Entrepreneur • Transforming popsicles one Happy Pop at a time.
We have so many amazing people in our neighbourhood. One is Leila Keshaviee of Happy Pops, a start-up gourmet popsicle business that is going from strength to strength. From a Dragon’s Den performance just over 2 years ago where Leila secured a $150,000 investment from Arlene Dickinson in exchange for 30% of her start-up Happy Pops to today, where you’ll find her all-natural ice pops in gourmet shops around the city (and just recently listed at all Sobeys Stores).
Leila had planned to be a doctor but switched tracks in early 2016 when she came across a local ice pop business for sale. The ice pop catering business was relatively small, with a 1,000-square-foot commercial kitchen, and zero retail products. Describing herself as a “go-big-or-go-home type of person,” Leila set about creating an all-new ice pop portfolio – and brand – from scratch.
What makes Happy Pops unique? “There are no artificial ingredients. They’re real fruit, very little organic sugar and very little water,” Leila says. “Our flavours are bold. When you bite into our mango popsicle, which is our number one seller, you really feel like you’re biting into a mango.” If you want to buy Happy Pops go to https://happypops.ca