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The Epic of The Pop Shoppe
By Blair Matthews
A few years ago, I stumbled across a newspaper blurb about an old soda that was around in the 1970s called The Pop Shoppe. I knew it well - we had
three Pop Shoppe outlets in my hometown of Cambridge, Ontario when I was a kid. It's ironic now because I personally collect Pop Shoppe memorabilia from
that era but at the time, I rarely drank pop.
When Soda Pop Dreams Magazine was hitting its stride in 2002, I hired a researcher at the London Free Press newspaper to dig up more newspaper
articles about The Pop Shoppe since that's where the brand originally got its start. What she found for me were dozens of articles from the early 1970s
right up to the 1980s including a lead on some financial reports from the company before it went bankrupt. Using those stories along with firsthand
interviews with a former Pop Shoppe franchisee, I wrote "The Rise & Fall of The Pop Shoppe" in January 2003.
I had no idea at the time that it would become such a popular story with collectors and fans of the old brand.
Then a couple of years later I was contacted by Brian Alger of Burlington, Ontario. He was in negotiations to buy the Pop Shoppe trademarks
and was planning a massive ressurection from the ground up. It wouldn't be a re-visit of the Pop Shoppe depots of old but rather a re-birth
of the original flavors and the familiar red and white logo. I couldn't have been happier.
Earlier this year, I sat down with Brian Alger for a huge feature story about the return of the Pop Shoppe to the Canadian market. (And yes,
for all you US readers, an expansion in the US market is also planned for 2006). Now, 10 months after I wrote that feature story for Soda Pop
Dreams, Alger says the brand is doing well - available at Sam's Club locations, Hasty Market stores, Shopper's Drug Mart, and a number of independent shops
across Ontario.
It's my great pleasure to include these two feature stories about The Pop Shoppe below for your reading enjoyment.
The Rise & Fall of The Pop Shoppe
By Blair Matthews
Mention the words "Pop Shoppe" to just about anyone who was alive in the 1970s and you'll immediately get a nostalgic reaction. Whether they're a soda pop connoisseur or not, most people remember that there was a Pop Shoppe depot in their neighborhood. And if they ventured across town to their local Pop Shoppe once upon a time, they remember the red and white stripes in the logo and the fact that they could mix and match as many different flavors in a case of 24 glass stubbies as they wanted.
And they might even remember the flavors that made Pop Shoppe stand out - choices like Festival Dry, Sparkle Up, Lime Rickey, Black Berry, and even Bubble Gum.
But where did the Pop Shoppe go and why did its demand dry up? That's a story that few seem to have heard before - until now.
For those unfamiliar with the Pop Shoppe concept, it was based on selling soft drinks inexpensively by cutting out the middlemen and getting rid of distribution costs. Relatively small bottling plants produced the pop in returnable glass bottles for sale to the public by the case, directly from the factory. In 1977, the price of any of the 26 flavors was 10 cents for a 10 oz bottle, with a case of 24 priced at $2.40.
The story of the Pop Shoppe spans some 15 years from its humble beginnings in London, Ontario, to a national chain that boasted thousands of locations across North America.
Originally the brainchild of six local entrepreneurs, the Pop Shoppe was created in 1969. Within four years, 14 franchise outlets had opened in Ontario with the original factory still operating in London.
In 1972 after the partners realized they couldn't keep up with demand for their product they sold out to Venturetek International Ltd. of Toronto, a venture capital firm. Three of the original six founders held executive positions with the new owners.
A relatively simple concept partnered with a solid marketing plan and a powerful corporation was about to make the Pop Shoppe a household name in Canada and would change the way people bought soda pop for years to come.
To reflect the change in ownership, the company operating the chain of Pop Shoppe stores was designated "Pop Shoppes International Inc." and Bruce M. Westwood, who had been executive vice president of Venturetek was named president of the new company.
