Photo: © jonnypops.com
JonnyPops isn’t just an up-and-coming brand of frozen fruit bar. It’s also a tribute to family, friendship, and random acts of kindness.
Erik Brust, CEO of the Minnesota-based company, first dreamed up the idea of an all-natural fruit and cream bar with his cousin, Jonathan, while the two were traveling together in 2011. “On one side of the spectrum, there were fruit-and-water bars that lacked taste and texture,” he says of the products available on the market at the time, “and the other side was high-fructose corn syrup, cream, and artificial flavors. We saw there was nothing that fit in the middle that was a treat that we would both like.”
Together, they brainstormed on a “better-tasting, healthier-for-you, textured dessert,” but Jonathan died from a drug overdose before the business came to be. Shortly thereafter, Brust pitched the JonnyPops concept to a few friends, including Jamie Marshall and Connor Wray, at St. Olaf College. They loved the idea and soon the group was experimenting with flavors. “No joke,” Brust says. “We bought a blender and made them in our dorm kitchen and froze them in the communal freezer.” They went around campus with an ice-cube tray and handed out samples to fellow students on toothpicks. From these humble beginnings, the foundation for the company’s five flavors (strawberries and cream, mango and cream, pineapple coconut and cream, raspberries blueberries and cream, and coffee chocolate and cream) were created.
© jonnypops.com
Taste aside, two other details make JonnyPops stand out from the competition: each stick is stamped with a good deed suggestion and a portion of proceeds go to The Hazelden Foundation, a non-profit that treats drug and alcohol addiction. “We didn’t want to be a brand that was talking about addiction or putting something like statistics on our sticks,” Brust says. “We wanted a positive spin on Jonathan’s story and paying it forward.”
The public took note when JonnyPops began selling at farmers markets—up to ten a week—and at two sandwich shops. Soon, the company moved operations to an event center, where they rented the basement kitchen, and accounts at the Como Zoo in St. Paul, Bread and Pickle at Lake Harriet, and Tin Fish at Lake Calhoun followed.
© jonnypops.com
For the 2014 Minnesota State Fair, JonnyPops created a new strawberry rhubarb flavor; this year, the company partnered with the Walker Art Center to create a chocolate-dipped cherry-on-a-spoon concoction (inspired by Claes Oldenburgin’s Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden). The pop was named “the cream of the year’s ever-important on-a-stick crop” by Star Tribune food critic Rick Nelson. Brust says the newspaper mention resulted in a “swarm of people” at the JonnyPops booth.
“With a company of our size, so much of the buzz is word-of-mouth and grassroots,” he says. Community events, music festivals, and sampling in grocery stores have helped the company reach new customers. “You build a lot of meaningful interactions with people. They remember your brand.”
© jonnypops.com
Today, JonnyPops has its own production facility in St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis, and up to 35 employees on staff during the summer months. The pops are available in 2,500 locations throughout the U.S.
Brust says the biggest challenge thus far for the company has been overcoming the leadership team’s lack of experience in business. While they had drive and passion for the product, they didn’t know the ins and outs of owning a business. “We immediately started asking for help,” he says. “We were not scared at all to say, ‘Hey, we really don’t know what we’re doing.’” Whether it be questions of finance, production, or food safety, the team wasn’t shy about seeking assistance from staff at the Department of Agriculture to professionals at General Mills. Winning the student division at the 2014 Minnesota Cup (a statewide entrepreneurial competition) also opened doors that allowed Brust to form a board of advisors with experience in the food industry. “There are a lot of big players and a lot of rules,” he says. “We’re rapidly learning and building a skill set to be successful.”
Looking ahead, Brust’s goals for JonnyPops are more flavors, wider distribution in grocery stores, and increased brand awareness. “We’re going to keep growing the company at a fast rate and are very excited about that,” says Brust. The social mission aspect of the company, however, will continue to be a major part of the brand. “It’s been an incredibly positive impact on the local community, bringing small, random acts of kindness to the conversations parents have with kids, or in schools. It’s our small part to make the world a better place.”
