Latest news with #Austin-based
CNBC
14 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
In college, he spent $3,500 to launch a popsicle business—now it brings in $63 million a year
Daniel Goetz spent many late nights as a college senior cutting and blending fresh fruits, and freezing them into popsicles to sell to parched customers near the University of Texas at Austin. The advertising major fell in love with Mexican ice pops, called paletas, while visiting Mexico City with his college girlfriend. Inspired, Goetz started mocking up potential brand names and doodling logos during a class in 2009. He landed on the name "GoodPop." Today, the Austin-based organic popsicle and ice cream bar company's frozen desserts are sold in more than 10,000 locations across the U.S., including Costco, Walmart and Whole Foods Market. GoodPop brought in more than $63 million in gross sales in 2024, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. It's never taken external funding, says Goetz. GoodPop has been profitable nearly every year since its launch, with 2024 as an exception. It likely won't be profitable in 2025 either, following the winding down of an unpopular product line, but is projected to return to profitability in 2026, says a company still the company's CEO, built GoodPop with extremely little experience or industry expertise. He "knew nothing" about supply chains or the consumer packaged goods market, he says, and spent years "driving a lot ... running around all over Texas, making deliveries." He spent his first four years after graduation sleeping "rent-free" on friends' couches around Austin so he could save money while trying to build GoodPop, he says. He cut fruit and froze 80 popsicles per hour, by hand, in a local paleteria that let him use its kitchen after hours. "I just knew that we had this delicious pop with lower sugar, real fruit, and there was nothing like it on the market," says Goetz, 38, adding: "Any opportunity that I could to put these products in front of Austinites, to introduce them and to see if we were on to something, I did." Goetz's family has a history of entrepreneurship: His great-grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Russia over a century ago and "sold consigned ice out of a pushcart," he says. That great-grandfather then founded a grocery supply business in Houston in 1923, which grew into an operation with multibillion-dollar annual revenue by the time Goetz's family sold their interest in 2014. "I'm so fortunate to grow up in a family of entrepreneurs. But, at the same time, I knew that I needed to make my own mark on this world and do it on my own," says Goetz. With GoodPop, he spent $3,500 — money he'd saved from a lawn-mowing business he started in middle school — on signage, a pushcart of his own and produce to make and sell his first popsicles. He sold them for $2 apiece at local music festivals and farmer's markets, bought more ingredients with his proceeds, and spent three weeks making 18,000 popsicles to sell at the annual Austin City Limits music festival in October 2009, he says. Then, rain turned the festival into a "mud fest," he says. "It [was] a cold, sloppy mess ... and out of those 18,000 pops, we sold four. I thought that this was going to kickstart [the business] and change everything, and we were left with 17,996 pops that I had to figure out what to do with and [almost] no money." Goetz rushed the popsicles to a cold storage facility, paid $50 per month to store them and returned to school "dejected," he says. A few months later, he cut his losses and handed them out for free at Austin's annual SXSW festival. After graduating college, Goetz couldn't shake the GoodPop idea, he says. But the only remaining piece of the company was its website — so Goetz put his marketing skills to work, maximizing the site's search engine optimization (SEO). Soon, "when you searched for organic frozen pops or organic popsicles, because none existed at that time, GoodPop was actually the No. 1 result," he says. A week later, a marketing agency called Manifold asked GoodPop for a price quote for 50,000 organic popsicles with custom packaging. Goetz put in a bid and won it: Manifold paid him $80,000 for the job, giving him half the money up front to cover his production costs. "I hand-stamped every single pop stick," says Goetz. The second half of the payment was pure profit for Goetz, putting GoodPop back in business. Luck similarly gave GoodPop its first major retail partner: Goetz's roommate played recreational soccer with a Whole Foods employee, who put him in touch with a representative from the grocery chain's Southwest regional office. Goetz brought some samples and got the representative's approval to pitch buyers at individual Whole Foods stores. As he won buyers over — building relationships and shaking hands, he says — he spent four years sleeping on friends' couches, staying up late to make popsicles and getting up early to deliver them to Whole Foods locations and other, smaller grocery stores by 6 a.m. "I put 212,000 miles on my Toyota, running around all over Texas, making deliveries for years," says Goetz, adding