Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Ibbetson.
Hi Mary, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
We started Pura Vida Kettle Corn in 2017 dreaming of having more time together and building a business together that would take us into retirement. Fortunately, we had done a fair amount of marathon training over the years because it served us well!
Our first year, we thought we would do one or two events each month but we were having so much fun and learning so much that we kept taking on more and ended up doing 72 events that first year. Most of those events were small, we made mistakes, we met great people and we were happy to be not only taking control of our futures we were doing it together!
Each year, we sit down and set goals for the following year so that we are always on the same page and working toward the same goals. Some years the goals have been things like “take time off”, and “more family time” and other years the goals are “buy a new trailer”, and “add Florida events.” Some years the goals change on a dime and we have to pivot quickly.
We now do about 100 events a year over 11 months between NY and Fla, we are officially no longer “seasonal”.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We had been growing pretty steadily, adding bigger and better events, until the pandemic came along…
One of our regular customers is a psychic – in the summer of 2019, we asked her what she thought about Joe leaving his day job so he could focus solely on the business. She told us “This is not what you want to hear, but this is not the right time. Don’t do it now.” Fortunately, we listened because when the pandemic hit – we were shut down AND we had full-time jobs!
In the years since we have continued to grow. Joe did leave his full-time job in 2021 and in 2022 we sold our house in NY, bought a house in Edgewater, FL, and became a NATIONAL business. We now operate in Florida from November – May and in NY from June – October.
Starting fresh in Florida as a brand-new business was humbling. In NY we had developed relationships with vendor coordinators, other vendors, and customers, in Florida we are brand new again. We have been working hard to build our relationships and now have several regular farmer’s markets that we do each week and have been adding a few larger events each year.
In May, one of our customers in Port Orange, FL recognized us from one of our regular events in Kingston, NY and then in June we saw her again in NY!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We have worked very hard to be consistent and have a good quality product every single time. We use quality products and, of course, everything is made with love. Joe tests and makes every batch himself and makes sure every flavor we serve is one he can be proud of.
Each flavor has a story – Sweet and Salty (traditional kettle corn) – is what we started with. Mary has always been a huge fan and we thought it would be our only flavor. Cinnamon French Toast – Joe created this custom recipe while working a weekly picker’s flea market in upstate NY. We arrived early in the morning to get our spot but with no one to sell popcorn to, since it is more of an afternoon snack. The smell of cinnamon and sugar wafting down the airfield quickly changed that and became a customer favorite that we now have in our regular rotation.
Caramel Corn and Cheddar Pop – On a layover from a business trip, Mary picked up a container of specialty popcorn at an airport store in the Chicago Airport. Joe took one handful and was on a mission to be able to make those flavors. He went through about 7 recipes until he found ones he was satisfied with. We frequently get customers to ask us to mix the two “Chicago style”.
Sweet and Spicy – We wanted to add a savory flavor but didn’t want to go too far from our sweet and salty roots and so this flavor was created to give our more adventurous customers a treat! It is spicy while still being sweet. Joe would say that sounds like someone he knows.
We also strive to have every encounter with our customers be a happy one. We do quite a few weekly and monthly events where our customers have become our friends and annual events where seeing customers again after a full year is like catching up with old friends!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
We are living our dream life and we are happy. Is it easy? NO. But is it worth it? Hell YES!
We have been married for 32 years but have never been closer. We get to spend most of our days together, working together toward our dream. We live by the beach in the winter and in the mountains in the summer.
We work hard, meet the best people, and have the greatest friends and family and we are grateful.
We are fortunate that our family supports our crazy life – we are hoping to have our grandsons working with us someday too!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/puravidakettlecorn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/puravidakettlecorn
