Is microwave popcorn profitable to sell on Amazon United Kingdom?

The niche generates £88K/yr across 14 tracked products. 0 of 2 products launched in the last 360 days are still selling. 90-day search growth is -14.1%. Flapen's verdict: Skip it (45/100).

How competitive is the microwave popcorn niche?

9 brands and 80 sellers compete. The top 5 products take 67% of clicks and top 5 brands hold 89% of demand.

What do buyers complain about in microwave popcorn?

Top complaints mined from reviews: Taste-Overall, Burnt/Roasted/Overbaked, Flavor. The return rate is 0.1%.

When does demand for microwave popcorn peak?

Demand is steady year-round — the busiest month runs 1.6× the quietest.

What does it cost to enter the microwave popcorn niche?

Listings span £1.75–£20.30; the average listing price is £9.96 (sweet spot $15–$100). The average incumbent carries 2,096 reviews — the moat a new listing must climb.

microwave popcorn

Skip it

Soft demand (-14.1% this quarter) — this niche doesn't clear our bar today.

Returns

Incredible0.1%

return rate — above 5% kills the launch gate

Conversion

Great9.3%

search→purchase rate — share of searches ending in a sale

Quality gap

Great4.3★

avg incumbent rating — lower means beatable quality

Review moat

Okay2,096.43

avg incumbent reviews — the moat a new listing must climb

Avg price

Okay£9.96

avg listing price — sweet spot $15–$100

Competition

Okay67%

top-5 click share — leaders hold, buyers still browse

Price range

Okay£1.75–£20.30

cheapest to priciest tracked listing — scored on the share inside $15–$100

Brand share

Okay89%

top-5 brand share — brands hold most of the demand

Market size

Bad£88K

£88K/yr · 95K searches

Growth

Bad-14.1%

90-day search growth — must beat 0% to launch

According to Flapen's Amazon United Kingdom niche tracking, microwave popcorn is a £88K/yr Amazon United Kingdom market (95K searches/yr). The top 5 brands hold 89% of demand. Verdict: Skip it — 45/100.

Data updated Jul 24, 2026 · scored weekly · How we score niches

microwave popcorn market data

Units sold / yr: 10K–13K; avg 500–750/product
Revenue / yr: £100K–£125K; units × avg price
Conversion rate: 9.3%
Avg BSR: #41
Page quality: 0%
Prime: 64%
Sponsored: 29%
Out of stock: 0.4%
Avg brand age: 61 months
Avg seller age: 167 days

Competition & brand share

The top 5 products take 67% of clicks — established leaders, but buyers still shop beyond them.

Brands

9 flat

Sellers

Top-5 brand share

89%

Top 20: 100%

Top-5 click share

67%

Top 20: 100%

Open market

Butterkist47%
SOL16%
Orville Redenbacher's11%
KIRKLAND8%
AQUA THOUGHTS7%
The Great British Confectionery Company4%
Open — no brand owns it (3 brands, 7%)

Demand & seasonality

Weekly Amazon search volume, last 89 weeks — -14.1% search growth over the last 90 days.

No pronounced peak months · busiest ÷ quietest = 1.6×

Open Trend

Top microwave popcorn search terms

microwave popcorn69K/yr -11.8%8.7% conv.
popcorn microwave23K/yr -21.3%7.0% conv.
butterkist microwave popcorn3K/yr +7.6%9.9% conv.

All search terms

Top microwave popcorn products on Amazon

Each bubble is one product — market share against review moat; bubble size tracks estimated sales, color grades how beatable the incumbent looks.

Beatable (≤4.3★) Contested Strong incumbent (>4.7★)

All 14 tracked products in this niche — three views at once, no toggling.

