Kansas

The founder of Princeton Popcorn set out to make his first-generation Kansas farm sustainable by turning his harvest into a brand. His original plan was to sell a ready-to-eat product through grocery stores, but he quicklyrealized cracking into thesupermarketaisle wasnearly impossiblefor independent labels like his.Sohepivoted, andlaunched his made-in-America popcorn in the Amazon store, selling directly from his rural Kansas fields to customers nationwide.Since then, his Amazon sales havegrown 30% year over yearthanks in part toFulfillment by Amazon, which Ralph usesto move products from rural Kansas to homes across the country.

In the past decade, Kyle Goguen has grown Pawstruck from a one-man venture into a successful household brand with 50 employees—adding 10 new hires in 2023 alone.

“Amazon grew with us as we grew,” Goguen said. “We just focused on the brand and the sales, and Amazon took care of the rest.”