that the hands-on dedication often left him "completely exhausted." By 2014, GoodPop's products sold well enough for Whole Foods to take over distribution for the Southwest and Rocky Mountain regions, meaning Goetz no longer had to make the deliveries himself. That year, GoodPop brought in $1.3 million in gross sales, the company says. In 2017, Whole Foods expanded GoodPop to national distribution. The brand got into Walmart and Costco the following year. The U.S. popsicle market was worth more than $1.3 billion in 2024, according to an estimate from Cognitive Market Research. That makes GoodPop a small player in a market dominated by packaged goods giants: Unilever, the world's largest ice cream producer, brought in more than $9.5 billion in 2024 revenue from frozen dessert brands like Magnum, Ben & Jerry's and the original Popsicle. Even among plant-based, real-fruit frozen desserts, GoodPop competes with brands like Outshine, owned by a joint venture between Nestlé and French private equity firm PAI Partners, and New York-based Chloe's, which sells low-sugar fruit pops in more than 10,000 stores nationwide, including Walmart and Wegman's. They all face a tough road convincing more Americans to buy lower-sugar desserts. In January, GoodPop wound down a line of low-sugar beverages — which mixed fruit juice with sparkling water — after customers said their kids didn't think the drinks were sweet enough. "We were not willing to compromise on any added sugar or any additional sweeteners," says Goetz, adding: "We have some tough times ahead, as far as continuing to reset those taste buds. But it's a worthwhile cause." Ultimately, Goetz's goal from college remains roughly the same: get GoodPop's desserts into as many new hands as possible. In February, the company landed a licensing deal with The Walt Disney Company, adding "Star Wars" and Mickey Mouse-themed products to GoodPop's offerings — a new strategy for the company to catch shoppers' attention. "The future looks like doubling down on what makes our products great," Goetz says.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Forget Likes, Finance Cares about Results, Says GroundTruth In First Brand Campaign
Punchy campaign comes from the marketer who made Wendy's famous for social clapbacks NEW YORK, June 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a world where marketers are too often cornered into presenting meaningless vanity metrics to skeptical finance teams, GroundTruth is shifting the narrative. With the help of Austin-based creative agency Bandolier Media, GroundTruth has launched "Real Business Results," a sharp, no-nonsense campaign that ditches likes, shares, and impressions in favor of what actually matters like foot traffic, sales lift, and market share. GroundTruth's platform is built around real-world consumer behavior, using location and purchase data to deliver media campaigns that connect digital ads to real business outcomes. But even with those capabilities, the company saw a disconnect between what marketers often measure and what drives boardroom decisions. That's where Bandolier Media came in. Comedy With a Finance POV To bring this concept to life, Bandolier cast actor Oscar Nuñez, best known for his role as the sardonic accountant on The Office, as the face of reason in a series of humorous spots. The campaign's five creative executions—"Likes," "Equation," "Impressions," "Budget," and "Like-Liker"—feature Nuñez in mock Zoom calls or meetings where he hilariously dismantles the flawed logic of marketing teams still clinging to vanity metrics. "Oscar delivers the message marketers need to hear: CFOs don't care about likes," said Brandon Rhoten, CMO at GroundTruth. "In billions of dollars of media spend, I've never had a finance team ask about engagement. They want results tied to revenue, not retweets." Rhoten rose to prominence as the architect of Wendy's trailblazing digital and social strategy, where he transformed the fast-food chain into a cultural icon known for its razor-sharp social clapbacks and fearless online voice. But even for a marketer fluent in social, Rhoten's message now is crystal clear: likes don't pay the bills, results do. Creative Built for Conversion, Not Clapbacks The campaign runs across LinkedIn, YouTube, digital out-of-home, streaming audio, and programmatic mobile, targeting agency and brand-side media buyers who are increasingly under pressure to tie spend to impact. It's B2B marketing that dials up the relatability while driving home a serious point: if your media doesn't move the needle, it's just noise. "Too much of B2B creative still assumes humor or emotion is off-limits. Not here," said George Ellis, Creative Director at Bandolier. "We built this campaign to feel like something marketers would actually want to watch, and, most importantly, act on." A Brand Platform That Lives Its Promise GroundTruth isn't just selling smarter media with built-in measurement, they're living it. With observed real-world behavior as their core differentiator, this campaign is a meta-demonstration of their value proposition. Every spot is a rejection of marketing vanity metrics, and