Top sellers

by 90-day click share

Butterkist Sweet and Salted Microwave Popcorn 3 x 60g

Butterkist£1.754.6★1,916 rev

ORVILLE REDENBACHERS Microwave Movie Theater Butter 39.49 oz

Orville Redenbacher's£20.304.5★1,736 rev

Kirkland Signature Microwave Popcorn 44 Pack Box

KIRKLAND£19.994.5★2,894 rev

SOL 12pk x 85g Stop n Pop Microwave Popcorn Salted & Butter Flavoured Pop Corn Kernels Ready in Minutes Tasty Snack for Family Movie Nights Easy to Prepare Ideal for Sharing Fun Moments at Home

SOL£9.524.3★130 rev

9pk Microwave Popcorn (9x85g) - Salted Butter Sweet & Salt Flavoured Pop Corn Kernels Ready in Minutes Tasty Snack for Family Movie Nights Easy to Prepare Ideal for Sharing popcorn bags

AQUA THOUGHTS£8.304.3★11 rev

Newest

by launch date

Grocer Planet - Italian Salted Microwave Popcorn Kernels (90g Pack of 9)

GROCER PLANET£7.951 rev

2mo ago

9pk Microwave Popcorn (9x85g) - Salted Butter Sweet & Salt Flavoured Pop Corn Kernels Ready in Minutes Tasty Snack for Family Movie Nights Easy to Prepare Ideal for Sharing popcorn bags

AQUA THOUGHTS£8.3011 rev

5mo ago

SOL 12pk x 85g Stop n Pop Microwave Popcorn Salted & Butter Flavoured Pop Corn Kernels Ready in Minutes Tasty Snack for Family Movie Nights Easy to Prepare Ideal for Sharing Fun Moments at Home

SOL£9.52130 rev

4y ago

SOL 12pk x 85g Stop n Pop Microwave Popcorn Kernels Salted Popcorn Microwave Pop Corn Ready in Minutes Tasty Snack for Family Movie Nights Easy to Prepare Ideal for Sharing Fun Moments at Home

SOL£9.48408 rev

5y ago

SOL 12pk x 85g Stop n Pop Microwave Popcorn Butter Flavoured Pop Corn Kernels Ready in Minutes Tasty Snack for Family Movie Nights Easy to Prepare Ideal for Sharing Fun Moments at Home

SOL£9.42468 rev

5y ago

What buyers say about microwave popcorn

What buyers praise and complain about, mined from review topics.

What buyers love

Taste-Overall52%

“Perfect popcorn”

Quality-Overall10%

“good quality popcorn”

Value For Money8%

“Great value”

Sweetness5%

“It's very nice to have sweet”

Gifting Purpose4%

“Was a nice gift”

Cooking Instructions3%

“Excellent product, cooks fully in 2 minutes,”

Locally Manufactured2%

“From the USA”

Advertised Vs Actual Product2%

“Does what it says on the box fantastic”

Flavor2%

“loved the butter flavour”

Nutritional Content2%

“Great quick snack”

What buyers complain about

Taste-Overall18%

“Bad popcorn”

Burnt/Roasted/Overbaked13%

“It burns easily even when you follow instructions”

Flavor11%

“Wrong flavour received”

Oily/Greasy11%

“Greasy bag of popcorn went straight in the bin”

Cooking Instructions7%

“Cook less time”

Ease Of Use7%

“Unable to use”

Value For Money7%

“Not worth the price”

Salt Content5%

“Not a trace of butter way to much salt”

Size-Overall4%

“I do think the portions are small”

Instructions/User Manual/Troubleshooting2%

“It DOESN'T have any 800w instructions”

Common questions

Is microwave popcorn profitable to sell on Amazon United Kingdom?: The niche generates £88K/yr across 14 tracked products. 0 of 2 products launched in the last 360 days are still selling. 90-day search growth is -14.1%. Flapen's verdict: Skip it (45/100).
How competitive is the microwave popcorn niche?: 9 brands and 80 sellers compete. The top 5 products take 67% of clicks and top 5 brands hold 89% of demand.
What do buyers complain about in microwave popcorn?: Top complaints mined from reviews: Taste-Overall, Burnt/Roasted/Overbaked, Flavor. The return rate is 0.1%.
When does demand for microwave popcorn peak?: Demand is steady year-round — the busiest month runs 1.6× the quietest.
What does it cost to enter the microwave popcorn niche?: Listings span £1.75–£20.30; the average listing price is £9.96 (sweet spot $15–$100). The average incumbent carries 2,096 reviews — the moat a new listing must climb.