You know when you have an idea (like, a really good idea) and the next thing you know, you're buying machinery on Alibaba and googling "beta carotene near me"?... No?... Well that's our origin story, in a nut shell. 😅 More below:

The idea came to the founders one hot summer night back in 2017, while wishing for a cool-down solution that was perhaps a little more… grown up. Not 24 hours later, Hardpops was born. Originally founded in Vancouver, Canada, Hardpops kept the good people of Alberta smiling and refreshed for two years, before relocating to Los Angeles to re-launch the brand in Southern California and Florida. We’re proud Vancouverites,” says co-founder Sheereen, “but ultimately, Canadian liquor laws just weren’t quite ready to accommodate our dreams of expansion beyond Alberta” (the only province to approve Hardpops’ packaging format). With a bigger vision in mind, Price & Mustapich relocated to Los Angeles in mid-2021, to re-launch and re-vamp the brand as we know it today.

“We started this business with a $10k small business loan between us,” explains Gabrielle. “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.” Hardpops now works with a co-manufacturer, producing in the hundreds of thousands. “It’s surreal,” says Gabrielle, “we’ve come a long way since the days of self-producing with our temperamental little ice pop machine.”

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 8-packs, or together in a 24 ct 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. “When creating Hardpops, we had a specific ‘must be’ checklist in mind,” says Sheereen. “Nostalgic, but not too sweet. Natural flavors, and no artificial colors or sweeteners.”

Now more than ever, customers are looking for “something new.” And with that, comes key requirements such as: uniqueness, cleaner ingredients, flavors they haven’t tried before, and lastly but certainly not least - a story behind the brand.

“A lot of our customers grew up with ice pops (aka freezies, otter pops, icys), and look back on those childhood memories as some of the best.” explains Gabrielle. “The first time someone enjoys a Hardpop, we usually hear something along the lines of ‘this is so nostalgic!’ That's what it's all about. Aside from the nostalgic effect, and being the perfect cool-down cocktail, some other ‘reasons to love’ that we've heard from customers, are that Hardpops provide a tamper-proof drink option, or a way to participate without committing to a full cocktail. We love that.”

Curious to see the action? We made this video a little while back (origin story circa 2019)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnLSkgHSlvo&feature=emb_title