Cool Tropics

What Cool Tropics does

Cool Tropics, legally Tropical Paradise, Inc., is a US food and beverage company founded in 1993 by Frank Massabni that produces frozen 100% juice slush products and shelf-stable juice cups targeted almost exclusively at the K-12 school nutrition channel. Its core technology is a proprietary 4oz pouch packaging system branded RiPS (with a Surfin Tab easy-tear feature) that delivers a 1/2 cup fruit or vegetable serving under USDA nutritional guidelines and supports freeze/refreeze cycles, alongside conventional cup-format products. The product portfolio includes Cool Tropics 100% Fruit Juice Slush, 100% Vegetable Juice Slush, 100% Fruit Juice Cups, 100% Fruit and Vegetable Juices, and a Welch's co-branded 100% Juice Slush line produced under a 2016 licensing partnership.

The company's products carry dual compliance under USDA Smart Snacks and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, are gluten-free, and many are Buy American compliant, making them pre-qualified for school procurement. Cool Tropics sells via direct sales to school districts across more than 40 states and 5,000+ schools, supplemented by state-specific Farm to School partnerships in New York, California, and Texas that feature regional flavor SKUs. Marketing is supported through theme flyers, posters, stickers, and breakfast coupons distributed to nutrition directors, alongside organic social and email channels.

Cool Tropics generated revenue through unit/case pricing on B2B sales to government and education buyers, with 60-96 units per case depending on product line and multi-year contracts available. In 2025 the company was acquired into the Peterson Brands family, gaining access to Peterson's fruit and vegetable processing infrastructure. The company operates with 11-50 employees from Bedford, MA (with operational routing through Peterson Farms in Shelby, MI) and shows no public funding, no AI/ML capabilities, and no software/API surface area.

Name

Cool Tropics

Legal name

Tropical Paradise, Inc.

Website

https://cool-tropics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

School Nutrition Beverages

NAICS

Soft Drink Manufacturing (312111), Frozen Fruit, Juice, and Vegetable Manufacturing (311411)

SIC

Beverages (2080), Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030)

akta.pro primary industry

Non-Carbonated Soft Drinks (Juice Drinks, Lemonades, Fruit Drinks) (CRADAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Refrigerated Juices & Smoothies (CRADACAL)

Keywords

• Frozen juice slush
• School nutrition beverages
• USDA Smart Snack products
• K-12 food service
• 100% fruit juice

Headquarters

HQ city

Bedford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. School Nutrition Product Sales: B2B sales of 100% juice slush pouches and cups to K-12 schools for use in lunch trays, a la carte, summer feeding, breakfast, supper, and special programs. Products sold by case with 60-96 units per case.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cool Tropics manufactures and sells 100% juice frozen slush pouches and shelf-stable 100% juice cups and beverages targeted at K-12 school nutrition programs in the United States. The portfolio includes Cool Tropics 100% Fruit Juice Slush, Cool Tropics 100% Vegetable Juice Slush, Welch's 100% Fruit Juice Slush (licensed sub-brand), 100% Fruit Juice Cups, and 100% Vegetable Juice, sold by the case to school districts for tray line, a la carte, breakfast, summer feeding, and supper programs. Products are Smart Snack and Alliance for a Healthier Generation approved and credit as ½ cup fruit or vegetable serving under USDA guidelines.

Product overview

Cool Tropics is a food and beverage company offering a portfolio of frozen 100% juice slush products and juice beverages primarily targeted at K-12 schools. The product line consists of Cool Tropics-branded 100% Fruit Juice Slush and 100% Vegetable Juice Slush (served frozen in 4oz pouches), the Welch's 100% Fruit Juice Slush sub-brand (a partnership with Welch's), 100% Fruit Juice Cups, and 100% Vegetable Juice. Products provide ½ cup fruit or vegetable servings under USDA nutritional guidelines, are Smart Snack and Alliance for a Healthier Generation approved, and are used in school tray lines, a la carte programs, summer feeding, and breakfast/supper programs. The company also provides marketing support materials including themed flyers. In 2025, Cool Tropics joined the Peterson Brands family. Parent company Tropical Paradise, Inc. was founded in 1993.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Welch's 100% Juice Slush: Welch's branded 100% fruit juice slush products including Concord Grape, Concord Berry, Hula Cooler, and Mango Peach flavors
• Veggie Edge
• RiPS

