A familiar popsicle cart has returned to the Charlotte area. Here’s how to get a treat.
Are you craving something cold and sweet? Then you’re in luck because King of Pops has returned to the Charlotte area.
King of Pops laid off 50% of its workforce in 2020, resulting in carts leaving the Charlotte area. Shortly after, the Neighborhood Partners program was created, which allowed people in the community to buy popsicles at wholesale prices and sell them in their neighborhoods.
In 2021, the Neighborhood Partners program ended and “cartrepreneurs” — franchise owners — began selling popsicles in their territories. Carts have now returned to the area, but they are not regularly in Charlotte. (Read more to learn how you can get your hands on some popsicles.)
Samantha and Chris Mwangi became franchise owners in May 2022. They own the Huntersville territory and also serve Cornelius and Davidson. They run the cart with the help of their 7-year-old daughter, Nia, and 4-year-old son, Levi.
Becoming a business owner
The couple bought the first King of Pops franchise in North Carolina. “[I] wanted to look for opportunities where we can bring our kids and show them how it is to run a business and kind of give them that behind-the-scenes look,” Samantha said.
Samantha learned about the popsicle company while she was working as a full-time accountant. There was a King of Pops cart in Uptown where she would either grab a popsicle on her lunch break or the company would buy some pops from the vendor and bring them into the office.
Samantha learned about the opportunity to become a franchise owner in March 2022. She had been looking for a business opportunity. “It kind of just fell on my lap,” she said. “So I’m so happy to do it.”
Unexpected Moments of Happiness
The popsicle company is big on creating Unexpected Moments of Happiness — or “UMOHs — which usually include giving out free popsicles. “It is something that we really take seriously and we try to do it as much as we can,” Samantha said.
Sometimes a business will book a cart to distribute popsicles to employees. “Sometimes they can be partnering with, for instance, a fire station to give out pops to the firefighters,” she said.
Samantha’s favorite UMOH’s are at schools where she hands out popsicles to students, teachers and staff. “I love to see the excitement and smiles,” she said.
Where to buy pops
Reading this article may be causing you to crave a sweet popsicle — sorry, not sorry.
Here’s how we can fix that:
If you’re going to a festival, birthday party or corporate event, you might just find the cart selling or handing out ice cold popsicles fresh out of the freezer. Recently, King of Pops attended the 2022 Charlotte Pride Festival to give out popsicles to attendees. “Everyone was just having a great time,” Samantha said. “It was just fantastic.”
If you aren’t attending these kinds of events, don’t worry because you can still get your hands on these tasty treats.
You can book the cart, which requires filling out a quick form about the location, time and purpose of the event. Popscicles are $4 each.
If you don’t need a cart, you can buy popsicles in bulk directly from the website. The popsicles come in packs of 12, or you can buy the Mixed Berry 4-pack.
The 12-packs come in various flavors like:
Strawberries ‘N Cream
Chocolate Sea Salt
Sweet Tea ‘N Lemonade
King of Pops
Location: multiple locations
Neighborhood: Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville
Cost: $48 for a 12-pack of popsicles, $7 for Mixed Berry 4-pack and $11 for King of Pups 4-pack
This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
