Pop goes the ‘sicle

They may be the stuff of childhood, but now popsicles are the object of reinvention. Last year, San Francisco-based restaurant consultant Andrew Freeman and Co. declared gourmet popsicles a growing nationwide trend in the firm’s annual hottest fads report. Sure enough, a new brand has hit the Baton Rouge market.

Shreveport-based Geauxsicles, founded in 2010, features 18 flavors of fleur de lis-embossed handmade pops chock full of real fruit and other natural ingredients. Currently, they’re available at all three locations of Maxwell’s Market. The company is hoping to add more local retail outlets soon.

Geauxsicles is the brainchild of owner Erin Johnson and her siblings Walter, Elizabeth and Andrew Johnson. A couple of years ago, Erin and Elizabeth were in the habit of making all-natural smoothies, and they considered entering the retail market. But competition was high, especially with established brands like Smoothie King, so Erin began experimenting with freezing her smoothie creations. She ultimately developed 18 flavors of popsicles and decided they were good enough for a brick-and-mortar shop on Youree Drive in Shreveport. Last fall, deep freezers of the delicious treats debuted at Maxwell’s Markets in Baton Rouge.

“They’ve been incredibly well received,” says Walter Johnson. The company’s most popular flavor is the Cookie Mac-ster, a homemade caramel popsicle studded with chocolate cookies. That flavor and 11 others are available at Maxwell’s. One aptly named Summertime features strawberry, peach, yogurt and honey. The Parisian Pink boasts white chocolate cheesecake and raspberries. A new flavor, Sister Hazelnut, is made with chocolate and Nutella. For the more weight-conscious, two “Geaux Low” flavors, the Choc-Wave and the Cocoa Rouge, are sweetened with Truvia instead of sugar.

Geauxsicles also ships orders directly to consumers.

Johnson says the company is also about to launch one of Shreveport’s first food trucks, a mobile eatery outfitted with plenty of freezer space to hold her gourmet pops.

Enthused to learn about the Capital City’s lively food truck culture, Johnson says, “We may even bring it down to Baton Rouge.”