Young Guns class of 2015 by the start-up publication Startups.co.uk. At the time Joe & Seph’s set itself apart by air-popping its corn and using fresh butter caramel, was sold in 15 countries and in premium retailers such as Waitrose, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges, had grown by more than 200% every year since launch, was just shy of £3 million in turnover that year, and remained 100% family owned and profitable.⁠[6][6][6][6][6][6][6]

In 2017, speaking as a director of Joe & Seph’s, Sopher said the brand had built its name through premium outlets such as Selfridges, British Airways’ Club class and Picturehouse cinemas, and had partnered with Divine chocolate on a Fairtrade Easter egg with popcorn inside and with Laurent-Perrier champagne on a paired popcorn; he believed such partnerships connected the brand with its target audience. By then the brand had won 34 Great Taste Awards.⁠[7][7][7][7][7][7]

That year his younger brother joined the family business; the company had annual turnover of about £5 million, with 14 chefs producing more than 40 flavours in its Harlesden kitchens in London, and its products were available in 2,500 locations in more than 19 countries, including on British Airways and easyJet flights and in cinemas.⁠[1][1][1][1][1][1]

In March 2025 Sopher wrote an article on the website of the British train operator Avanti West Coast about Joe & Seph’s being served on its trains, saying the brand offered more than 50 flavours, had won more than 100 Great Taste awards, and still made every batch by hand in its North London kitchens. As of March 2025 he was the company’s co-founder and chief executive, leading its day-to-day running, while his father Joseph remained involved in creating new flavours.⁠[8][8][8][8][8]

On September 27, 2026, The Venture RoomThe Venture RoomThe Venture Room is a UK entrepreneurial media brand centered on the YouTube channel @theventureroom. Through long-form interviews with founders and street interviews such as “Asking Millionaires How They Got Rich?”, it presents entrepreneurs’ stories and advice to aspiring business owners, and runs an entrepreneur community and brand partnerships.Open the full entry published an episode visiting three London businesses, including a tour of Joe & Seph’s “popcorn HQ” and factory. Sopher said on the show that the company started 16 years earlier at his parents’ kitchen table, moved into its current headquarters in 2020, sells in 19 countries, expected £9 million in turnover that year and has a team of about 60; it started with £11,000 and no big funding. He said the business launched in October 2010 and its product was on the shelves of Selfridges in April 2011, and that the family had no previous experience in food and drink.⁠[9][9][9][9][9][9][9][9][9][9]

“Getting the listing is great, but it’s only going to be successful if people actually buy it and then buy it again.” He said that after getting into Selfridges, the family spent four hours a day, Thursday to Sunday, handing out tasters in store to get people to buy (at 10:38 in the video).⁠[9][9]

“It’s that repeat rate when you know that you’re doing something good.” He explained that new flavours are first tested on a small scale on the company website, where reviews show how people respond, then launched with premium retailers with in-store tastings, and only then rolled out to wider distribution, while watching whether customers come back to buy again a month later (at 12:37 in the video).⁠[9][9][9][9]

Use your naivety “to come with fresh eyes.” He said that coming into a new industry, you look at a product in a way that people who have been in that industry for years will not, and that creates an opportunity; Joe & Seph’s took something boring and neglected and made it current, premium and fun (at 13:15 in the video).⁠[9][9][9][9]

“You need the flavour that is going to appeal to everyone.” He said a wide range lets a brand appeal to different people, but it needs one entry product to bring customers in; for Joe & Seph’s that is its salted caramel popcorn (at 17:37 in the video).⁠[9][9]

“If you can create a win-win, then a lot of brands, it’s difficult for someone to say no to it.” He said that in the early days the company made custom flavours featuring bigger brands for their events, then used those as case studies to win over more brands (at 18:02 in the video).⁠[9][9]

Joe & Seph’s: Official website: https://www.joeandsephs.co.uk/ (opens in a new window).⁠[6]