Why Colette’s Popcorn Chooses Plastic Buckets Over Plastic Bags

Why Colette’s Gourmet Popcorn Chooses Plastic Buckets:

Choosing the right packaging affects freshness, shipping, customer experience, sustainability, and brand perception. After testing options, Colette’s Popcorn has chosen to sell and ship our popcorn in plastic buckets rather than plastic bags. Here’s why.

Freshness and product protection:

Our buckets are designed to be airtight, preserving crunch, flavor, and aroma far longer than standard plastic bags. Because we make all our gourmet popcorn from scratch in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, local humidity is the single biggest factor that causes popcorn to go stale. An airtight bucket reduces exposure to moisture and oxygen, keeping popcorn tasting as intended from our kitchen to your first bite.

Shipping durability and fewer returns:

Buckets are rigid and stackable, offering better protection through transit. That means less crushed product, fewer complaints, and lower replacement/shrinkage costs — a win for customers and the business.  Many customers also travel home with their buckets to give as gifts, and these buckets which help keep the popcorn fresh and prevents it from being crushed during the trip home.

Reusable, practical, and incentivized:

Buckets are easy for customers to reuse for storage, crafts, or food. To encourage multi-use, we offer a price discount to customers who bring their buckets back for a refill. In some months nearly 40% of our popcorn bucket sales come from customers returning with their buckets for refills — a strong signal that the approach works for both customers and the environment.

Made in the USA:

Our buckets are manufactured in the USA, supporting local industry and shortening supply chains. Domestic production helps with quality control and can reduce some transportation emissions compared with overseas sourcing.  Our Jumbo buckets are made in Sandusky Ohio, while our Junior Buckets come from Monroeville Indiana.

Recyclability:HDPE #2 plastic

We use buckets made from HDPE #2, a material widely accepted by curbside recycling programs. Compared with many flexible film plastics, rigid HDPE has stronger recycling streams, improving end-of-life outcomes where local facilities accept it. (Recycling availability varies by location.)

Reducing litter and protecting marine life:

We also consider the beach environment where we live and operate. Plastic popcorn bags are more likely to be left on the beach and blown into the ocean, where they can harm marine life. Buckets are less likely to be abandoned and end up in the ocean, they are reusable, and we actively encourage returns and refills to reduce single-use waste, and when properly disposed of at a recycling center, they have a very high recylability rate.