With Westwood at the helm, Pop Shoppe depots began springing up in cities and towns across Canada as the rapid expansion project - made up of primarily franchised depots - became a reality.
It wasn't long before Pop Shoppes became a valuable trademark and one of the things the chain was known for was its red plastic cases that consumers used to load up their favorite varieties. A $3 deposit was required for each plastic case, an aspect of the business that was originally thought to be too steep an investment for consumers to pay. But that $3 investment proved to be just what the company needed to confirm customer loyalty.
"We have an extremely close relationship with our customers because of that $3 investment," Westwood said in a 1975 Financial Post article. "I was flying from Britain to Canada and the steward heard I was with Pop Shoppes. 'I'm a member,' he told me. I could have kissed him. Imagine, the guy feeling he was a member of something. It just proves how strong the company-customer relationship is," he said.
Those red cases, Westwood once said, are like Canadian Tire coupons - you have to return to the store to get full value for your money. For a brief period in 1975, Pop Shoppe depots were having a hard time keeping up with demand for the red cases in many of their locations.
The company's new slogan became: "You'll find our plants all over the country... never our bottles."
Venturing South of the Canadian Border...
In late 1975, business was booming for the Pop Shoppe chain. A year earlier the inevitable expansion into the U.S. initially proved successful with the brand already in 11 cities, and by the time autumn came around in '75, Westwood had scheduled franchise depots to open in Los Angeles, CA, Dallas, TX, Orlando, FL, and several others.
Westwood had a figure in mind for what he hoped to capture in the North American soft drink market - a 5% share (or about $350-million in annual sales). It may have seemed like a tall order, with 1975 revenues having been projected at $13.3-million (and met), but Westwood was convinced the company could do it.
To help raise working capital, the company issued common shares worth approximately $3.1-million and expected to open 14 factory-stores in Canada and the U.S. in 1976, bringing its total number of factory outlets to 49.
The company continued its rapid expansion plan and people were flocking to Pop Shoppe locations (both factory stores, and smaller depots) in record numbers. The company even branched out and started selling potato chips, nuts, bagged ice and ice cream bearing the Pop Shoppe logo at all its outlets.
By Feb. 1976, the company was ranked one, two or three in every soft drink classification in Canada, according to a beverage study by the Chatelaine Consumer Council.
Although Pop Shoppes had yet to catch up to soda giants Coca-Cola, Canada Dry and 7-UP, it had passed traditional brands in the Canadian market such as Orange Crush and Hires Root Beer and was closing in on Pepsi-Cola, the survey showed.
At this point, the company still wasn't doing much in the way of national advertising and was relying primarily on local advertising to gain business in every market the company was in. And in that year, sales figures showed that their approach was working as they approached the $30-million mark.
Totalmarketing Inc., based out of London, Ontario, was contracted to prepare campaigns, creative materials (point-of-sale displays) and marketing manuals which were in turn passed on to managers who could determine the amount they would devote to advertising. It was generally advised by the company to spend 3 to 5 percent of gross income on advertising.
As 1976 came to a close, the company decided their advertising campaigns would go national and hired Canadian firm Benton and Bowles Canada Ltd. to develop "an integrated advertising and promotional effort to help maintain and grow within this dramatically expanded industry."
Local campaigns continued and a national television campaign was launched with a popular NHL hockey player at the forefront.
His Nose Knew... Eddie Shack Teams With Pop Shoppe
Miles of copy has been written about former NHL star Eddie Shack.
In the 17 years he played for six NHL teams, he was described as many things on the ice - charismatic entertainer, outgoing, easy to meet and easy to like, and a wisecracker. But off the ice he was also well-known for finding a deal.
As one famous story goes, when Shack played for the Junior A team in Guelph (Ontario), he'd sometimes buy a used car on the weekend, load it up with hats discarded by the Biltmore hat company that sponsored the team, drive home to Sudbury and sell the hats - and the car - to folks in his hometown, then catch a bus back to Guelph with a few extra bucks in his pocket.
