The concept: popcorn pods with a Cacao butter base that can be popped on a stovetop or in the microwave.

“The tempering process to make the pods is the exact same as you would see for handmade chocolate on the market,” Greer said. “It’s kind of a fun process and not what you would expect for popcorn. It feels very science experiment-y to watch the solid forms start to melt and then pop. Kids really enjoy that process. We recommend you use a clear lid so you can watch it happen.”

The popcorn brand was first rolled out a few years ago, but wasn’t fine-tuned until October 2023. In December 2024, the popcorn pods were featured on the “Tamron Hall Show” and “The Today Show” — a nice boost to their already popular brand. They offer Popcorn of the Month Club and product flavors include butter, rosemary garlic, jalapeno and salt & pepper.

“It was an idea that took a long time. We really wanted to bring the way that we had popcorn growing up. We had this amazing grandma, and she would make popcorn when it was a celebration, when you were sick, and there was so much love in that warm bowl of popcorn that she would make on the stove,” Greer added. “So we really wanted to bring that experience — not just a bag you open.”

The cousins pose with corn harvested for their Cheerie Lane popcorn pods. Cheerie Lane popcorn pods are non-GMO, gluten free and contain natural ingredients.

Greer is the daughter of Mayor Joel Greer and Judge Sharon Soorholtz Greer. After graduating from MHS in 2003, she ran track and cross country at the University of Missouri, earning a journalism degree then a master’s in psychology. She moved to New York and formed Chez Conversations, an all-female art collective. In addition, Greer did advisory work for new media marketing working with consumer brands. Schulte is a 2007 graduate of West Marshall High School who continued his education at Iowa State University.

One holiday, she and Schulte got to talking about collaborating on a business venture. Naturally, popcorn came to mind.

“With my background in agriculture and my co-founder and cousin Kate’s marketing experience, it felt like a natural path to create a business rooted in Iowa with our family’s fifth-generation farm. I manage the day-to-day operations of the farm to ensure the popcorn quality meets Cheerie Lane standards,” he said.

The typeface of the Cheerie Lane logo was borrowed from an old flyer the pair found on the farm, dating from the 1950s. From there, Greer’s former high school classmate Natalie Clark designed the logo and some of the brand design elements through her agency The Girls Creative.

A staff of five produces the product from Cheerie Lane’s headquarters in Berkeley, California near where Greer lives in San Francisco. The cousins are hoping to do some hiring in Iowa and bring interns on board.

“One thing that we’re actively doing is trying to find a manufacturing solution in Iowa too, and also find good solutions for fulfillment, etc, closer to the farm,” she said. “Right now it’s very handmade and so we’re just looking for manufacturing partners that will take care of the process in the same way that we are able to in our commercial kitchen in Berkeley right now.”

Greer said a future goal is to lower the production cost — and consumer cost — of the popcorn. Currently, the popcorn is sold via the website cheerielanepopcorn.com and in boutique stores across the country, including Little House on Main in Bondurant. She’d love to see the merchandise enjoy retail expansion in grocery stores.

“It’s a big design challenge too of how to explain what a popcorn pod is, while people are walking by a very busy shelf,” she noted. “A new product that we’ve been launching with some stores is a single serve that can be in the checkout aisle. We’ve been looking at packaging that encases the cob shape so you can kind of get an idea of what the shape is going to be. It’s one of those super fun, super challenging design considerations that we’re torturing ourselves with at the moment.”

While they produce year-round, the Christmas season is the company’s busiest time, with Greer pointing out that it can be tricky to ship the product in the summer months due to the melting factor.

“My favorite part of the business is just to get to introduce people to Iowa. I feel so grateful to have grown up in Marshalltown, and I think even the more I’m out in the world, the older I get, the more I realize how special it was to have grown up there. It’s really one of my favorite things — to get to show people what Iowa is all about,” she said.