LOS ANGELES, Calif.— Hardpops ‘ice pops for grownups’ and their Canadian founders Sheereen Price and Gabrielle Mustapich are riding waves of support along a rising tide of public nostalgia, as their hip and delicious ‘boozy’ refreshments gain traction in California, frequently spotted in-hand at LA’s hottest hangouts, rooftops, and pool-side gatherings.
“We never lost sight of our mission to perfect a fun and sophisticated, high quality, alcoholized version of our childhood favorite ice pops — or ‘freezies’ as they are known in Canada,” says co-founder Sheereen Price, “but we couldn’t have imagined just how much happiness Hardpops is inspiring in adult customers of all ages.”
Timing is everything in the start-up world, especially in the hyper competitive CPG space, yet Price and Mustapich have enjoyed an unexpected level of collaboration and support at every level of growing their new business into a bright and shiny presence poolside, in bars and lounges, and on grocery store shelves in the Los Angeles Area.
“We tested ice pop prototypes every step of the way, since we first conceived of the Hardpops idea back in 2017, in Vancouver, British Columbia. A beta batch of Hardpops were first served at the beachfront summer party of a family friend, and guests loved the boozy pops so much that three years later, several of them helped fund our expansion to the US,” says co-founder Gabrielle Mustapich.
“We started this business with a $10,000 CAD small business loan between us,” explains Sheereen. “We bought a liquid filling machine on Alibaba, and showed up on the doorstep of every small distillery in Vancouver, pitching them on our concept, and begging them to lease us some square footage in their facility.”
Ultimately, the notoriously restrictive provincial liquor laws weren’t quite ready for the level of innovation that the founders believed in so strongly, but unwilling to concede, Price and Mustapich crossed the provincial border into Alberta, home of cowboys, stampedes and snowbanks, where Hardpops met with unbridled enthusiasm.
Undeterred by the challenges of selling ice pops in a market with one of the shortest summer seasons in North America, the founders embraced the remote opportunity to refine flavors, packaging, distribution, and innovation as much as possible while dreaming of setting up shop in the U.S.
“It’s surreal,” says Gabrielle from Hardpops new headquarters in Marina del Rey. “We’ve come a long way since the days of self-producing small batches with our temperamental little ice pop machine.” Early in 2021, Hardpops raised private equity to expand to the U.S., and now works with a co-manufacturer, producing boozy ice pops in batches of hundreds of thousands.
Hardpops launched three debut products earlier this year, on their online store. With two refreshingly juicy flavors to try, Yuzu Mango, and Mojito are both available as individual eight-packs, or together in a 24-count mixed Party Pack. These boozy pops don’t require frozen storage or shipping, which keeps online and retail pricing affordable, especially for a premium product.
“In creating Hardpops, we developed a no-compromise checklist,” says Sheereen. “Nostalgic, but not too sweet; fun but also elegant; natural flavors; and no artificial colors or sweeteners.”
Now more than ever, CPG customers are looking for added-value and authentic story in new products — most particularly in the ready-to-drink space. What Hardpops offers that other alcoholized ice pops don’t, is a full suite of well-researched adult sensibilities, building delicious memory over childhood nostalgia.
“As long as we keep things fresh and clean, and fun and lean, and we continue to share our own story authentically, we will continue to add value to our customers, and to the growing boozy ice pop sector,” concludes Gabrielle.
To read and view the original press release on BevNet.com, click here.
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