So, who better to have as a spokesperson for a value-priced soda than the guy who had a nose for value? Pop Shoppe officials saw great star power potential in Shack's antics and in 1977 signed him to a six-figure deal to represent the chain across North America.
He was prominently displayed in print and television advertising for the chain.
Sports writer Finn O'Hara remembers those early commercial spots well. "I grew up knowing hockey legend Eddie Shack as the crazy guy from the Pop Shoppe commercials," Finn wrote in a recent column on Sportsgeek.com. "He had a big cowboy hat and a huge soup strainer mustache, and he jumped around like a wacky hillbilly. Eddie Shack's commercial spots made the place seem like an wonderful, enchanting amusement park."
The 'Nose', as Shack was sometimes known, proved lucrative for Pop Shoppes International Inc. as they sold in excess of 1 million bottles of pop per day in 1977.
That same 'nose' was once even insured for $1 million as a publicity stunt by the company.
Apparently the stunt worked because less than two years into the three-year deal, Pop Shoppes was ready to extend their relationship with Shack.
Insiders speculated that Shack would get about $100,000 per year over a long-term contract with some of that in Pop Shoppe shares. And he'd even get a performance incentive that would give him a chance to grow with the company.
A survey in 1978 of 3,000 people across Canada showed that 80 percent of those polled identified Shack with Pop Shoppe products with the majority saying he was believeable to represent value for dollars spent.
"We were astounded at the national recognition," said Bill May, vice-president of Canadian operations, in a 1978 Canadian Press news story.
Shack was also joined by other Pop Shoppe advertising icons "Captain Pop Shoppe" and ex-hockey star Henri Richard.
Pocklington Eyes Pop Shoppes
In 1978 co-owner of the Edmonton Oilers Peter Pocklington offered to buy all of the shares of Venturetek International Ltd. which would have given him controlling interest of the Pop Shoppe chain. Pocklington saw what the chain had accomplished and wanted to make his mark on the beverage industry using Pop Shoppes to do it.
When a financial partner of Venturetek opposed the sale and the Toronto Stock Exchange halted trading as a result, Pocklington withdrew his bid and the company marched forward intact. But it would foreshadow the tribulations the company would face only two years later.
The 80's Dawn and Pop Shoppes International Inc. Pulls Out of U.S. Market
By late 1979, sales for the Pop Shoppe chain were no longer surging as they had in the mid 1970s.
Company officials knew what was on the horizon, and they made it public knowledge at their annual shareholders meeting in May of that year that they were pulling out of the U.S. market. Not all U.S. locations would close - for the time being, only depots in selected markets would close - and the expansion plans were shelved for the time being.
The dream of snatching up that 5 percent of the North American soft drink market was turning into a nightmare.
Pop Shoppes suffered a considerable loss in 1979 because, according to one company official, its U.S. corporate and licenced operations were plagued by "heavy price competition and consumer preference for non-returnable packaging." Losses that year topped $3.8-million CDN.
Despite the company's belief that in the long run, their concept would still be successful in U.S. markets, they were forced to take a serious look at why they were losing money and what could be done to fix the problem.
The U.S. closings would save an estimated $1-million in 1980.
Chairman of the Board, Jeremy Kendall, wrote in the company's annual report that year that 1979 was "a period of difficulty in the normal life cycle of a business. The continued dedication of loyal employees, licensees, shareholders and suppliers will be required to achieve our goals and renewed prosperity. I ask for your total and continued support in all our efforts," he wrote.
To become more competitive in its remaining U.S. markets, the chain made plans to introduce non-returnable containers and new drink flavors. The concept that the company pioneered of the returnable glass bottles, mix-and-match to your preference was seemingly about to be abandoned.
Meanwhile the Canadian markets continued to remain relatively strong and plans were in place to introduce a non-carbonated beverage to selected locations and to promote it with a coupon program.
