wholesale caramel corn: field notes from the snack aisle

I’ve toured my fair share of snack plants, and the thing that still gets me is the fragrance: warm sugar, a hint of butter, and that toasted corn snap. In China’s Jinzhou City, at 33 Gongye Road, a facility run by Hebei Cici Co., Ltd. turns out Indiam Popcorn—pioneer of the baked popcorn segment, if you’ve been following category data. To be honest, the market for wholesale caramel corn is having a moment: clean label, halal, and comfort-first indulgence rolled into a tidy 22 g bag.

What’s driving demand now

Three trends I keep hearing from buyers: portion-controlled packs for e-commerce, verified certifications for export, and OEM flexibility for private labels. Indiam’s playbook ticks those boxes: HACCP, HALAL, FDA, ISO 22000, and non-GMO credentials—plus flavors beyond caramel (cream, honey butter). Many customers say the “baked” approach keeps the crunch lighter, which, surprisingly, tracks with panel tests.

Process flow, materials, and quality gates

Materials: non-GMO corn; caramel glaze made from sugar and plant-based fats; no artificial ingredients; halal-compliant inputs. Methods (condensed):

• Air popping and screening for uniform expansion
• Continuous caramel coating in a heated tumbler (target coating temp ≈115–120°C)
• Oven bake to set glaze; rapid cooling tunnel to lock texture
• Metal detection (ferrous/non-ferrous), optical checks, nitrogen-flush packaging

Testing standards (real-world plant notes): aw ≤0.45; moisture ≤3.0%; TPC ≤10³ CFU/g; Salmonella absent/25 g; unbroken piece integrity ≥95%; sensory panel for crunch and caramel evenness. Service life: ≈9–12 months at 20–25°C, RH <60% (sealed, away from light).

Applications and customization

Use cases I see weekly: cinemas, convenience chains, airline snack boxes, hotel minibars, subscription snack kits, and cross-border marketplaces. OEM/private label is available—logo, bag film design, carton printing, and flavor tweaks (e.g., caramel intensity, hint of sea salt). Typical lead time: around 20–30 days after artwork approval; MOQ varies by film.

Case notes

A Southeast Asian cinema chain switched to Indiam’s wholesale caramel corn 22 g units for combo upgrades. Sell-through rose ≈18% in the first quarter; returns for staling dropped after they tightened storage to below 60% RH and rotated cases weekly. Another buyer—a subscription snack box—used OEM print and a slightly salt-forward caramel, bumping CTR on product pages by 12% month over month. Small tweaks, big lift.

Compliance, test data, and audits

• FSMA-compliant GMPs (21 CFR Part 117); Codex HACCP plan with CCPs on coating temp and metal detection
• ISO 22000 food safety management verified; HALAL certification for export markets
• Typical lot data shared with buyers: aw, moisture, microbiology, metal detector sensitivity records, and traceability codes

If you’re sourcing at scale, ask for the latest COA, shelf-life verification, and shipping trials (summer lanes can be rough on caramel). Pickup is commonly arranged FOB Tianjin; the plant address is 33 Gongye Road, Jinzhou City, Hebei, China.

References

1. US FDA. Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food, 21 CFR Part 117.
2. ISO 22000:2018 Food safety management systems — Requirements for any organization in the food chain.
3. Codex Alimentarius. General Principles of Food Hygiene CXC 1-1969 and HACCP Annex (latest revision).
4. SMIIC/OIC Halal Food Standards (e.g., OIC/SMIIC 1) and common market acceptance guidelines.