{Taste} Nostalgic for the The Pop Shoppe

Remember Pop Shoppe pop?  I loved it when I was a kid and now I’m loving it all over again as an adult!  Lately Pop Shoppe’s retro stubby bottles seem to be all over the place. It turns out that the brand was reborn in 2004 after a long struggle that saw it close the doors in the 1980s.  Today, the company offers eight of the original 21 flavours: Lime Ricky, Black Cherry, Cola, Grape, Orange, Pineapple, Root Beer, and my personal favourite, Cream Soda.

My son likes to refer to the Lime Ricky flavour as “Hulk Juice” ever since we served it at his Hulk-themed 5th birthday party. The kids were  pretty impressed with the nifty Pop Shoppe bottles all lined up on the counter that day!

Novelty and nostalgia aren’t the only impressive qualities about The Pop Shoppe. First off, it’s still Canadian. It was originally made in London, Ontario, and now it’s headquartered in Burlington, but it makes me happy to know that the classic red and white Pop Shoppe label is still a Canadian brand. The second thing I love about Pop Shoppe is that they have listened to their customers and switched their beverage formulation to include cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. I know, moderation is the key to all things, but still I think the switch is a good move.

Last, you should know that The Pop Shoppe has one of the the most fun websites I have visited in a long time.  Treat yourself for a few minutes and explore www.thePopShoppe.com.  You’ll definitely get a sense of the fun and playfulness that The Pop Shoppe brings to the world of premium soda. Plus, if you aren’t sure where Pop Shoppe pop is sold near you, just click on the “Find Our Pop” tab and enter your postal code to find your local retailer.

There’s something about nostalgia: I enjoy reliving happy childhood memories by making ice cream floats (filling a glass with ice cold cream soda or root beer and dropping in a big scoop of vanilla ice cream). Best of all though is sharing it with my kids!