The following year was no more kind to shareholders as the company continued to feel huge losses due to soft U.S. sales.
In 1981, the company finally bailed on the remaining U.S. franchises, although some still held on - independently operating without the Pop Shoppes International Inc. corporate arm behind them.
It was becoming obvious that the company's best years were now behind them. Even with as much momentum as they had in the mid 70's it couldn't carry them through the losses they faced from an expansion gone wrong. The consumer's love affair with convenience was dawning and with Coke and Pepsi selling their products in supermarkets where consumers could do their grocery shopping and pickup soda pop in cans for less money, popularity of the Pop Shoppe had seemingly run its course. Afterall, the public had made it clear that they did not want to lug around cases of 24 bottles and make a special trip just to do it.
Decline of Pop Shoppes Felt North American-wide...
Venturetek International Ltd. was placed in receivership on November 19, 1982. The Pop Shoppe chain fell apart shortly thereafter. In its heyday, Pop Shoppes stock traded for as much as $9 a share in 1977. An unsuccessful expansion into the U.S. led to losses twice as much as revenues according to 1981 financial reports.
Trading Halted of Shares in Pop Shoppes International Inc.
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) halted trading of Pop Shoppes shares on Feb. 3, 1983 at the request of the company who was preparing to release a statement. Eleven days later, when the statement from the company came, TSE officials continued the halt until they clarified some of what the company had said. "Things that were supposed to happen didn't happen," a portion of the statement said.
More than 28,000 Pop Shoppes shares had been traded a day before trading was halted - and the price only hit a high of $0.28. At that time records show there were more than 2,700 shareholders. According to 1982 financial statements, Pop Shoppes reported a $16.7 million loss on sales of $13.2 million in 1981.
The Little Guys Held On For Years...
For years after the demise of the corporate Pop Shoppes International Inc., a handful of depots continued to chug along - abandoned by the folks who created them. One by one, they too felt the pinch of convenience as the big two soda companies burried them in competition.
In Canada, one of the last remaining Pop Shoppe locations was located in Courtenay, British Columbia. It was operated by René and Patricia Rogers.
René, who originally grew up in a small town just outside of Sudbury, Ontario, remembers that there was a Pop Shoppe location in his own hometown until about 1979.
In 1997, Patricia and René bought the Pop Shoppe depot in Courtenay, B.C. and became one of only four owners since the location was opened back in the 1970s. They bought the location with the intentions of keeping the name and the concept alive - a concept that they made into a viable business venture when they recognized that selling soda pop alone would not keep the store going. In addition to the Pop Shoppe soda that their store was famous for, they also sold wine and beer-making kits.
"It was such an inexpensive pop, for most people who got into it at the time, that's all they sold. But really, it wasn't enough to sustain any kind of business."
The store remained popular with Courtenay residents for the five years the Rogers ran it. But it was a venture that wasn't destined for immortality.
Early in 2001, Patricia says their supplier notified them that the prices per case would be going up. "Unfortunately it left us in a position to make a decision regarding the future of our Pop Shoppe," she says. They made the tough decision to phase out all Pop Shoppe products in favor of expanding on their selection of wine and beer-making kits.
They sold off the remaining product, removed all the promotional signs, and the store sign eventually came down too. Yet another end of an era - especially for Courtenay residents who were accustomed to having an historical icon in their own backyard.
But is Pop Shoppe soda really gone? A little bit of digging into current trademark databases indicates there may be a revival of the brand just around the corner. But only time will tell.
It's A Collector's Market
For the time being, about the only place left to see anything "Pop Shoppe" is at the odd antique shop or on eBay. Although the company didn't produce a great deal of promotional products the way Coke & Pepsi have, there are items to be found.
The most common is obviously empty glass bottles - currently estimately to be worth about $1-$2 US each. If you happen to come across a full Pop Shoppe bottle, be prepared to pay anywhere between $4-$10 US.
