Otter Pops


Otter Pops are a brand of freeze pops sold in the United States. The product consists of a clear plastic tube filled with a fruit-flavored liquid and is one of the earliest brands of this dessert.
Some varieties claim to contain 100% fruit juice, mostly apple juice. This variety was clear, as it also removed any artificial colors. Otter Pops are a frozen treat, but stores generally sell them at room temperature for the consumer to later freeze at home.

Background

National Pax introduced Otter Pops in 1970, in competition with Jel Sert's similar product, Fla-Vor-Ice. As of 1990, the product was manufactured by Merrytime Products Inc. of Marshall, Texas.
In 1996, Jel Sert acquired the rights to Otter Pops as well. During the 2000s, Jel Sert modified the Otter Pops recipe to add more fruit juice.
The company's manufacturing facilities are in West Chicago, Illinois. Otter Pops come in 1-, 1.5-, 2- and 5.5-ounce serving sizes. They also come in 10 flavors, each named after a different character:
  • Blue : Louie-Bloo Raspberry
  • Red : Strawberry Short Kook
  • Pink : Poncho Punch
  • Yellow : Rip Van Lemon
  • Green : Sir Isaac Lime
  • Purple : Alexander the Grape
  • Orange : Little Orphan Orange
  • Gold : Major Mango
  • Yellow DJ Tropicool
  • White Cosmic Coconut
  • Cyan Anita Fruit Punch
  • Red Scarlett O'Cherry

Sir Isaac Lime protest

In 1995, National Pax had planned to replace the "Sir Isaac Lime" flavor with "Scarlett O'Cherry". A fourth-grade student in Costa Mesa, California learned of the change on the company's World Wide Web site, and organized a petition and picket with his cousins against it; a Stanford professor wrote in support, calling it "Otter-cide". Told the change was final, the protest continued as planned, in the rain. The CEO relented, keeping it, despite it being the least popular flavour. The fourth-grader soon appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. An Internet fan site claims that National Pax packaged the cherry mix as strawberry.

Other uses

Over the generations, other uses of Otter Pops have been devised and shared in the US. They can be used as a colorful substitute for ice in a punch bowl or to flavor mixed drinks.