Pete’s Pops

What Pete’s Pops does

Pete's Pops is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based handcrafted frozen-treat company that produces popsicles and ice cream bars from all-natural, fresh ingredients. Its core technology is small-batch, in-house production at a single facility at 3809 W. Vliet Street, yielding a rotating catalog of 70–100+ unique flavors — including signature year-round offerings like Salted Watermelon and seasonal/limited-edition varieties such as Sweet Corn Blackberry, Pineapple Jalapeño, and Horchata. Approximately 5–10 flavors are available at any given time, and the company maintains allergen-friendly options (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, nut-free) alongside conventional recipes.

The company distributes through six seasonal brick-and-mortar retail locations across the Milwaukee/Wisconsin area — the Vliet Street "Pop Window" and production facility, the Bay View "Pop Shed," and storefronts in West Allis, Whitefish Bay, Grafton, and Merton (the last opened May 2024). Distribution is supplemented by a mobile cart network deployed at farmer's markets, street festivals, and "random corners" across the region, and by a private-order/catering channel for weddings, birthday parties, and corporate events booked via email. Marketing is primarily organic social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook @petespops) and community event participation (Summerfest, Cedarburg Strawberry Festival, neighborhood clean-ups), with a brand identity anchored by the recognizable rainbow umbrella. The company is privately held, founder/locally owned, with no disclosed institutional funding, 11–50 employees, and operations concentrated in the May–October summer window.

Name

Pete’s Pops

Legal name

Pete's Pops

Website

https://petespops.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pete's Pops is a Milwaukee-based handcrafted popsicle and ice cream bar company operating six seasonal retail locations, mobile event carts, and a private catering service across Wisconsin. It sells 70–100+ rotating, all-natural flavors to individual consumers and event clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Frozen Desserts

SIC

Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts (2024)

akta.pro primary industry

Frozen & Refrigerated Snack Foods (Ice Cream Novelties, Snack Bites) (CRADABAL)

Keywords

• Handcrafted popsicles
• Ice cream bars
• Frozen desserts
• Event catering
• Artisanal frozen treats

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retail Popsicle Sales: Direct point-of-sale transactions at five brick-and-mortar seasonal locations across the Milwaukee/Wisconsin area, selling frozen pops and ice cream bars to walk-in consumers.
2. Mobile Cart & Event Sales: Deployment of mobile popsicle carts at farmer's markets, street festivals, and random corners throughout Milwaukee/Wisconsin, generating sales at transient event locations.
3. Private Orders / Catering: Catering and private order services for special occasions such as weddings and birthday parties, booked through direct email contact.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Pete's Pops produces and sells handcrafted frozen popsicles and ice cream bars made from all-natural and fresh ingredients at its Milwaukee production facility. The company distributes through seasonal retail storefronts, mobile carts at farmer's markets and festivals, and private catering/orders for events such as weddings and birthday parties across the Milwaukee/Wisconsin area.

Product overview

Pete's Pops is a handcrafted popsicle and ice cream bar company operating as a single unified product offering with multiple retail channels. The core product consists of over 100 unique frozen pop flavors made from all-natural ingredients, available through six fixed retail locations in the Milwaukee area (The Pop Window at Vliet, The Pop Shed in Bay View, West Allis, Whitefish Bay, Grafton, and Merton), mobile carts at events throughout Wisconsin, and private catering orders. The company rotates seasonal flavors while maintaining signature favorites year-round.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Handcrafted Popsicles and Ice Cream Bars
• Private Event Catering and Custom Orders Custom popsicle and ice cream bar catering service for private events including weddings, birthday parties, and corporate gatherings. Booked directly via email at [email protected] and fulfilled from the company's Vliet Street shop in Milwaukee.
• Mobile Cart Event Service Mobile popsicle cart service that travels to farmer's markets, street festivals, random street corners, and catered events throughout the Milwaukee/Wisconsin region, selling frozen pops directly to attendees on-site under the company's rainbow-umbrella branding.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• La Newyorkina: NY-based Mexican-inspired paletas (popsicles) shop rooted in authentic Latin American frozen treat tradition. Highly comparable operating concept (handcrafted popsicles with creative flavor profiles) and comparable scale to Pete's Pops, but serves a different geographic market and cultural niche.

Broad incumbents

• Salt & Straw: Multi-city artisanal ice cream scoop shop chain known for inventive, small-batch flavors and experiential retail. Comparable to Pete's Pops in its handmade, story-driven approach to frozen treats and unusual flavors, though at significantly larger national scale.
• Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams: Nationally recognized, ingredient-led artisan ice cream brand with scoop shops, pints in grocery, and an adventurous flavor lineup. Comparable to Pete's Pops in its emphasis on unusual, premium flavor combinations and ingredient-forward positioning, but operates at much greater scale and broader distribution.
• Sweet Rose Creamery: Houston/LA-based small-batch ice cream scoop shop brand emphasizing seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. Comparable to Pete's Pops in its artisanal, locally rooted, ingredient-forward positioning in the premium frozen dessert category.
• Van Leeuwen Ice Cream: Premium ice cream brand with storefronts, grocery distribution, and a known vegan/dairy-free lineup. Comparable to Pete's Pops through its focus on high-quality ingredients, allergen-friendly options (vegan/dairy-free), and a premium-but-accessible positioning in the frozen desserts category.

Direct peers

• Coolhaus: Los Angeles-based frozen dessert company selling architecturally themed ice cream novelties and pops via trucks, retail, and online. Comparable to Pete's Pops through its focus on handcrafted, dessert-inspired frozen novelties and event/truck-based retail channels serving a similar experiential consumer.
• King of Pops: Atlanta-based handcrafted popsicle company operating mobile carts and event-based sales with a rotating, adventurous flavor library. Operates an almost identical business model to Pete's Pops (handmade frozen pops on a stick, mobile carts at events, signature flavor library), differing mainly by geographic market.

Emerging players

• Tipsy Scoop: NYC-based premium ice cream and boozy ice cream novelty brand with online shipping. Comparable to Pete's Pops through premium flavor innovation (e.g., cocktail-inspired flavors) and the event/catering angle, but differentiated by an alcohol-incorporating product line and DTC shipping.
• The Yard Milkshake Bar: Multi-unit dessert concept specializing in over-the-top shakes and novelties, with a strong events/catering component. Comparable to Pete's Pops in its focus on indulgent, Instagram-friendly frozen treats, experiential retail, and the private-event/bookable revenue stream.

Others

• Empanada Mama / artisan-pop carts (broad regional pop cart operators): Local food cart operators at festivals and farmers markets in U.S. Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic cities. Comparable to Pete's Pops in the mobile-cart festival channel and DTC Instagram-driven discovery model, though most operate as adjacent non-frozen dessert concepts.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/petespops
• Facebookfacebook.com/petespopsmke
• Xx.com/PetesPops
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/petespops

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Pete’s Pops