Born in B.C., boozy creation selling well in U.S., but not available in Canada
Two Canadian residents are living and building an American success story.
It should have happened in B.C., but didn’t because a provincial regulatory body turned them away, calling their idea risky to minors.
In 2017, Gabrielle Mustapich and Sheereen Price were eating popsicles on a hot summer night in North Vancouver when this idea sparked: What if they had alcohol in them?
“We were actually on the back deck of a friend’s coffee shop. And it was after-hours,” recalled Price. “We thought: ‘Wouldn’t this be great if they were boozy?’ And that was the a-ha moment.
“We Googled it and it didn’t exist. And here we are today.”
On Saturday, ‘here’ turned out to be Miami, where the two — who now call California home — were conducting business for their company, Hardpops, a company that sells alcohol-infused freezies (commonly called ice pops in America).
Recently, Hardpops became the official ‘boozy ice pop’ of the NHL’s Florida Panthers. The team says whenever it’s 75 F or warmer (23 C), Hardpops will be on sale for $7.50.
Want to buy Hardpops in Canada? On a hot, sunny day? You can’t.
Mustapich and Price says after getting their idea and financing in order, they approached B.C.’s Liquor Distribution Board (LDB) and pitched the idea. Hardpops have an alcohol content of 6.9 per cent.
“The very early days, it was just in Sheereen’s kitchen,” said Mustapich, noting they did a lot of experimenting. “We did come up with an original formula that worked. We were able to get the product to freeze with alcohol in it.
“Our prototypes were popsicles on a stick, but we quickly realized that wasn’t a feasible concept for liquor stores because of frozen storage, frozen transport and what-not.”
The two say the LDB seemed promising at first, but then flatly rejected them, citing packaging and safety issues.
“Originally, they said ‘You can do this, but we may have to work on a packaging solution together. We do have social responsibility standards to adhere to.’ Which was fair enough,” said Mustapich.
“So we went to the farthest scale on that and sourced some cannabis packaging, which had a childproof ziplock, which, I’ll note, none of the adults at the BCLDB table could open.”
“Including us,” added a laughing Price.
Mustapich continued, saying “surely that was fine and they said they’ll get back to us. Ultimately, a little while later — after we had really made some effort and sourced the equipment — they said ‘No, we can’t approve this right now.’”
She said the reason was the LDB stated the product was too child friendly.
“Social responsibility is an important thing,” said Mustapich. “And we’re not trying to sell these things to minors.
“But, at the same time, you can’t paint us with one brush and other products with another. We do see spiked root beers out there, spiked cream sodas. Even juice brands that you find in the grocery store with an alcoholic version in the BCLDB.”
Case in point: The now-legal marijuana market, where the LDB gave businesses the OK to sell cannabis-infused candy (gummy bears).
In an email to Global News, the LDB said it is “committed to supporting innovation as well as balancing the shared responsibility of all industry stakeholders from manufacturers to retailers in supporting the responsible use of beverage alcohol.”
It also said “through this shared responsibility, it continues to be important that measures are in place in B.C. to discourage the sale of any alcohol product that is likely to appeal to minors.”
The LDB noted that it is committed to supporting innovation and that it regularly reviews and updates its policies as needed.
While B.C. wouldn’t give the green light, the two got the OK to sell Hardpops in Alberta before deciding to move to Los Angeles.
Notably, Hardpops was pulled from Alberta, where they had 150 accounts, with the two saying the selling season for boozy freezies proved to be too short.
Price said they thought if they could sell in Alberta, they would do quite well in a warmer market.
The idea of frozen alcohol is a good one, but not a new one.
In 1997, Global News interviewed an Okanagan restaurant owner who had the same concept and was seeking financial investors.
George MacLeod said he originally called his invention ‘winesicles’ but changed it to ‘Georgio’s Swig on a Twig.’ His invention featured a combination of wine and secret ingredients covered by a layer of chocolate. At the time, MacLeod was looking for $600,000 to $700,000 from investors to buy land and equipment so he could start production.
Another B.C. company, Kelowna-based Winterland Beverages, makes a product called Hard Ice Vodka Freezies. The company’s website lists many locations in the U.S., including scores of places in Alberta and Saskatchewan, but none in B.C.
It’s unknown what happened to MacLeod’s concept, but Mustapich and Price are hopeful Canadians will have access to Hardpops without having to cross the border.
The two say Hardpops is produced on the East Coast, is trucked all over America and that the product is under review with a few of the world’s largest retail chains.
“We’re optimistic that things can change, especially of all the support we’re seeing behind us,” Mustapich said of Hardpops being sold in Canada.
“We see things on social media, and the comments are pretty much unanimously in our favour. Even at the government level, we do hear words of support. Hopefully, we can bring our product home, as is, one day in the near future, especially to B.C.”
Added Price: “We’re Canadians, after all.”
by Global News
