Today we’d like to introduce you to Manuel Flores.
Hi Manuel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
The genesis of Mom & Pops began one hot summer day in Austin in 2008 when my then-wife, Laura & I were watching our favorite chef, Rick Bayless, on his show “Mexico – One Plate at A Time.” In that episode, he and his daughter were making homemade paletas. This got Laura & me reminiscing about our childhoods along the Texas-Mexico border. We each had fond memories of family day trips to Mexico and of the wonderful sights, sounds, and flavors we enjoyed as kids.
With a 2-year-old and 9-month-old of our own, a day trip to Mexico from Austin was not an option. However, we could take the kids to eat a paleta here in Austin. So, we packed up the kids and found a Paletero (the guy pushing the small cart with bells). The kids were so excited when we finally tracked one down. Unfortunately, once we read the ingredients on the back of all the paletas he was offering, we had to say, “no gracias.” Laura & I had made a pact when we were expecting our first child to be more conscious of the foods we ate and that we would feed to our children. We read many articles about the harmful effects of artificial colors like Red-40, high fructose corn syrup, and stabilizers like carrageenan. We refused to compromise.
So, we loaded the kids back into the car and made our way to a nearby HEB. To our dismay, all the paletas & frozen pops that were offered there were also loaded with artificial ingredients. Laura & I were shocked, confused, and a little upset that no healthy options were available. At that point, we decided to do what Rick Bayless and his daughter did. We’ll make our paletas at home.
We grabbed a shopping cart and started loading it with fresh fruits, organic sugar, and juices. We thought it would be a fun family project, and our two-year-old was very excited. So, we started creating recipes using fresh, all-natural, and organic ingredients. We bought a set of plastic molds from Target and froze the paletas in our kitchen freezer. The kids were the official taste testers. We got a little carried away and soon had more pops than we could store in our freezer. So we started to share them with our neighbors and family. Everyone had the same reaction, “These are so good! You should sell them.”
And sell them we have! Fourteen years later we are proud to say that we have brought smiles and cool feelings to thousands of customers. And we continue to make our handcrafted paletas centered around our core values or Popsocology – family – healthy living- environmental sustainability & a Keep Austin Weird attitude. You can still find us at local farmers markets and a few select retail locations. However, we are experiencing tremendous growth in the catering sector. We have also grown our sales to upscale hotels who sell our cool treats poolside. Emerging from the pandemic we are looking to grow our presence selling direct to customers via our storefront, online ordering platform and through branded trucks and carts in neighborhoods across the Austin metroplex.
I often joke that we got into the paleta making business accidentally because it really wasn’t on our radar considering that Laura was a full time school teacher and I was a stay at home dad with a 2 year old and a toddler. But the love for our kids is what inspired us and what drives our passion everyday. However, that love has now spread to our community of Austin and all the surrounding communities.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been anything but smooth. Initially, we had “small” challenges like sourcing ingredients to learning how to build out & license a commercial kitchen. The more difficult challenges hit us after being in business for about a year. At that point, we realized that our expenses were outpacing our income. We didn’t have a marketing plan, much less a budget for marketing. At this time, we were approached by a young man who offered to help us with marketing & sales. We were desperate, inexperienced, and naïve.
We decided to bring this person in as a partner. We changed our name from PopSoCools to GoodPop. At first, things went well. We secured a wholesale account with Whole Foods and a few other retailers. However, within a year, we realized that the values and beliefs that Laura & I had founded the business were not aligned with our partner’s, so we parted ways with that person. We were devastated, but we picked ourselves off the floor and bootstrapped a rebrand of our business in 2011 to Mom & Pops Frozen Pops. At this time, Laura & I had switched places, and I was working part-time on the business and part-time at another job while she stayed at home with the kids. For the next few years, we were fortunate to meet some wonderful chefs & creators who allowed us to share space in their kitchens.
Of course, 2020 was difficult, especially having to let employees go. We went from having our commercial kitchen in central Austin and several employees to back to just me freezing pops in the dead of night in a friend’s kitchen in Buda. Financing has always been a struggle, especially after the failed partnership. However, we continue to establish new relationships that I hope will help us reach the next level.
We’ve been impressed with Mom & Pops Frozen Pops, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Mom & Pops Frozen Pops is a family-owned business specializing in making all natural & organic paletas, or frozen pops. We make our paletas from fresh-cut fruit, herbs & spices, freshly squeezed juices, and all organic dairy; We freeze fresh daily in small batches in our North Austin commercial kitchen. We are a gluten, nut & egg-free facility. And we are proud to offer something for everyone – from fruit-based vegan pops to dairy-based pops to sugarless offerings. When we say “Y’all,” we mean “ALL.”
Over the years, we have established a reputation for being able to fulfill large custom orders for the “Surprise & Delight” Category. These are events where the goal is literally to surprise & delight your guests with a local, healthy & delicious treat. Some of our previous larger clients include MTV, Cartoon Network, Reebok, Amazon, Meta, Google & Apple. But just as important, we are blessed by our smaller clients who invite us to celebrate their weddings, baby reveals, birthdays, anniversaries, and employee appreciations. We offer customization of pop labels and cart graphics to meet our client’s needs, from a birthday party for 30 or an SXSW party for 10,000.
What sets us apart is that we truly make & deliver each pop with the same love and devotion we initially offered to our kids, family, and neighbors.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me are my two children! Although they are now 17 & 15, respectively, I work every day to provide them an opportunity to pursue the dreams in life that they want to go after. I want them to be happy, creative, and good citizens. As a 3rd generation Mexican-American, I would like them to explore their culture and creativity in a way that advances our family’s legacy in service to our community.
Pricing:
- $3 at Farmers Markets & Events
- $2 for Catering & Online Orders
Contact Info:
- Website: LoveMomAndPops.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovemomandpops/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MomAndPopsAllNatural
Image Credits
Katie Lee Manuel Flores
