Scott Schroeder, executive vice president and chief financial officer of family-owned Garrett Popcorn Shops, said the consequences of having Garrett's Chicago mix of CaramelCrisp and CheeseCorn on the show were "absolutely remarkable."

"We had a hunch we would see an uptick in sales but not to the extent that we did," Schroeder said.

"The afternoon (Oprah's Favorite Things) broadcast we had over 100,000 Web hits and our sales volume for the month of December increased by over 100 percent."

But the surge in sales also brought its share of problems too, mainly long hours and few breaks. "We went from making popcorn eight hours a day to 24 hours a day."

And now, "the Chicago mix is still our most popular option. It's flying off the shelves."