Randy and Larry Lipman always enjoyed kettle corn while at farmer's markets and other community events. They often noticed the person making it couldn't keep up the demand at those events. Then one of the kettle corn makers went out of business because of a divorce, the CFL over the Huntington Woods couple’s heads went off, and
Mystic Kettle was born.
"It started as a part-time weekend thing," Randy Lipman says.
That was 2010. At the time, Larry Lipman had a home preservation business maintaining foreclosed homes for banks before they were sold. The demand for Mystic Kettle's product prompted Larry Lipman to dissolve his business earlier this year and pursue kettle corn making on a full-time basis.
"We became so popular so quick we got a second kettle," Randy Lipman says. "We couldn't keep up with the demand with just one kettle. My husband and I now do this full-time."
They also hired two more people to work for them on a part-time basis. Part of what drives that demand is the higher-quality product the Lipmans strive to make with all local ingredients, such as non-GMO corn. All of those ingredients are made by Michigan companies, which is a large point of pride for the Lipmans.
Source: Randy Lipman, co-owner & operator of Mystic Kettle
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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