Colourful ice lollies bring back childhood memories as the desire for something cold, sweet and decadent hits us hard, especially in the sweltering summer. Yet, the tempting appeal of these icy treats is dampened by the thought of the unhealthy ingredients. The refined sugars (now snuck onto the label under various confusing names), artificial flavours and colourings, are enough to put a dampener on the cravings.
Rising Consumer Awareness in the Middle East
Dubai-based House of Pops offers a refreshing alternative, combining natural ingredients, hand-crafted recipes, and sustainability into a guilt-free indulgence. Their ice pops and ice creams are a delightful fusion of flavour and conscience, proving that satisfying your sweet tooth doesn’t have to compromise your health or the planet.
As the regional food trends show, we, the Middle Eastern consumers, have become more aware post the pandemic. We have started to gravitate more towards healthier options, embrace sustainable practices, ditching single-use plastics and have increasingly become more concerned about our carbon footprint.
From Vision to Reality: The Founders’ Journey
It was these concerns that led the young couple, Mazen and Marcela, to create something healthy, fresh and guilt-free. House of Pops started with a small bike and a big dream as the duo sold their first pop at a farmer’s market in Dubai in 2018 and since then there has been no looking back. However, what is most interesting about their story, and indeed about House of Pops, is that sustainability is not just a buzzword for them.
House of Pops decided from its outset to have a strong focus on sustainability – and remains ahead of the regional curve in the food sector to this day.
In June 2024, for example, they diverted 654 kgs of food scraps from landfill, preventing the equivalent of 801kg CO2e emissions. The claim sounded ludicrous, so we investigated further, only to find that as incredible as it sounds, House of Pops has really walked the talk.
The House of Pops’ packaging is innovative – made of a locally produced, biodegradable cornstarch-based biofilm. And at the heart of each pop is a compostable wooden stick. As the products comprise only organic fruit, the factory waste has always been compostable, too.
Innovative Practices and Real Impact
In June 2022, the brand dumped its uniforms for more sustainable work wear – made of recycled bottles. Launching the new uniforms, Marcela Sancho, Company co-founder, said: “We wanted to ensure we go the extra mile to back our promise of being a company with values firmly rooted in sustainability.
“We already use state-of-the-art compostable packaging and sticks on all our products, so it’s a natural progression to have found the right materials to help save the planet – while ensuring our people look and feel great.”
And, we are proud that our energy consumption as a brand is as low as it can be – we use energy-efficient freezers to store our products, and at the point of sale, across our growing network of regional locations.
Our range is naturally vegan – which of course, means it is more sustainable than other brands which often contain dairy products and other nasty chemicals produced in climate-damaging factories.
House of Pops is rapidly expanding across the region, with franchise partners in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The brand’s success is a testament to the growing consumer demand for products that are both delicious and environmentally responsible.
