Standing on our fore-fathers shoulders. How a fourth generation family business has adapted to the ever-changing world of popcorn.
Reist Popcorn Company has always believed that the best way to run a business dedicated to quality and service is by starting small and growing steadily. Founded in 1925 by Alvin Reist, the business started on the family-owned Lancaster County farm. Within a few short years, the business moved in the town of Mount Joy to its present location. Over the years, there have been many additions, remodels and equipment updates, evolving to the present state-of-the-art facility that it is today.
In 1964, Henry Reist took the reigns from his father, continuing Alvin’s values of foresight, hard work, and perseverance. Henry’s vision and leadership proved beneficial to the company, as it continued to grow steadily. He supervised many updates and pioneered many innovations during his 40 years. He was well known for his honesty and integrity, one of Reists’ popcorn growers even commented that he would gladly allow Henry to “manage his checkbook.”
Third generation owner, Dave Reist, brought his son-in-law Mike into the company in 2010. They spent the next several years working side-by-side to put the company in a position for succession. In 2019, Dave officially stepped down and handed the baton off Mike (Dave literally gave Mike a baton).
To continue the growth of this long-standing company, Mike and Dave bought a rail siding and established a transloading facility, Reist Transloading. This positions them to serve as the gateway to the East Coast, while they continue the main mission of Reist Popcorn, providing premium popcorn to the snack food industry.
Transloading services continue to grow, with multiple new customers and more organic products. Future expansions to the East of the transloading terminal are now an option for their operation.