Products and services

• Cool Tropics 100% Fruit Juice Slush A frozen 100% juice slush beverage served in 4oz pouches, providing ½ cup of fruit serving under USDA nutritional guidelines. Available in multiple flavors including Blue Raspberry, Coastal Crush, Kiwi Strawberry, Lone Star Luau, Mango Wrangler, Paradise Punch, Raspberry Passion Fruit, and Red, White & Cool. Smart Snack and Alliance for a Healthier Generation approved. Sold by the case to K-12 school nutrition programs for tray line, a la carte, and other feeding programs.
• Cool Tropics 100% Vegetable Juice Slush A frozen 100% vegetable juice slush beverage providing ½ cup of additional vegetable serving under USDA guidelines. Flavors include Berry Berry Blue, Razz-A-Dazzle, and Tropical Trio. Made with vegetable juice concentrates such as sweet potato and carrot. Sold to K-12 school nutrition programs as a vegetable-credit menu item.
• Welch's 100% Fruit Juice Slush A frozen 100% juice slush featuring Welch's branding and heritage, sold under license to Cool Tropics. Available in Concord Berry, Concord Grape, Hula Cooler, Hula Cooler-CA, and Mango Peach flavors. Contains 100-150% Vitamin C per serving. Sold by the case to K-12 school nutrition programs.
• 100% Fruit Juice Cup A shelf-stable, ready-to-drink 100% fruit juice beverage in cup format. Products include Welch's Concord Grape Apple and Cool Tropics Rockin' Rio Red. 96 cups per case, 56 cases per pallet. Sold to K-12 schools and Farm to School programs.
• Cool Tropics 100% Vegetable Juice 100% vegetable juice beverages including Berry Citrus Squeeze and Triple Berry Blast. Provides ½ cup serving of additional vegetable under USDA guidelines. Made with sweet potato juice concentrate and other vegetable-based ingredients. Sold to K-12 school nutrition programs.
• 100% Fruit Juice 100% fruit juice products including Cowboy Citrus Cooler. Contains Vitamin C and is shelf stable. Sold to K-12 school nutrition programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1st place at 2012 Orange County, FL Food Show out of 206 items, voted by 250 kids

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Peterson BrandsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025In 2025, Cool Tropics joined the Peterson Brands family - an exciting step forward in bringing healthy, fruit-first beverages to students. Peterson Brands brings decades of experience in fruit and vegetable processing with commitment to quality and sustainability.
• Welch'scoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2016Welch's partnered with Cool Tropics to introduce Welch's 100% juice slush products in March 2016, with shipments beginning July 2016. Four flavors launched: Concord Grape, Concord Berry, White Grape Cherry, and White Grape Peach. Welch's adds heritage of healthful, family-friendly innovation to Cool Tropics brand.
• New York Farm to School ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew York Farm to School Program featuring Welch's Concord Grape 100% Juice Slush and Welch's Concord Grape Apple 100% Juice Cup
• California Farm to School ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCalifornia Farm to School Program featuring Cool Tropics Coastal Crush 100% Fruit Juice Slush and Welch's Hula Cooler 100% Fruit Juice Slush
• Texas Farm to School ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTexas Farm to School Program featuring Cool Tropics Lone Star Luau 100% Fruit Juice Slush and Cool Tropics Rockin' Rio Red Juice Cup

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Capri Sun (Kraft Heinz): Capri Sun is one of the most ubiquitous juice-pouch brands in U.S. schools and competes directly with Cool Tropics' 4oz RiPS-style pouch format in K-12 lunch, a la carte, and summer feeding programs. Both target nutrition directors seeking compliant, kid-friendly portion-controlled beverages.
• Honest Kids (The Coca-Cola Company): Honest Kids organic juice pouches are a staple of school lunch bags and cafeteria a la carte lines, making Honest Kids a direct competitor in the no-sugar-added, portion-controlled juice pouch category where Cool Tropics' RiPS also competes.
• Sunny D (Sun-Maid / Brynwood Partners): Sunny D is a school-channel staple for flavored juice drinks, directly competing with Cool Tropics in a la carte and tray-line beverage slots. Although Sunny D's formulations differ, both products target the same nutrition-director procurement decisions.
• JUICY JUICE (Harvest Hill Beverage Company): JUICY JUICE markets 100% juice products specifically to parents and children, with strong presence in K-12 lunch lines. It is comparable to Cool Tropics on positioning, packaging format (juice boxes and pouches), and school-channel focus.
• Slush Puppie: Slush Puppie is a frozen slush beverage brand and the closest category analogue to Cool Tropics' frozen juice slush product. Both occupy the frozen-beverage-on-the-tray category, although Slush Puppie traditionally focuses on foodservice/retail rather than exclusively K-12.
• TruMoo / Dairy Pure (The Coca-Cola / Dean Foods heritage): TruMoo and similar school milk brands compete for the same tray-line and breakfast-program slots in K-12 schools as Cool Tropics' juice slush. Both sell through the same direct-to-district procurement channel.

Broad incumbents

• Tropicana (PepsiCo): Tropicana is a national 100% juice brand that competes in school nutrition programs at a much larger scale. It overlaps with Cool Tropics on the 100% juice positioning and Smart Snack eligibility but serves a broader retail and foodservice footprint.
• Minute Maid (The Coca-Cola Company): Minute Maid's juice portfolio (including the 100% juice school offerings) is broadly comparable to Cool Tropics' product line. It competes for the same K-12 procurement dollars but as part of a much larger global beverage portfolio.
• Ocean Spray Cranberries: Ocean Spray is a large juice-based cooperative selling fruit juice products into schools and foodservice. It is comparable to Cool Tropics on category (100% juice) and on the co-op/farmer-owned processing model now relevant through the Peterson Brands acquisition.

Others

• Peterson Farms / Peterson Brands: Peterson Brands acquired Cool Tropics in 2025 and is also a fruit and vegetable processor supplying ingredients and co-manufactured products. It is comparable as the parent company and as a thematic adjacency in the fruit-based K-12 beverage supply chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CoolTropics
• Facebookfacebook.com/CoolTropics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tropical-paradise-inc-
• Instagraminstagram.com/cooltropicsslush

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cool Tropics