Our Story
How Popcorn finally got its craft moment.
Tommy Popcorn started the way all good ideas do, with a chance meeting and some good conversation.
On a vacation to LA, Tom Leigh, a North Londoner with a background in marketing, met Michael Norr, a teacher who had spent lockdown experimenting with popcorn flavors he craved, but couldn’t find anywhere else.
During one Sunday at a farmer’s market in West Hollywood, when Michael was conducting one of his weekly taste tests, Tom just happened to be passing by.
Over a few conversations, they realized something: when it came to the craft revolution sweeping beer, coffee and chocolate, popcorn had been left behind.
No personality. No craft. No story.
So, they decided to give it one.
The following year was spent brainstorming flavor ideas until the early hours of the morning, talking about the importance of brand branding and how customer data needed to be at the heart of the company.
Soon after, Jason Martinez Moreno, one of the UK’s best minds in digital marketing, joined the team. Together, they built Tommy Popcorn: a snack brand that’s part craft, part cinema, and all flavor.
Instead of starting with recipes, the trio started with a world. They imagined a time when things were made with care, when flavor had character and life felt like a film. Out of that idea came Tommaso “Tommy” Marino, a fictional 1950s Brooklyn filmmaker obsessed with popcorn, cinema and doing things his own way.
Tommy became the heart of the brand, a symbol of craftsmanship and nostalgia, with a Brooklyn edge.
Then came the recipes. What started as a few test batches soon turned into Tommy Popcorn’s opening scene, featuring a star line-up of Empire State, Golden Irish, Mallow Magic, Sweet Cinnamon and Iconic Caramel.
Today, Tommy Popcorn has grown into more than just a snack – it’s a brand built by three founders who believed popcorn deserved better.
Meet Tommy’s Team
Tom Leigh
Co-Founder
Tom is the strategist behind the story, the big ideas guy who thinks like a film producer. With a background in marketing, fundraising, and startup growth, he’s helped dozens of companies find their voice (and their investors). Now he’s helping Tommy Popcorn find its place on the world stage.
Michael Norr
Co-Founder
Michael’s the heart of the operation, a teacher turned entrepreneur who knows that the best things start with passion. He’s obsessed with flavor, people, and the magic that happens when food brings them together.
From the early farmers’ market days to the latest flavor drops.
Jason Martinez Moreno
Co-Founder
If Tommy Popcorn were a movie, Jason would be the one making sure the whole world saw it.
A master of digital storytelling and paid media, he’s one of the UK’s best in Google advertising – he’s the reason Tommy’s story pops up everywhere you look.