Even more rare are three commemorative bottles the company released in 1975 & 1977:
Grand Opening - September 1975 - Orlando, Florida, priced at $20-$25 US each.
Pop Shoppes 1977 International Marketing Conference - Scottsdale, Arizona, priced at $20-$25 US each (according to beverage expert Richard Mix).
Soda Shoppes of California, Inc. - One Millionth Case - October 1977, priced at $20-25 US each (according to beverage expert Richard Mix).
Other known items released by the company include: bottle openers, bottle toppers, drinking glasses, corrogated signs, toy trucks, jigsaw puzzles, belt buckles, and buttons.
Words of Wisdom
In 1969, when the Pop Shoppe was not even a year old, its founders had a word of advice for the small group of employees that were working for them: "Nothing's ever finished. You can always improve it."
Ten years later when Andrew A. McIntyre, new president of Pop Shoppes International, met with top management in the company, he told them that "in the life cycle of any business, there are bound to be periods of difficulty. This is nothing unusual. What separates companies that succeed from those that fail is how well they face up to those periods."
The Pop Shoppe saw a rise to fame and fortune with a concept that revolutionized the business of making, marketing and selling soda pop. Their fall, while perhaps not in the category of 'tragic', is a piece of soda pop history that beverage historians will study for years to come.
The Pop Shoppe Returns to the Market
By Blair Matthews
It's been 23 long years since one of the most famous national soda brands in beverage history has last been enjoyed. And chances are at least some packrats out there still have a few old plastic cases of empty stubbies collecting dust in their basement with faded red and white logos that have seen better days. Well, the familiar logo is back, the dust has been swept under the rug and The Pop Shoppe is back in business. And if new owner, Brian Alger has anything to say about it, the brand is back to stay.
When the chain last saw the light of day, Ronald Regan was president, plaid pants were still considered cool, and Pepsi was on the brink of winning the cola wars against Coke.
Venturetek International Ltd., the parent company of Pop Shoppe International Inc., had fallen on hard times. It had seen fame and fortune in the '70s the likes of which the original Pop Shoppe entrepreneurs from London, Ontario (Canada) had never dreamed possible. It was considered by many to be a popular staple for soda pop lovers. Most loved it because of the more than 30 flavors of pop that you could mix and match in cases of 24 returnable stubby bottles - complete with plastic red cases. It was cheap pop and had a simple concept that quickly caught on famously across North America.
Rapid franchise expansion across Canada, a promising venture into the U.S., and a record setting year made 1977 an unforgettable time for Pop Shoppe drinkers. Nearly every town in Ontario had a Pop Shoppe depot as the chain stretched from one end of Canada to the other. But less than five years later, its storied journey was coming to an end.
Sales plummeted, trading of Pop Shoppes shares was halted on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and the red ink was quickly becoming embarassing.
To this day, marketing people still try to pinpoint the reason for the chain's demise. It wasn't a simple explanation.
The consumer's love affair with convenience was dawning and with Coke and Pepsi selling their products at reduced prices in supermarkets where consumers could do their grocery shopping and pickup soda pop in cans for less money, popularity of the Pop Shoppe had seemingly run its course. Company mismanagement and misdirection has also been cited as a reason for Pop Shoppe's downfall.
The company slowly slipped away and embossed itself into beverage history much like its discounted pop had done in a sometimes unpredictable marketplace.
Fast-forward to 2005, and enter Food and Beverage Entrepreneur, Brian Alger.
Alger knew the history of the Pop Shoppe chain well and for years had thought, in the back in his mind, about bringing back a little part of his '70s childhood. Though his expertise wasn't specifically rooted in marketing fizzy drinks, it was something he knew he wanted to do if the circumstances were right.
Alger started the trademark process of bringing back the Pop Shoppe brand in the spring of 2002, a process that took about 18 months. Up to that point the Pop Shoppe trademarks had been abandoned since the brand had folded up shop in the early 1980s and the registration expired in 1994, Alger says.
