Los Angeles Community Feature: Meet Hardpops

Local Brand Community Feature #COMMUNITY_LOSANGELES

WHAT ARE HARDPOPS

Boozy ice pops for grown ups. These aren’t the pops from back in the day. We said “thank you, next” to the artificial flavors, dyes, and the infamous blue tongue. Hardpops are made with 100% natural flavors and colors, and premium wine.

ABOUT HARDPOPS

Friends turned business partners, we’ve been making boozy ice pops since the idea struck us one hot summer night in 2017.

Both of us born and raised in Vancouver, BC, we’d watched and participated in our fair share of “Silicon Valley of the North” tech startups. While exciting, we had a craving for something different: something tangible, nostalgic, and delicious. Hardpops. Our backgrounds in technology, digital marketing, and project management allowed us to keep pretty much every aspect of the business in-house from the get go. There were days, of course, when this felt like a bad idea (especially on the 6am production days, or when the machine would break down). Looking back, some of our best and funniest memories took place on the production floor. Pro tip: beet juice concentrate will in fact stain concrete. And drywall. And pretty much everything.

In the Spring of 2019, we hit the road with an SUV full of samples, and took off to *Alberta, Canada (*Alberta being the only Canadian province to approve the “ice pop medium” for alcohol products). Though a bit disappointed that we were restricted from building our business at home in Vancouver, we were excited by the opportunity that Alberta was offering. Ultimately, our goal was to launch Hardpops in the USA. California, for many obvious reasons, had caught our eye as the perfect place to focus our new venture. Alberta had given us the perfect opportunity to get our feet wet, test the product/ market fit, and learn the ropes of the alcohol industry.

Our guerilla-style early days propelled us into 140 Alberta retail locations. This took place over the course of four months. We spent the off-seasons planning and strategizing our US launch, which is now just around the corner. Hardpops has a new look, new flavors, new packaging. All fit for a new country!

OUR PRODUCT

Hardpops are 6.9% boozy, and 100% naturally coloured and flavoured. Just the good stuff, because you deserve it. We have two super juicy flavours for you to try: Mojito (a classic, of course), and Yuzu Mango (ooooo!).

We certainly didn’t invent the Mojito, but we did take it up a notch. This frozen cocktail is the pinnacle of freshness, with hits of tart lime and aromatic mint. Born in Havana Cuba, legend has it the mojito was a favourite of the late Ernest Hemingway. The name itself stems from the word “mojo,” which means “to place a little spell.” Which makes sense, because quite frankly, it tastes like magic.

Next up, our tart and punchy yuzu comes in to save the day with it’s citrusy-sweet taste that will tantalize your taste buds. Now there’s a tongue twister. Top it off with a juicy, fragrant mango, this super fresh and not-toosweet frozen treat has you in for a nostalgically familiar yet out-of-this-world experience. Sound like an exaggeration? Honestly, we don’t think so. We’ll let you be the judge.

Hardpops will be launching online in late August in single flavor 8-packs or 24 mixed-pack options. Learn more and join their mailing list at hardpops.com.

Founders Gabby and Shereen