The Oasis POP!

Throughout Qhuma Pop's history, we have repeatedly been asked to make a sugar free pop. While we do offer a plain orange pop made from just orange juice, we wanted to try something else.  

We have a few fans who are on the Banting diet or eating paleo and were looking for something to satisfy that sweet craving that we all get sometimes.  And that was how the Oasis Pop was born.  We made our own cashew butter by pureeing cashews, added pureed dates, bananas and some coconut milk and that's the Oasis Pop.  It's very creamy, contains no added refined sugar and is paleo and Banting diet friendly.  Make sure to stop by the next Wonder Market or I Heart Market and try one.  Or, give us a shout for a personal pick up order!

Living Space Magazine Feature

Check it out, Qhuma Pops got a mention in the September 2014 edition of Livingspace magazine!

Choc!

Introducing Choc -- a delightful flavour packed combination of chocolate and coconut milk.  It's a real crowd pleaser and a favourite around the Qhuma Pop factory.

SMASH!

Introducing Smash, a delectable combination of orange and strawberry.  This flavour was born out of the discovery of locally grown strawberries and in season blood oranges.  It proved to be a huge hit at I Heart Market on Saturday and we're sure it'll soon become one of our favorites.  Everyone seems to love the color red and strawberries!

QHUMITAS!

We've introduced Qhumitas, perfect for kids or poptails or weddings.  They aren't as large so they don't melt too quickly and are perfect for any occasion!

Wild Paw Paw

While on a walk around the neighbourhood the other day, we spotted this beautiful papaya tree with a load of fruit.  We're going to keep our eye on it and hopefully harvest the fruit for use in our ONE Pop before the monkeys get to it!

Wedding Pops!

Here at Qhuma Pops, we have done a few catering jobs in the past year.  The problem with catering jobs is that we just drop off a cooler, leave it with the catering company and run.  We don't get to see our pops in action so to speak... Recently we made miniature pops for wedding guests to enjoy upon arrival.  They were the perfect drip free size that made sure guests didn't drip on their beautiful attire. Here's an idea of how they could be served on dry ice and the size that we offer in both poptail and non alcoholic versions.

ONE Year Anniversary Pop

Yep, we are officially ONE!  We started this little adventure a year ago and as we pointed out, have learned a great deal in the past 365 days.  To commemorate one year in business, we designed a special anniversary pop.  We thought a great deal about what flavours to combine to mark the special occasion.  Our roots are tropical in nature so we opted to combine fruits that are grown in KwaZulu Natal and that are available here year round.  It was very tempting to throw a banana in but we opted to go with a delightful mixture of papaya, pineapple and coconut.  So here's ONE, an oh so refreshing pop that will tantalize your taste buds and make you want more.  On that note, with the 32C degree day we've had, I think I'm heading to have ONE myself. 

One Year Ago...

Wow, it's been a year since we started.  Craziness.  Just crazy.  Where has that year disappeared to? We've learned A LOT and I mean A LOT in the past year.  Not just about pureeing and freezing fruit and how long dry ice lasts; but also about people's tastes, people's lack of observation (more on that later) and how funny enough our best market wasn't when it was blazing hot out but rather in the midst of winter (okay okay so Durban has VERY mild winters, but still!).

Here are some observations that we've made.

• Parents like to tell their kids what they'll like and parents often lie to their kids to convince them to choose the flavour that they expect them to like.  It's pretty humourous to watch.
• People LOVE colour.  We have photos at our market stall of our pops -- customers just say they want the "red one".  They aren't interested in knowing what ingredients the "red one" has -- they just want the red one.  Sometimes we don't have a "red one".
• The amount of times we have to recite flavour choices at a market can get old quickly.  Because well, we have bowls with the fruit choice in them and we also have a sign that states our flavours.  Remember what we said about power of observation?  So if you do read this, make sure to look around a bit before you ask a question, because the answer might be right in front of you in various forms. 
• While kids first might say they want a pop and purchase one, the parents usually also fold and have one after they taste how delicious our pops are.  
• Everyone is intrigued by how we keep our pops cold in our coolers. Hello Dry Ice from Dry Ice South Africa in Red Hill.  We love them. We wouldn't be in business without them. 

Some highlights of the year:

• The record "paying" pop eater (we won't disclose how many poptails friends have enjoyed in our pool or what our kids can consume in a day of swimming) was a gentleman at an I heart market.  He came back for FIVE pops.  We gave him the fifth one free.
• There is a cute little two year old boy who clamours for our Talbot (plum and mint) Pop and is a regular customer.  We love that he almost always pays us a visit at both I heart market and Wonder Market.
• Getting quite a few catering orders and inquiries -- pops are always a great addition to any party or event! Our pops even served as palate cleansers for a black tie function with our pops served on dry ice pellets.
• All the positive and negative feedback that we receive from people -- we like to work hard to make our products even better.  
• Having repeat customers come to each market and introduce their friends to our delicious pops.  

Thanks for all the support Durban! It's been an amazing first year and we can't wait to see what the next year has in store for Qhuma Pops. 

The bowls with the fruit choices (plum, peach and watermelon) and see that coveted red pop?

Qhuma Pops and Comic Books

Qhuma Pops always seem to go well with a little comic book reading or in this case looking...