The Pop Shoppe facts for kids
The PoP Shoppe is a popular soft drink company that started in 1969 in London, Ontario, Canada. It was different because it didn't sell its drinks in regular grocery stores at first. Instead, it sold them through its own special stores and places that had a PoP Shoppe license. The drinks came in bottles you could refill, packed in cases of 24.
How The PoP Shoppe Started (1969-1983)
In just three years, The PoP Shoppe grew very quickly across Canada. Soon after, it started selling its drinks in the United States too. At its busiest time, you could find PoP Shoppe drinks all over Canada and in 12 American states! A famous hockey player named Eddie Shack was the main person who advertised the brand.
The PoP Shoppe drinks were very popular in places like Portland, Oregon. They were even given as prizes on a TV show called "The Ramblin' Rod Show" for winners of a "Smile Contest" and for kids celebrating their birthdays.
Around 1977, The PoP Shoppe had many different flavors. Some of these included cola, cream soda, grape, ginger ale, orange, root beer, and strawberry. They also had diet versions of many of these flavors.
In the early 1980s, sales of PoP Shoppe drinks started to slow down. This was mainly because other cheaper soft drinks, often called "store brands," started appearing in grocery stores. These new drinks made it harder for The PoP Shoppe to compete. Because of this, the original company stopped selling drinks in 1983. The rights to use the PoP Shoppe name also ran out a few years later.
The PoP Shoppe Returns (2004-Present)
A businessman named Brian Alger brought The PoP Shoppe back to life! He bought the rights to the brand in 2002 and started selling the drinks again in 2004.
Today, The PoP Shoppe drinks are sold differently. You can find them in regular stores, big warehouse clubs, and through different sellers, instead of only in special PoP Shoppe stores. They are available in stores and restaurants all across Canada.
Many of the old, favorite flavors came back, but with a new look and new ways of selling them. The glass bottles now have a new design and you can't refill them anymore. However, you can still return them for a refund in places that have recycling programs. The PoP Shoppe even uses recycled glass to make new bottles!
The new PoP Shoppe flavors include black cherry, cola, cream soda, grape, lime rickey, orange, pineapple, and root beer.
In 2009, The PoP Shoppe tried bringing back a classic short, wide bottle style, sometimes called a "stubby" bottle, which was popular in Canada in the 1970s. But when these stubby bottles were next to taller, skinnier bottles on store shelves, people thought they were getting less drink. So, sales dropped a lot. In 2011, The PoP Shoppe stopped using the stubby bottles and switched to the taller bottle style that most other soft drink companies use.
In 2012, The PoP Shoppe made an important change: they started using real cane sugar in all their drinks instead of corn syrup.
In 2016, another company called Beverage World Inc. bought The PoP Shoppe.
In 2019, The PoP Shoppe added two fun new flavors: Cotton Candy and Bubble Gum. This year was also special because it meant the brand had been around longer in its second life than it was during its first time!
In 2022, The PoP Shoppe launched another new flavor called Rocket Blast. It was made to taste like the popular retro rocket-shaped popsicles.