The logos and trademark names laid dormant for more than 10 years and when Alger discovered they were available, the wheels started turning.
So why try to bring back a popular 1970s soda from the proverbial recycling bin more than 20 years after its heyday? Alger says it's all about nostalgia. "Like a lot of people my age, we kind of grew up on the Pop Shoppe and have a lot of fond memories of it. I was surprised that no one held the trademarks and I felt there was a tremendous amount of brand equity still with the brand," he says. "I thought there might be an opportunity there to resurrect what I think is one of the best known Canadian trademarks."
As a teenager growing up in Burlington, Ontario, Pop Shoppe soda was the pop of choice in the Alger household. "That's what we had at our school dances," Alger remembers. "When I was in school I was a person who was a bit disruptive in class so there was a period in time that they would give me my lessons in the morning and then they would send me up to what I call a storage room to do my work so I didn't bother anybody else. The room was a storage room for the whole school and there was no light inside... so they had to have my desk face the back of the room and leave the door open so there could be some light," he says. If the desk had faced towards the hallway, Alger would stop people and talk to them. At the back of the room the student council had stored all of their cases of Pop Shoppe pop. "I would just sit there for hours on end and of course I wouldn't do my school work - I would just stare at Pop Shoppe all day long. Who knows how that affected me later on down the road," Alger says.
"Unfortunately they were pop-off tops back then rather than twist-tops so even if I wanted a pop I didn't have an opener with me so it was a bit like torture."
Of the nearly 30 different varieties of Pop Shoppe soda available in the golden age of the company, Alger was partial to cream soda, and root beer. It's just a coincidence, he says, that those were two of the first four flavors he brought back to the market in late 2004. "When we looked at the pop market, we looked at what was really selling. Orange and root beer are top flavor sellers and I wanted to look at flavors that were distintive to the Pop Shoppe and that's where we came up with Black Cherry and Lime Rickey."
The Pop Shoppe's porfolio of four flavors will grow by three more this spring when Alger adds Grape, Orange and Pineapple. One flavor absent from the line-up is Cola, a flavor that Alger and his flavor consultants are still working on to recapture the exact recipe that the chain originally used in the 70's. Since there was no recipe book handed down to him when he bought the rights to the brand, it was up to him to find original bottles of Pop Shoppe (which he primarily found on eBay), then dissect and analyse the contents of each flavor. It's taken countless hours of research to come up with the tastes that do the original flavors justice.
And the lack of a cola flavor is by no means because of Coca-Cola and Pepsi's dominance in that market. "When the Pop Shoppe was around the first time, it was born out of necessity... Coke and Pepsi really dominated the market and consumers were paying a high price for soft drinks at the time. When Pop Shoppe came around," Alger says, "it really filled that void." These days, every grocery store chain has their own brand but in the 1970s that wasn't the case. "Pop Shoppe filled two areas - they gave you a great tasting soda and they gave you value for your money."
At first, Alger toyed with the idea of going back to the Pop Shoppe's original concept of store front locations where consumers could drop in and mix and match their cases of 24 bottles for one price in returnable glass bottles. But after doing a lot of research and talking to people in the beverage industry he decided the stand-alone beverage store - using refillable containers - was an inconvenience for people; it was concept that had run its course years ago and just wasn't economically feasible.
Alger is quick to point out though, that Pop Shoppe's store-front concept wasn't the reason that the chain self-destructed back in the early 1980s. It was mainly due to mismanagement within the company, he claims.
When the store-front idea fizzled out, he decided that he could market the soda through a distributor much the same way that other gourmet and specialty sodas are done. So with a working model started and the trademarks secured, plans began to take shape. While flavors and recipes were being researched, Alger considered the packaging that they should use. "I looked at doing 2 L bottles and 600mL plastic but that really doesn't do justice to the Pop Shoppe heritage. I'm a big believer that soft drinks should be drank from a glass container - you're getting the pure taste of the pop. If you drink pop that's been sitting in a plastic 2 liter for six months, it's not very good at all," Alger says.
