Otter Pops

Last updated
Otter pops (frozen) Otter Pops six flavors - frozen.jpg
Otter pops (frozen)

Otter Pops are a brand of freeze pops sold in the United States. The product consists of a clear plastic tube filled with a fruit-flavored liquid and is one of the earliest brands of this dessert. [1]

Contents

Some varieties claim to contain 100% fruit juice, mostly apple juice. This variety was white, as it also removed any artificial colors. Otter Pops are a frozen treat, but stores generally sell them at room temperature for the consumer to later freeze at home.

Background

National Pax introduced Otter Pops in 1970, in competition with Jel Sert's similar product, Fla-Vor-Ice . [2] As of 1990, the product was manufactured by Merrytime Products Inc. of Marshall, Texas. [3]

In 1996, Jel Sert acquired the rights to Otter Pops as well. [2] During the 2000s, Jel Sert modified the Otter Pops recipe to add more fruit juice. [4] The company's manufacturing facilities are in West Chicago, Illinois. [5] Otter Pops come in 1-, 1.5-, 2- and 5.5-ounce serving sizes. They also come in 10 flavors, each named after a different character: [6]

Sir Isaac Lime protest

In 1995, National Pax had planned to replace the "Sir Isaac Lime" flavor with "Scarlett O'Cherry". A fourth-grade student in Costa Mesa, California learned of the change on the company's World Wide Web site, and organized a petition and picket with his cousins against it; a Stanford professor wrote in support, calling it "Otter-cide". Told the change was final, the protest continued as planned, in the rain. The CEO relented, keeping it, despite it being the least popular flavour. [7] The fourth-grader soon appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno . [8] An Internet fan site claims that National Pax packaged the cherry mix as strawberry. [9]

Other uses

Over the generations, other uses of Otter Pops have been devised and shared in the US. They can be used as a colorful substitute for ice in a punch bowl or to flavor mixed drinks. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margarita</span> Mexican cocktail of tequila and orange liqueur

A margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Some margarita recipes include simple syrup as well and are often served with salt on the rim of the glass. Margaritas can be served either shaken with ice, without ice, or blended with ice. Most bars serve margaritas in a stepped-diameter variant of a cocktail glass or champagne coupe called a margarita glass. The margarita is one of the world's most popular cocktails and the most popular tequila-based cocktail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daiquiri</span> Cocktail

The daiquiri is a cocktail whose main ingredients are rum, citrus juice, and sugar or other sweetener.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flavor Aid</span> Non-carbonated soft drink beverage powder

Flavor Aid is a non-carbonated soft drink beverage made by The Jel Sert Company in West Chicago, Illinois. It was introduced in 1929 and sold throughout the United States as an unsweetened, powdered concentrate drink mix, similar to Kool-Aid brand drink mix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minute Maid</span> American beverage company

Minute Maid is an American product line of beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but which now extends to soft drinks of different kinds, including Hi-C. Minute Maid is sold under the Cappy brand in Central Europe and under the brand "Моя Семья" in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Minute Maid was the first company to market frozen orange juice concentrate, allowing it to be distributed throughout the United States and served year-round. The Minute Maid Company is owned by The Coca-Cola Company, the world's largest marketer of fruit juices and drinks. The firm opened its headquarters in Sugar Land Town Square in Sugar Land, Texas, United States, on February 16, 2009; previously it was headquartered in the 2000 St. James Place building in Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freezie</span> Frozen confection inside plastic casing

A freezie or a freeze pop is a water-based frozen confection similar to an ice pop. It is made by freezing flavored liquid such as sugar water, fruit juice or purée inside a plastic casing or tube, either round or flat. Freezies come in sealed plastic tubular wrappers and conform to the shape of the wrapper when frozen to serve; as such, they do not need to be stored cold. They also do not need to be frozen as solidly as an ice pop and can have a consistency similar to that of a slushie. Freezies are sold in a variety of flavors, including cherry, orange, lemon-lime, watermelon, cream soda, blue raspberry and grape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starburst (candy)</span> Chewy fruit-flavored candy/sweet

Starburst is the brand name of a box-shaped, fruit-flavoured soft taffy candy manufactured by The Wrigley Company, which is a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. Starburst has many different varieties, such as Tropical, Sour, FaveREDs, Watermelon, Very Berry, Superfruit, Summer Blast and Original.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawaiian Punch</span> Fruit punch brand

Hawaiian Punch is an American brand of fruit punch currently manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper, originally invented in 1934 by A.W. Leo, Tom Yeats, and Ralph Harrison as a topping for ice cream. It was started from an original syrup flavor called Leo's Hawaiian Punch, containing orange, pineapple, passion fruit, guava and papaya, and is currently offering 14 different flavors since 2020. Though earlier versions contained 10% fruit juice, the drink is currently made with 3% fruit juice.

