Local Biz HipPops Goes Global One Pop at a Time

South Florida’s own HipPops is offering an exciting and new Pop-ortunity, as the company puts it – something that looks like it'll take the beloved gelato truck to the next level.

The gourmet dessert truck stacked with famously delicious handcrafted gelato sticks is now available for franchise. With the ice cream and frozen novelty business expected to reach $12.7 billion in sales over the next five years, this Pop-ortunity couldn’t have had better timing.

So where in the world will the first HipPops franchise truck be? Here’s a hint: not in the U.S.

Creator and Chief Pop Officer Anthony “Tony” Fellows closed his first franchise deal with the Food Truck company, which is based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

“We met a group from Dubai who was interested in the mobile food industry and bringing it to their part of the world,” says Fellows. “They ended up choosing us as their frozen dessert component.”

Fellows has since helped the group develop a 5,000-square-foot micro-creamery, roughly three times the size of Fellows’ in Dania Beach. The Food Truck company will launch the first HipPops truck sometime this summer and plans to add 10-15 more trucks within the next five years, kicking off the food-truck craze in the UAE.

“Now it’s time to concentrate on [franchising] domestically,” explains Fellows. “This took a lot of time and effort, but now we have the energy to focus on other areas.”
For Fellows it’s all about finding “the right people” to grow the HipPops family.

“We work really hard, and we’ve made a great reputation in South Florida,” says Fellows. “I’m not so much concerned with growing rapidly as I am growing with like-minded individuals who share the same passions.”

Currently Fellows is working on three domestic deals for the coming year with a second potential international deal in the works as well.

“It really just has to be the right fit,” says Fellows. “Having the right resources is a component, but having the same mindset and passion are just as important.”

For now Fellows’ trucks operate all across South Florida, going from the Palm Beach Counties to as far south as Miami and South Beach. Their truck is available for private parties and catered events, but can also be found in different locations across the area on their schedule.

The company is famous for selling gelato, yogurt and sorbet pops, dips and Pop-ings. Owners pride themselves on being all natural, gluten-free and the nation’s only certified kosher dairy truck.

In the meantime, keep your eyes open for the light-blue, hot-pink truck and your stomachs hungry for a tasty, yet healthy snack-time treat as you’re probably closer to a HipPops truck than you realize.

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