Page 18 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2017

COASTNOTES
Pop Brothers gourmet
ice pops has been making
waves across the Coast
over the course of the past year, and their
creative treats have snagged the attention of Tilman Fertitta,
better known as the Billion Dollar Buyer. As chairman, CEO and sole shareholder
of Landry’s Inc., Fertitta has made it his mission to seek out the
most innovative new products from across the country to feature at his casino and hotel properties.
“The show’s executive chef approached us saying they had been looking for the best popsicles in the United States and they had heard a lot about us,” said Octavio Arzola, one
of the partners behind Pop Brothers. “They came in and brought three
other chefs to try out our product, and they loved it. We were excited for the exposure, but we were worried that being on the show would take us away from our customers and we didn’t want their experience with us to suffer during the filming. After all, no matter what the outcome of the show was, our customers were there to support us before it and we knew they would be there after.”
Following the meeting with the executive chef and her staff, Fertitta and the crew from CNBC’s Billion Dollar Buyer show visited the Gulf Coast and set up to film at Golden Nugget Biloxi, which is owned by Fertitta. Pop Brothers owners, Chuck Kelly and Shannon and Octavio Arzola, were able to showcase their all-natural and inventive small batch ice pops on the show and discuss their business with Fertitta.
Known for having high standards
for prospective businesses, Fertitta challenged the Pop Brothers team in
a variety of tests, including selling their popsicles at Golden Nugget Biloxi. After impressing customers and Fertitta, it was time to make a deal. After a bit of negotiation, Fertitta agreed to purchase 50,000 of the popsicles at the wholesale price of $1.30, making it a $65,000 deal in total.
“Since the show, we have become
a nationally-known brand,” Octavio Arzola said. “Our phones ring off
the hook with calls from across the country. Having only been here 16 months we’re still not ready to expand to that level, but we’re hoping to grow organically while keeping production here on the Coast.”
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STRIKE BILLION DOLLAR DEAL
story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster photos courtesy of Pop Brothers
ABOVE: TILMAN FERTITTA, the Billion Dollar Buyer, trying one of Pop Brothers artisan
popsicles. BELOW: Pop Brothers Owners Shannon and Octavio Arzola and Chuck
Kelly. BOTTOM: Ovtavio, Shannon and Chuck speak with Cary Grace with WLOX.
1501 25th Avenue, Gulfport | 228.206.0656 www.popbrothers.com