Locally Made Cool Soft Drinks Heat Up Businesses Across The Country | Business

Have you ever thought of sprinkling the avocado with a little chocolate chips and plums with a little black pepper?

You don’t have inked Liz and Maggie Pryor making it in the form of chill pop, a frozen fruit treat that was first sold in Cleveland and is now sold in stores across the United States. Yes

Raised in Euclidean and graduated from Hawken School at Gates Mills, Liz came up with the idea for a healthy, natural popsicle in 2013 after trying ingredients in her grandmother’s kitchen with her partner Maggie.

The pair rowed the first chill pops in local markets and without Cleveland, Liz says popular items often sell out.

The following year, they moved to Cleveland’s own production space and worked on designing a package for wholesale to retail accounts.

In 2015, businesswomen had the opportunity to market their cool work on Whole Foods Market in hopes of shining the spotlight on Cleveland-based stores.

When market leaders decided to launch Chill Pops as a regional brand, they exceeded their expectations.

“It was a really good experience and not the usual way to end up on the shelves,” said Liz.

Soon after, several flavors were sold not only at Whole Foods, but also at Heinen, the Giant Eagle Market District and several stores across the country.

Liz recently said that sales remain strong: “It might sound a bit cliché, but what we’ve accomplished so far is largely down to the fact that we have great products. It seems they do. “

She explained that it’s easy to keep your treat healthy by using whole fruit as the main ingredient, reducing sugar, and increasing fiber without resorting to water or concentrated juices. Edible mushrooms like ice cream do not contain artificial sweeteners, corn syrup, toxic colors, or other unnatural ingredients.

“Soft drinks tend to surprise and surprise people once they try them, whether they are quality and texture, flavorless throughout the fruit, or a non-traditional combination. Liz said. Popsicle.

“We have also worked to make our products accessible to people with certain allergies and dietary restrictions by offering a range that is mainly dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free and GMO-free.”

The idea was developed by the couple with a focus on a healthy lifestyle and self-proclaimed “foodie” status.

Liz previously worked as a holistic health coach after studying at the Institute for Integrated Nutrition in New York. Maggie is still a respiratory therapist at a teaching hospital and has a master’s degree in health education.

“We are both deeply interested in our food system and understand where our food comes from and how it is produced. Yet we eat cleanly. Not only finding a balance between things and eating well, but also completely attributed to the philosophy of enjoying food. Experience, treatment or indulgence. ”

From my first days in the kitchen, I created over 40 flavor combinations while stirring pop music. It’s neither basic nor mainstream, like the Peach Sriracha and Agave Syrup at the Cleveland Garlic Festival hosted by the North Union Farmers Market.

The company’s website offers six types: mint avocado crisps, black pepper plums, kokomoka fudge, lemon ricotta, sea salt strawberry cream, and the most requested watermelon lime.

“People still share that it tastes exactly like frozen watermelon, and we respond with entertainment,” Liz said.

Women are working hard to produce thousands of pops to meet the demand, but they are always looking to the future.

“The pipeline has a few neat iterations, and we hope these products will be available when the time comes,” Liz said. And someday they will come up with their own retail format or pop-ups. I want to run the option. “During the summer season. ”