Go-Gurt, also known as Yoplait Tubes in Canada and as Frubes in Britain and Ireland, is an American brand of low-fat yogurt for children. It can be sucked out of a tube, instead of being eaten with a spoon. It was introduced by the General Mills-licensed brand Yoplait in 1997, as the first yogurt made specifically for children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slice (drink)</span> Fruit flavored soft drink

Slice was a line of fruit-flavored soft drinks originally manufactured by PepsiCo and introduced in 1984 but discontinued by PepsiCo in North America in the late 2000s. Slice was reintroduced in the United States and Canada as a brand of Organic food by "New Slice Ventures LLC", which acquired the trademark rights in those countries.

All Sport is a brand of sports drink. Its "competitors" include Gatorade and Powerade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hi-C</span> Fruit juice-flavored soft drink

Hi-C is an American fruit juice-flavored drink made by the Minute Maid division of The Coca-Cola Company. It was created by Niles Foster in 1946 and released in 1947. The sole original flavor was orange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polar Beverages</span> Soft drink company

Polar Beverages is a soft drink company based in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is a manufacturer and distributor of sparkling fruit beverages, seltzer, ginger ale, drink mixers, and spring water to customers in the United States. It is the largest independent soft-drink bottler in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jel Sert</span> American snack food corporation

The Jel Sert Company is a privately held company based in West Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1926, it specializes in making high quality drink mixes, desert mixes, and frozen novelties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fla-Vor-Ice</span>

Fla-Vor-Ice is the trademark name for a type of freezie. Unlike traditional popsicles, which include a wooden stick, Fla-Vor-Ice is sold in and eaten out of a plastic tube. Also unlike traditional popsicles, it is often sold in liquid form and requires the consumer to freeze the product at home. A vendor, though, may sell them frozen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice pop</span> Liquid-based frozen confection on a stick

An ice pop is a liquid/cream-based frozen dessert on a stick. Unlike ice cream or sorbet, which are whipped while freezing to prevent ice crystal formation, an ice pop is frozen while at rest, becoming a solid block of ice. The stick is used as a handle to hold it. Without a stick, the frozen product would be a freezie.

Paddle Pop is a brand of ice confection products originally created by Streets, which is now owned by the English-Dutch company Unilever. It is sold in Australia, New Zealand, and a few other countries. It is held for eating by a wooden stick which protrudes at the base. The brand has a mascot known as the Paddle Pop Lion, or Max, who appears on the product wrapper.

Mondo was a line of fruit-flavored beverages marketed primarily towards children. Manufactured and distributed by the Jel Sert Company, production of Mondo began in 1991 and ended in 2021 or 2022. Mondo resembled both Kool-Aid Bursts and the discontinued Betty Crocker Squeezit. The product, referred to as Mondo Fruit Squeezers by the company, was sold in six-packs of 6.75 oz recyclable plastic containers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bodyarmor SuperDrink</span> American sports drink owned by The Coca-Cola Company

Bodyarmor SuperDrink is an American sports drink brand owned by The Coca-Cola Company. Products launched under the brand include: Sports, "Lyte" Sports, "Edge Sports," and "SportWater".

References

  1. Jolene Thym (16 June 2021), "Taste-Off: The tastiest frozen ice pops on the market", The Mercury News, archived from the original on 16 June 2021, retrieved 18 March 2022
  2. 1 2 Sert, Jel. "Jel Sert Our History". jelsert.com. Jel Sert. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  3. Kelly, Lee (16 September 1990). "Merrytime's sweet treats distributed nationwide" (Newspapers.com). The Marshall News Messenger. Marshall TX. p. 1D. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  4. "The Past, Present, and Future of Freeze Pops". eater.com. Vox Media. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  5. "Jel Sert Business Manufacturing". Jelsert.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-30. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  6. "Otter*Popstars". Archived from the original on 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  7. Tawa, Renee (27 January 1996). "Cool-Headed Kid Keeps Sir Isaac in the Limelight" (Newspapers.com). The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles CA. pp. B1, B4. Retrieved 11 July 2023.. Second page.
  8. Tawa, Renee (6 February 1996). "He Kept His Cool: After Saving an Otter Pops Icon, Boy's a Hit With Leno" (Newspapers.com). The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles CA. pp. B1, B8. Retrieved 11 July 2023.. Second page.
  9. Brad. "Otter Pops Gossip -- Tainted Short Kooks". The Unofficial Otter Pops Home Page (Home of the Six Zippy Flavors). Washington University. Archived from the original on 22 October 1999. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  10. Heidi von Tagen (2010-08-02). "gorgeous bits: Otter Pops for Grownups". Gorgeousbits.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.