Brothers + Popsicles = Living in the Grey
We love the story of how King of Pops, an ecologically responsible gourmet popsicle company, came about. It’s got all the makings of a great grey story- nurturing obsessions and sharing of aspirations, friends (brothers, actually) that became colleagues, actions trumping intentions, collaborating to create opportunity, starting small and aiming for bigger.
Read the story (as taken from the King of Pops website) below and be inspired by Nick, Steven and the rest of the KoP team!
King of Pops was conceived overlooking the beach in Central America many years ago. Three adventurous brothers, born of a fruit-smoothie-loving mother, were taking a break from a day of exploration to talk about life and love, but mainly paletas- the Latin American ice pops they had fallen in love with during their travels.
That trip would, as trips tend to do, eventually come to an end, but these three gringos never stopped dreaming of paletas. It became an obsession to bring these delicious fresh-fruit creations back home with them to share with the good people of Atlanta.
Eventually, the youngest brother, Steven, was a victim of massive layoffs at his employer, AIG. There were no more excuses not to follow his dreams and King of Pops was born. No longer laboring inside a cramped cubicle, Steven was now laboring inside his own cramped kitchen. With the help of his brother Nick (the lawyer), their family, and a handful of friends, he began to experiment with a variety of techniques and recipes in an effort to recapture the essence of those first pops he had enjoyed years ago.
After countless hours of trial and error, King of Pops opened its first cart, much like the ones that had inspired the brothers years before. The original Poncey-Highland location was a quick success and soon carts could be seen popping up (pun intended) at local farmers markets and festivals.
Eventually, all-night pop making sessions weren’t enough, and it was time for Nick to come on board full time. He decided to leave his stable job as a lawyer to work on what he and his little brother had dreamt together.
Today our team is growing and we have our own kitchen (some of us even have business cards now!), and we have enlisted close friends to spread our vision to nearby cities. Our goal, however, remains the same: to provide an ecologically responsible, fresh, all-natural frozen treat in a fun neighborhood environment.
We still toil late into the night in the kitchen and you can often find Steven slinging pops at that original Poncey-Highland location or (if you get up early enough) you can see Nick picking through fresh fruit at the farmers market.
We love making pops. We hope you love eating them.
Don’t forget, if you are in Atlanta, please join us Wednesday, December 4th for our first event in the south!