Sweet Treats
GoodPop all-natural frozen pops: Inventive flavors keeping Austin cool
There’s a notion that food on a stick taste better and, quite frankly, I’m going to have to agree. Forget ice cream and frozen yogurt: in this hot Texas heat, nothing beats a damn good popsicle—and a damn good popsicle I have found.
On my first visit to the GoodPop cart on the northeast corner of Riverside and South Congress, I could not stop devouring popsicles like a machine. One after another—mango, watermelon agave, strawberry lemonade, hibiscus mint and cinnamon banana—Daniel Goetz, founder of GoodPop All-Natural Frozen Pops, just happily kept them coming and I happily kept on eating them.
Goetz’s aim is simple and true: create an organic popsicle or paleta that not only tastes good, but is also naturally low in calories. These frozen bars are so natural that Goetz’s summertime favorite, watermelon agave, features seeds from the locally-sourced watermelons he used to create this particular batch of pops. Each flavor is constantly being tweaked to perfection in his personal kitchen and then produced, in small batches, in a Houston facility. The final product is intensely flavorful and not at all watered down, certainly the opposite of what you would expect from a low calorie treat.
The idea behind GoodPop began with a vacation to Mexico, when Goetz was inspired by the aguas frescas and paletas that he found on his trip. He realized that his fair city lacked a comparable treat.
“[The idea] was the culmination of several things—what was happening out there with the food trailer scene, but also, I’d go to Whole Foods and Central Market and I couldn’t find anything that either tasted great or had the ingredients it should have had in it. I just thought that there should be a [frozen treat] for everyone and it was about time for that to hit the market. No better place to do that than in Austin.”
Equipped with an advertising degree from University of Texas at Austin and no culinary background whatsoever, Goetz began refining his popsicles and sold them at local farmers markets. Now, GoodPop is a fledgling business and Goetz passionately manages all of the day-to-day operations, but also loves giving back to the Austin community whenever he can. GoodPop frequently partners with its favorite local charity, Austin Pets Alive.
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GoodPop All-Natural Frozen Pops can be found at Whole Foods Market, Royal Blue Grocery and Wahoo’s Fish Taco. GoodPop’s pop-up location on Riverside and South Congress will be open until the beginning of October.