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Popsicle stands have been set up all over Dubai as traps for parents, including in malls, on beaches, and at five-star resorts. There is no turning back once kids see the vibrant awning with the House of Pops logo and the pink, blue, and chocolate popsicles. You’ll need to spend 20 dirhams ($5.45) to purchase one.
Mazen Kanaan, a co-founder of the Dubai-based ice cream business, chuckles, “Sorry about that. “But it’s intentional,”
In September 2018, Kanaan and his wife, Marcela Sancho, who was formerly in charge of Unilever’s ice cream division in the Middle East and North Africa, founded the business. Since then, they have swept the United Arab Emirates; they are now offered in 100 hotels, cafes, and restaurants, 24 of their own retail locations, 24 Carrefour grocery stores, and on the nation’s delivery apps. Standard flavors like mango, coconut, strawberry, and chocolate are among the most popular flavors of their eye-catching, vegan popsicles, but their most recognizable slices are the Instagram-friendly mango studded with strawberry slices and the vivid blue Galactic Lime, which gets its color from blue spirulina. The dragon colada, which contains dragon fruit, the chocolate-dipped passion fruit, and the charcoal-infused black lemonade are a few of their 28 regular flavors.
They are all produced in a factory in Jebel Ali, a commercial district in southern Dubai, where they experiment with flavors, some of which are successful and others, like pineapple basil, which is not. Although they stayed with their favorites, Sancho claims that customers loved seeing that one in display cases.
House of Pops has expanded quickly; in its first full year, it sold 55,000 popsicles. After three years, that had multiplied tenfold. And from April of last year until now, they have sold 1.3 million popsicles. More than 250 events a year require the company’s bicycles and carts, from corporate catering to birthday parties (where the name of the birthday child can be printed on the packaging) and even royal events.
And House of Pops will soon be even more noticeable. In addition to the four franchises that have already opened in the last year, the franchise partner of Kanaan and Sancho in Saudi Arabia has plans to launch 80 more across the country in the following six years. Next week, Bahrain’s first franchise store opens its doors. Disney and they recently agreed to a licensing deal for the production of limited-edition Mickey and Minnie Mouse-branded pops. Later this year, House of Pops bite-sized chocolate, strawberry, or coconut cubes dipped in 72% single origin Madagascar chocolate will be available in grocery stores alongside their popsicles. The treats will also be offered on a few Emirates Airline flights starting this summer.
Parents, as well as businesses, are particularly drawn to House of Pops’ two selling points. It advertises its environmentally friendly decisions, such as using biodegradable packaging and propane instead of other fuels in the majority of their freezers.
The pops are a healthier, plant-based substitute for many other dessert options because they don’t contain refined sugar, additives, or flavorings. For those looking to cut their carb intake, they have a keto line. The company was able to partner with the Dubai Municipality to distribute pops in schools as part of a healthy eating campaign because they don’t contain allergens like milk or nuts. (Sancho, however, claims that the lack of nuts is restrictive. The flavor of vanilla ice cream made with cashews would be superior to that of ice cream made with coconut milk.)
The cost of using compostable packaging and agave instead of regular packaging, according to Kanaan, is four times higher. Customers aren’t put off by the popsicle’s price, he claims, especially when they know the quality they’re getting for their money (20 dirhams for regular pops and 25 dirhams for specialty pops). As opposed to 8 dirhams for a Baskin Robbins mango sorbet or 2.40 dirhams for a Wall’s Max Twister ice cream pop, people pay 18.80 dirhams at the grocery store for one of their mighty mango pops. Kanaan compares it to purchasing a latte. People will buy it if you deliver a good product and good branding—it should also look cool, according to him.
Their flavors haven’t all been universally well-liked. The Costa Rican Sancho claims that she anticipated fruits like orange, banana, and pineapple to be popular but they aren’t.
Not all of their flavors have been a huge success. Sancho, who is from Costa Rica, says she expected orange, banana, and pineapple to sell well, but they don’t.
At the end of the day, it’s a fun industry to work in. “I think it energizes everyone,” Kanaan claims. “It feels really good, and I always remember that you would never see someone crying while eating ice cream.” Never, ever.
