By Cindi Avila
Special to DNAinfo
MEATPACKING DISTRICT — There's nothing like something ice cold to cool you down on a hot New York City day.
But with a $3.50 price tag on their organic iced pops, the owners of People's Pops are wondering if the store’s prices will draw a frosty reception from customers.
"It's good, but I wouldn't spend $3.50 on it again because a whole box of Popsicles is $3.50," customer Rosemary Shultz, 25, of New Jersey, said after finishing off a raspberry pop at the People's Pops Meatpacking District store on 15th Street.
Hells Kitchen resident Laura Chambers, 24, disagreed, saying the treat was worth every penny.
"I think it's worth it because I'm into organic foods, especially ones that don't have preservatives or food coloring," Chambers said.
People's Pops co-owner Nathalie Jordi said her store’s sweet treats are nothing like the kind found in a box at the supermarket or from a Mr. Softee truck.
“Our customers tend to understand that comparing our local-fruit pops to industrially produced pops made from chemicals, is like comparing apples and oranges," Jordi said. “We explain to them that the pops are handmade from top-quality, sustainably-farmed local fruit ... on our small production scale, they cost a lot to produce.”
The company started off selling their "pops" at outdoor stands two years ago at green markets at the Brooklyn Flea and the South Street Seaport's Amsterdam Market, later expanding into Battery Park. They opened their first permanent location, a counter top inside Chelsea Market's food court, in April.
Customers get to choose from five flavors of pops and two flavors of shaved ice. The exotic flavors include everything from pear-jasmine to blueberry-cardamom.
The menu even boasts the names of the local farmers who provided the ingredients for the week's treats, as the store offers flavors based on what fruit is in season locally.
"I think our product speaks for itself, but I also believe that people like supporting local farmers and also enjoy the personable service we try to offer whenever we sell a pop or shave ice,” Jordi said.
The pops may slightly resemble what many people grew up calling "Popsicles," but People's Pops learned the hard way not to call their own pops that name. Unilever, the company that owns the trademark to the word "popsicle," served People's Pops a cease-and-desist letter in April.
Jordi said People's Pops does not use the word popsicle anymore, and hasn't had a problem since.
Manhattan customers don't appear to have any problems with the People's Pops, either.
Upper East Side resident Dava Schub called her plum raspberry treat-on-a-stick "delicious, fabulous and refreshing."
The store's location makes a take-out treat "perfect for a stroll on the High Line,” said Schub, 37, who didn't flinch at the price.
“it's a treat out and it's natural, organic, local and an original flavor combination," Schub said.
Customers who shy away from spending $3.50 on one dessert can try the company's shaved ice. Bryan Piatt, 24, tried one while visiting from Minnesota.
"Only $2.50. It's way cheap," Piatt said.
