Propercorn co-founder Cassandra Stavrou has been recognised in the Queen’s New Year Honours list for her services to the Food Industry and Exports.

The London-based entrepreneur started the snack brand in 2011, with more than four million bags of the award-winning snacks flying off worldwide shelves every month – that’s a staggering three bags every second.

Products from the rebranded PROPER line, which includes Propercorn and Properchips, can now be found in 20 countries worldwide, inclucing Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland.

The Financial Times recognised PROPER as one of the fastest growning independent businesses in Europe in 2018, and they are currently the number one independent snack brand in the UK.

Propercorn was first sold in the café at Google’s London offices, swiftly becoming the most popular snack amongst employees out of the 48 on offer.

Cassandra then capitalised on this impressive statistic, taking her product to Leon, Chopp’d and Benugo, before the brand was picked up by Tesco and other major retailers for national distribution.

Cassandra Stavrou, co-founder and CEO of PROPER, said:

I always had big ambitions for PROPER. But receiving an honour of this magnitude was never part of the business plan! When I started 10 years ago, successful female entrepreneurs were awarded very little visibility.

If nothing else, I hope acknowledging PROPER’s success in this way, inspires a new generation of female founders to get behind their big idea. It’s an incredible honour and one I share with my brilliant co-founder and team.

The Queen’s New Year Honours list recognises the achievements of extraordinary people across the UK and internationally, including exporters, entrepreneurs, and business leaders who are contributing to local and global prosperity, including those championed by the Department for International Trade.

The investiture ceremonies will take place at Buckingham Palace in the new year.