Preferred Popcorn Declared Business of the Year

August 9, 2023 (LINCOLN, NEB.) – The Nebraska Diplomats hosted its annual awards banquet on Tuesday evening at the Younes Conference Center North in Kearney. 
 
During the banquet, Governor Jim Pillen, Nebraska Diplomats President Desiree Wineland, and Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Sherry Vinton helped present the following awards:
 
Business of the Year – Preferred Popcorn, Chapman 
 
In 2018 Preferred Popcorn expanded their Chapman facility into a state-of-the-art popcorn processing plant with a $6.5 million expansion. With an investment of $2 million in 2022, the company opened Preferred Snacks in Waco to provide quality, ready-to-eat flavored popcorn and snacks. The venture in Waco started with seven employees and has grown to 17 as of the summer of 2023. It is poised to have 25 employees by the end of this year. In December 2022, in an effort to remain viable well into the future, Preferred Popcorn and Snacks was purchased by Performance Food Group, a Fortune 500 company.