Hardpops boozy ice pops founders Sheereen Price and Gabrielle Mustapich

ok so here's what happened

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"?... just us? Well, that's our origin story, in a nut shell. Keep scrolling for the full truth. 👀

the story of hardpops boozy ice pops

it all started with nostalgia

The idea struck us one hot summer night, back in 2017. There we were, in the seaside town we grew up in, reveling in the nostalgia of our earliest memories there. There was one particularly prominent favorite, and that was summertime stops at the corner store, to grab ice pops (or “freezies,” as we call them back home) on our way to the beach.

What we could only recall as the most nostalgic icy delight to ever exist, was a long-gone experience of the past. But why? Surely we could figure out how to make an ice pop that was perhaps a little more… grown up. Not 24 hours later, Hardpops was born.

the story of hardpops boozy ice pops

boozy ice pops anyone?

Instead of artificial dyes, flavours, and coma-inducing levels of sugar, our pops would be flavored naturally, not too sweet (just sweet enough), and most important, they'd be✨boozy. All the nostalgia, none of the blue tongue. The further we explored the benefits of an adultified ice pop, the more benefits we discovered. Nostalgic deliciousness aside, Hardpops would provide a tamper-proof drink option, or a way to have a drink without committing to a full sized cocktail. Inspired by the possibilities, we got to work.

hardpops origin story - founders Gabrielle Mustapich and Sheereen Price
hardpops origin story - founders Gabrielle Mustapich and Sheereen Price

when in doubt, figure it out

You wouldn't know it by the looks of these smug mugs, but we were in for a real treat, as they say. We bought this beauty of an ice pop packing machine from a factory in a land far far away, and wouldn't you know it, it arrived (6 months late) without an instruction manual 🫠But hey, it's not an adventure unless something goes terribly (wonderfully?) un-according to plan. Little did we know, this was just the start of our entrepreneurial journey to become the world's favorite, oh-so-nostalgic, adult bevy.

  • hardpops origin story - founder Gabrielle Mustapich repairs machinery

    mechanics 101

    "is it supposed to shake like that??" and other production-day things 😂

  • hardpops origin story - learning curve

    life is like a tub of spilt beet concentrate... 

    Sticky and unexpected, but also sweet and something to laugh about. Or something like that. 😅

  • hardpops origin story - founder Sheereen Price packing boxes in warehouse

    getting the hang of it

    By the end of our first six months in business, Hardpops was popping off in 160 stores across the province of Alberta, Canada. The place where it all began. With production at capacity, we had our eyes set on a new market. The sunniest corners of the USA. 🌴☀️

hardpops origin story - founders Gabrielle Mustapich and Sheereen Price with the hardpops mobile

this is hardpops.

With a new look, new flavors, and a whole lot of new ideas, we touched down in sunny California to show America what we're made of. The rest is history, as they say, but really... we're just getting started.

Catch us rolling from coast to coast in the Hardpops-mobile. (She's hard to miss).

Cheers to nostalgia.
😎🤙🧊☀️