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In Cuiabá, Murilo Emanuel started at 11 years old selling door-to-door and, at 15, runs Pipocas Saborosas do Murilo. Boosted by a video with more than 4 million views, he sells up to 100 buckets of stuffed popcorn per day and pays his own family.
An 11-year-old boy left home with two cousins to sell popcorn for R$ 5, became an entrepreneur at 15, sells up to 100 buckets a day, and uses the profit to pay his entire family who work in the business. The journey shows how a simple idea turned into a small company in Cuiabá.
On January 20, 2022, Murilo Emanuel Amado de Cerqueira, then 11 years old, decided to hit the streets of Cuiabá (MT) to sell simple popcorn with two cousins. Four years later, the 15-year-old student transformed the initiative into Pipocas Saborosas do Murilo, which sells between 80 and 100 buckets of stuffed popcorn per market day, boosted by a video with more than 4 million views. The business pays his own family and, as he is underage, his cousin Beatriz Azevedo manages the finances.
Door-to-door at 11 years old
According to information from the pegn magazine, the story began on January 20, 2022, when Murilo Emanuel Amado de Cerqueira, then 11 years old, decided to hit the streets of Cuiabá (MT) to sell simple popcorn with two cousins. Initially, he sold traditional packages door-to-door for R$ 5.
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The turning point in the operation began when he received a cart from an aunt that had been unused for six years. It was from this cart that the business started to grow, with acceptance coming gradually and participation in neighborhood events, the first sign that popcorn could become something bigger.
The gourmet turn and the video that went viral
The shift to the gourmet market occurred in August 2025, after Cerqueira observed on TikTok the trend of popcorn buckets with layers of filling. He invested the accumulated money to test the format and proposed to his mother to sell the product in person at a local market.
The expansion accelerated after recording a video in partnership with local promotion pages. The post went viral, reaching over 4 million views, attracting the attention of national influencers, and generating lines at sales points, which turned homemade popcorn into a phenomenon in Cuiabá.
An entire family behind the popcorn
Behind the popcorn is an entire family. The teenager’s mother, Jaqueline de Jesus, recalls that at first, she was apprehensive about the public’s reception, fearing that people would think she was forcing a child to work, but she understood that it came from her son:
“it was a genuine desire of his.”
Today, Jaqueline provides operational support and accompanies her son at events, while the 20-year-old brother and other relatives help with customer service. The production is manual and divided into stages: three cousins from Cerqueira select the popped kernels to remove the husks and ensure the visual standard, and the grandmother caramelizes with sugar.
How the business works and the prices
Currently, the popcorn business operates on three fronts: fixed markets on Fridays and Saturdays, party orders, and a scheduled delivery system during the week, where customers request pickup through transport apps. The brand’s main product is freshly filled popcorn.
These jars are sold in 500 ml versions for R$ 28 and 1-liter versions for R$ 45. The production uses mushroom-type corn, specific for gourmet popcorn because of its rounded shape, and to meet the increased demand, the creams used in the filling, such as the peanut candy one, are now purchased ready-made in high-quality buckets.
A 15-year-old entrepreneur and expansion plans
Being underage, Cerqueira relies on his cousin Beatriz Costa Azevedo, 30, to manage cash flow, issue quotes, and close rental contracts for cotton candy machines and chocolate fountains for events and birthdays. The revenue is also used to pay the cousins and family members who work with the popcorn, as summarized by his aunt, Ingrid Arruda:
“This small business has become a source of income for everyone.”
The structure still operates in the family’s residential kitchen, but plans include transitioning to a commercial space, with the accumulated profit reserved for a shed equipped to Health Surveillance standards, and Cerqueira recently bought his own electric motorcycle.
Looking ahead, he wants to expand to neighboring municipalities, such as Várzea Grande, maintaining family management, and he is clear about how he sees himself: “I consider myself an entrepreneur because we built a company.”
From selling simple popcorn door-to-door at age 11 for R$ 5, Murilo Emanuel built, at 15, Murilo’s Flavorful Popcorn, which today sells up to 100 buckets of stuffed popcorn per day in Cuiabá, boosted by a video with over 4 million views.
More than a business, the initiative has become a source of income for an entire family, with his mother in operational support, his grandmother in caramelization, his cousins in production, and an adult cousin handling finances, since Cerqueira is still underage.
With plans for a commercial space and expansion to Várzea Grande, the teenager who calls himself an entrepreneur shows that a simple idea, when met with dedication and family support, can turn into a real company.
And you, what do you think of Murilo’s journey with popcorn? Would you buy a bucket of gourmet popcorn from him? Share your opinion and exchange ideas with other readers about entrepreneurship and small businesses.
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