[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 98 (Thursday, June 18, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E923-E924]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RECOGNIZING MR. GRANT JONES OF KUKURUZA GOURMET POPCORN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ADAM SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 18, 2015

  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Mr. 
Grant Jones, of KuKuRuZa Gourmet Popcorn of Seattle, on receiving the 
U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Washington State 2015 Young 
Entrepreneur of the Year award.
  Today's KuKuRuZa began modestly as Popcorn Pavilion in the garage of 
his father-in-law, Charles Brown. Shortly after, in 2011, Grant was 
approached by the original owners of KuKuRuZa with an offer to sell 
their business to Grant, who jumped at the opportunity. In just three 
short years, Grant, together with the strong support of his wife, 
Ashley, grew KuKuRuZa into a multimillion dollar international company.
  Since 2011, KuKuRuZa has expanded from one downtown Seattle location 
to 17 stores in Washington state and around the world. During this 
time, KuKuRuZa's sales have increased substantially; from $360,000 in 
its first year to $2.7 million by 2014. Much of this success is due to 
strong demand for KuKuRuZa's products and the company's expansion into 
international markets, which include 13 stores in Japan, Korea, Saudi 
Arabia, and Egypt. At the store location in Japan, for example, 
customers are said to stand in line for up to two hours to purchase 
KuKuRuZa's products.
  Despite its rapid growth into an international company, KuKuRuZa 
continues to put its consumers first and strives to keep its 
ingredients

[[Page E924]]

organic, fresh, and local to the Pacific Northwest. The company's 
success has resulted in considerable growth in recent years and 
generated economic activity and jobs that have benefited Washington 
state.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to congratulate Grant Jones in receiving 
this year's SBA's 2015 Young Entrepreneur Award. I look forward to 
hearing further great things from Grant and KuKuRuZa in the years to 
come.

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