A FAST-GROWING County Durham popcorn business is moving off the kitchen table and into a dedicated production facility as it looks to bag the lunchtime market.

The fledgling Consett Popcorn Company, started by Catherine and Richard Furze, from Shotley Bridge, had already won contracts with Asda and Fenwicks as well as being rated a hit among cinema-goers.

In the past few months, it has also secured contracts with two wholesalers, including Cotswold Fayre, one of the UK’s biggest suppliers of gourmet food to 1,200 retailers, delis and farm-shops.

Having operated from home since starting the business in April 2009, the couple have now taken a unit on the Number One industrial estate in Consett, which they hope will start operation by the end of the month.

They had previously done the work themselves, but their first employee started yesterday and it is possible more jobs will be created during the coming year.

Mr Furze, a former IT worker, said: “We’ve got some equipment in and it will be up and running by the end of the month.

“Now we have a nice, expensive bagging machine, we are planning to produce for the lunchtime market with smaller packets, where previously we have only produced sharing bags. We will be now targeting sandwich companies and will produce two flavours initially.”

Mrs Furze only made popcorn for the first time three years ago, after reading a Lionel Shriver novel where everyone featured in it was making popcorn.

They then found that few firms were making savoury popcorn and, after striking a deal with a local delicatessen to stock the product if they produced it, started making popcorn in the evenings after their two youngest children had gone to bed.

The success of the product often saw them working into the small hours cooking, coating, cooling and bagging the products themselves.

Mr Furze said: “We are delighted.

We always planned to expand and feel now is the time. There are more competitors there now and we thought if we do not get out there now, then we never will.

“We are having to fund this through our own money and savings. It is a bit of a risk so we have to push this forward.”

Last year they won a contract for the popcorn to be sold in 19 Asda stores across the North-East.

They were already supplying the food hall at department store Fenwicks, in Newcastle, as well as farm shops, delicatessens and cinemas.

And, in a popcorn challenge organised by cinema trade magazine Screen Trade in London a year ago, their cinnamon flavour popcorn came second, beating some of the large, established US popcorn producers.