Doc Popcorn wants to pop its presence even more.

Eyeing an aggressive growth strategy, the Boulder-based retailer of all-natural popcorn plans to add 500 locations in the next five to 10 years. The company bucked a general downturn in franchising last year, landing 10 agreements six months after announcing its franchise initiative.

It's also teaming up with Maui Wowi Hawaiian -- a Greenwood Village-based operator of 600 coffee and smoothie shops -- to offer Maui Wowi's approximately 350 franchisees the option of co-branding with Doc Popcorn.

The two companies reached an agreement last summer to co-brand the concepts internationally (think KFC-Taco Bell), and tests at a handful of Maui Wowi locations have been successful, said Rob Israel, who co-founded Doc Popcorn in 2003 with his wife, Renée.

He said the company's growth can be partly attributable to greater demand for a "better-for-you natural snack."

"We kind of fashion ourselves as the Whole Foods of snacking," Israel said. "That's our dream."

Michael Haith, chief executive officer of Maui Wowi, could not be reached for comment.

Co-branding is only a kernel of Doc Popcorn's expansion strategy, Israel said. Those locations could account for about 20 percent to 25 percent of the 500 Doc Popcorn locations projected to open during the next 10 years, he said.

"We want to grow in both ways," Renée Israel said.

The franchise industry's economic health is expected to see modest improvement during 2010, according to a recent economic outlook prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for the International Franchise Association' Education Foundation.

Nationally, the number of franchise establishments is expected to increase 2 percent, or nearly 18,000, to 901,093, according to the report.

As a result of the credit crunch and general economic weakness in 2009, about 409,000 jobs were lost in the franchise industry and the number of establishments declined 0.1 percent, according to the report.

Asked how Doc Popcorn managed to grow during a time of general economic decline, Renée Israel said the company offers a flexible business model -- meaning franchisees could operate a mobile popcorn cart, consider a co-branding strategy or start their own store.

Start-up capital requirements range from $50,000 to $150,000, she said.

"With a lot of people out of work," she said, "(they're) looking for having an opportunity that's not necessarily working for someone else."