The problem he immediately found with going to a glass container was the cost involved. But, he figured with the power of the trademark behind it and the wave of nostalgia that people are currently feeling for the old brand, it was a worthy investment.
"The response has been tremendous," Alger proudly declares. And to build on the nostalgic flavor he's also currently working on bringing back the familiar design of the stubby glass bottle with the diamond embossing. "What my goal has been all along is to really make it as close to what it was as possible. We've certainly got that on the formula side of things and if we can work on getting the package back to that now, it would be great."
Old Pop Shoppe In Your Neighborhood Might Not Be the 'Real' Stuff:
And for those soda connoisseurs out there who've been able to find old style Pop Shoppe soda for sale at their neighborhood corner store (in the old worn stubby bottles), Alger says you're likely not getting original Pop Shoppe pop. When the Pop Shoppe declared bankruptcy back in the 1980s they liquidated all the assets of the company - including all the familiar old red cases and stubby glass bottles. Anyone who wanted to purchase the equipment or property was free to do so.
Some locations (at least one in British Columbia and a few scattered around the United States) bought the assets of the local bottler in their area and continued bottling soda pop using those same old Pop Shoppe glass stubbies. "They're not able to market it under that name or say that it's Pop Shoppe brand soda, but you still get it in those original bottles," Alger explains.
And based on the analysis of the pop that was still being filled in those original bottles (Alger paid a company to analyse what was being put in them for him), it was most certainly not any soda pop that Alger would bottle. "It was absolutely horrible. The flavor profile was terrible - it was like someone made it in their bathtub and bottled it from there. I could not believe how bad it was."
'Bootleg' pop in old Pop Shoppe bottles is an issue that Alger figures he'll deal with somewhere down the road since he now owns the U.S. trademarks for Pop Shoppe as well. Though it's within his rights as trademark holder to restrain bottlers from packaging their sodas in those old reuseable Pop Shoppe glass stubbies, it's also a costly issue to try to curb. "My focus is getting the brand back out in the market and out into as many stores as possible and then we'll look at doing something about that later on. For me, it's an issue, but not a priority right now."
A Pop Shoppe Collector is Born:
Before he began his venture into the beverage world, Alger admits he wasn't much of a soda pop collector. Once he knew what his plans were for the old brand, his attitude about collecting changed drastically and a Pop Shoppe memorabilia collector was born. "I just wanted to secure as much memorabilia dedicated to the Pop Shoppe as I could."
Alger has bought nostalgic items like bottles, openers, signs, and even a replica Eddie Shack Pop Shoppe jersey as seen in many of the old ads for the soda pop.
Which begs the question: will there be a new spokesperson named for Pop Shoppe and would Alger ever consider trying to bring Shack, the original spokesman for the brand, back into the fold?
"We've had some conversations with the design team and there's no doubt about it - he was a huge part of that at the time. It may be something we do down the road but nothing immediate," Alger confesses. "But it is a consideration."
For the most part, Alger says he has more of an in-store marketing philosophy for the brand with most advertising and promotion done with point-of-sale materials and in-store specials. "Let's face it, people are coming in ready to buy something - a lot of people don't have their mind made up specific to a brand or a flavor so if we work hard on the inside of the store P.O.S. material than I think we can really grab the attention of people and let them know that the brand is available there."
For Alger, the big kick-off for 2005 will be at this year's Canadian International Food & Beverage Show in Toronto where Pop Shoppe will be well-represented.
