GoodPop is introducing a bubbly new addition to its portfolio. The frozen dessert brand announced this month it is launching a new sparkling kid’s juice drink line, complementing its flagship line of better-for-you freezer pops.
The new juice-based beverages are available in 7.5 oz. mini-cans in three flavors: Fruit Punch, Lemon Lime and Orange. The launch represents GoodPop’s first beverage product and is now available in Costcos in the Northeast with an 18-count variety pack featuring all three flavors. The company said it now expects the drinks to be in around 200 Costco locations by mid-August.
The drinks will also be available online through GoodPop’s website and Thrive Market by the end of next week, said founder and CEO Daniel Goetz. Along with the variety pack, single-flavor 6-packs will be available on the website for $7.49.
The move into a kid’s beverage is part of the brand’s innovation platform with its frozen desserts to “clean up the classics,” making healthier versions of childhood favorites like red, white and blue Bomb Pops, old-fashioned creamsicles and ice cream bars, Goetz told BevNET.
“The way that families think of GoodPop is, it’s not just a popsicle,” he said. “There’s a separate emotional connection to it which is allowing themselves – as parents – to have a better option for themselves and their kids.”
The canned line sticks to the brand’s core principles in that they are formulated with fruit juices and carbonated water, with no artificial flavorings or added sweeteners. The decision to get into beverages makes economic sense as well, according to Goetz – all the juices used in the drinks fall within the business’ existing supply chain that serves its various popsicles products.
“There’s definitely economies of scale,” Goetz said. “It’s helpful…our main focus is just ensuring that we can support the growth that we’re expecting.”
GoodPop reported it used its existing capital to fund the innovation and has no plans to seek new investment at this point.
The brand saw kids drinks as a “sleepy category without a lot of innovation” from both a product standpoint, as well as a packaging perspective, Goetz said. Using smaller cans not only fits better into smaller hands but many adults are finding the traditional soda can size is just too much liquid.
“I don’t know that we need 12 ounces. Some people do, but not everybody and so I think the format actually plays really well to both kids and adults,” Goetz said. “That’s consistent with the way that people are enjoying GoodPop in general. So many parents eat our Freezer Pops, it’s just an item that’s positioned for families.”
The mini-cans fall in line with the company’s mission “to do social and environmental good” as well. GoodPop opted to use BPA-free aluminum instead of the traditional juice carton or plastic container, reducing non-recyclable material in its production stream and sticking with the business’ pledge to be a plastic-neutral company.
It’s not just beverages GoodPop is focused on, however. In February, the brand released its line of “clean up” ice cream bars in four flavors: Fudge n’ Vanilla Crunch, Double Chocolate Fudge, Fudge n’ Caramel Crunch, and Mint n’ Fudge Chip. All are made with an oat milk base and contain non-GMO, USDA Organic and FairTrade ingredients.
“There’s just too much sugar going in family’s diets and there’s too much plastic going into the marketplace,” Goetz said. “That’s the problem that we’re really trying to solve in the beverage category.”