Taking the brand into the electronic age:
The website for Pop Shoppe has created new buzz among soda drinkers and collectors alike who remember the brand with fond memories. "Lately I've been getting e-mails and calls from people who have memorabilia and photos of Pop Shoppe - it's absolutely fantastic to see these things. Some of the e-mails I get from people that are so excited to see the brand back in the market are great. They see that trademark and they get a flood of memories and emotions. They'll see that logo and it'll take them right back to a summer at the cottage or whatever. I think that's unbelieveable that a trademark and a brand can hold that kind of equity for somebody."
Chatting With the Original Founder of Pop Shoppe:
Someone who can certainly relate to Alger's situation of starting up a beverage company from scratch would be Gary Shaw, one of the original founders of Pop Shoppe when it was still a young fledging start-up company in London.
Alger was thrilled to have the chance to chat with Shaw recently about Pop Shoppe's early days.
"This was a man that started something and didn't realize how big an impact it would have. He and his partners began with $40,000 and it sky-rocketed from there. For them to have the vision to take it to where it was and to be able to identify the definite need in the marketplace for it was brilliant," Alger says.
When Alger broke the news to him that he was about to bring the brand back from the dead, Shaw was excited.
"He's a guy that says once he closes the chapter on something he moves on and from there he started up 'Grandma Lee's' (another well-known Canadian company). He certainly speaks proudly of the accomplishments they made with the Pop Shoppe."
If anything, Alger adds, Shaw was a little surprised that no one had attempted to take another run at the nostalgic favorite before now.
More Pop Shoppe Memorabilia Coming:
Alger urges Pop Shoppe fans to be on the lookout for some retro memorabilia that will soon be launched to coincide with the return of the brand. "We're going to start working on some stuff - we're going to look at some of the things that Pop Shoppe did in the past and look at doing some of those things. We'd kind of like to go retro like frisbees or yo-yos or things that fit in with that '70s time," he says.
Personal acquaintances of Alger and his fiancee got a special treat at their wedding back in November when they received a commemorative Pop Shoppe bottle produced especially for the wedding guests. It featured a wedding graphic on the corner of the label and came packaged in a giftbox.
Should the brand ever reach the levels of sales that it once did, Alger is mindful that some of the wedding guests may want to cash in on its success by putting their special wedding bottle up for bids on eBay. So he numbered each bottle and recorded who was given which bottle, just so he knows who to rib should he ever discover that someone is selling their special gift.
Currently there are about 70 bottles present and accounted for.
So what's been the toughest part of bringing back a legendary soda pop? Alger says it's the fact that he's doing the entire project on his own - from distribution deals and financing to marketing and product development (which is rare in the cut-throat beverage industry these days). And dealing with a brand that most people remember means there are big shoes to fill with little room for error. "I take it quite seriously and I realize that there are a lot of people that have a fondness for that brand. I want to bring it back as original as it was and give people that 5 or 10 minutes in a day when they can think of a fond memory of Pop Shoppe and whatever else they were doing at the time," he says.
But at the same time, he recognizes that his core audience is still that 13 to 17-year-old group of consumers that will inevitably make or break the Pop Shoppe venture. So far, Alger says he's amazed that the kids are buying up Pop Shoppe - perhaps because everything retro from the past seems to be cool again, including clothes and hair styles. "I think the kids get de-sensitized by all of these other marketing companies that put these hardcore graphics on their packaging... when they see something like Pop Shoppe, it's simple, but it's got that nostalgic look to it. It's just simple soda. I don't want to market this like 'if you're able to drink this you're going to be able to snowboard better or you're gonna be able to jump off cliffs' or whatever. It represents a simpler time," Alger stresses.
And what about all of those packrats who still harbor cases of 20-year-old Pop Shoppe bottles in their garage or basement?
They've already started coming out of the woodwork.
"We had somebody that called us saying she had a couple cases of those empties and wanted to know how she could get refunded for the deposit. What can I say... if I had a need for them I'd certainly take them back. I told her that her best bet was to try putting them up on eBay," he says with a laugh.
For more information about The Pop Shoppe, visit their website at: www.thepopshoppe.com.
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