a push toward media accountability. The launch marks another milestone for Bandolier, named one of Ad Age's Small Agencies of the Year for three consecutive years. Their work spans major national brands and homegrown DTC efforts alike, always with a sharp creative edge and a refusal to settle for bland. About GroundTruthGroundTruth is an advertising platform that drives in-store visits and other real business results. Using observed real-world consumer behavior, including location and purchase data, GroundTruth creates targeted advertising campaigns across all screens for advertisers. GroundTruth then measures how consumers respond to the campaigns, including if they physically show up to a store location or website, to understand the real business results generated by a brand's advertising. Learn more at About Bandolier MediaAn established Austin-based creative agency, Bandolier has been recognized three years in a row by Ad Age as a Small Agency Of The Year. Current and previous clients include national names like TikTok (also a B2B client), Scotts Lawn Care, Tito's Vodka, Duck Tape and Honeywell, plus local clients in the CPG space. The agency is also known for creating their own social media properties such as The Unemployed Wine Guy (600k followers), and the team also created and run Roasty Buds Coffee, a growing brand with $1M in revenue over the past two years. Links to Ads: EquationImpressionsLike LikerLikes Budget Images: Oscar Meme AdOscar #1Oscar #2GroundTruth Logo CreditsClient: GroundTruthBrandon Rhoten, CMO Agency: Bandolier MediaGeorge Ellis, CDLouis Montemayor, CDDaniel Stone, Account DirectorTrishia Daniel, Project ManagerNick Robalik, CD Production: The BearDirector: Berndt MaderEditor: Angie DominguezExec Producer: Elizabeth Spiva DP: Lee Phelan Media Contact:Ander View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE GroundTruth
Axios
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Axios
Dallas Pride events coming up in June
Grab your fans, don your brightest colors, and head to Fair Park for this year's Pride celebration. The big picture: Some major corporations nationwide have pulled sponsorships of LGBTQ+ events as the Trump administration isn't recognizing Pride Month. But Dallas Pride still has major sponsors, including Fort Worth-based American Airlines, Austin-based Match and Seattle-based Amazon and Starbucks. Driving the news: Dallas Pride's theme this year is "Pride is My Right" to recognize challenges to LGBTQ+ rights. The event includes a festival Saturday and a parade Sunday. The festival features musical performances, vendors and drag shows. If you go: Dallas Pride festivities take place at Fair Park, 3809 Grand Ave. Parking is $10. The DART Green Line stops in front of the park. Saturday: The festival runs 11am-8pm at the Automobile Building. Tickets are $10 for people 13 and older, free for kids under 12. Online tickets are $14. Sunday: Festival vendors are open 11am-2pm. The parade starts at 2pm. Free. Other pride events 🏳️ Arlington Pride is 6-11pm Saturday at Levitt Pavilion. Though free, registration is recommended. The event includes performances by RuPaul's Drag Race queens and a DJ set by Trixie Mattel. 🎨 The Dallas Arts District Pride Block Party runs 6pm-midnight June 20. There will be free outdoor performances at the Community Stage, and the Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center and Crow Museum of Asian Art will be open late. 🎻 Pride Night with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will begin at 8pm June 20 at the Meyerson Symphony Center.
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Texas Longhorns look to capitalize on star-studded recruiting weekend
Texas Longhorns look to capitalize on star-studded recruiting weekend The Texas Longhorns and coach Steve Sarkisian hosted a weekend of huge official visits. This was the second of three weekends in June for official visits and Texas just hosted one of the most star-studded in the nation. recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman has the intel on several of the prospects that were on the 40 Acres in the past few days, including some predictions. Spiegelman predicts five-star OT Felix Ojo (Mansfield, TX) will commit to Texas. Last week, Ojo cancelled an official visit to Oklahoma before heading to Austin for the UT OV. "There is a sense that Texas closed strong on this official visit and left a big enough impression on the elite OT ahead of his July commitment," Spiegelman said. "There is a strong sense that Ojo wont leave the state to play college football." The Austin-based recruiting expert also projects five-star LB Xavier Griffin (Gainesville, GA) will end up a Longhorn too. "It's down to Texas and Alabama with a June 26 commitment on the horizon," Spiegelman said. "No team has come on stronger with the four-star EDGE than the Longhorns. There's a sense Texas made another step forward with Griffin and his mother back in Austin this weekend." Another elite prospect in Austin this weekend was four-star DB Samari Matthews (Cornelius, NC), who was on campus for the second time. "My experience in Austin was amazing -- from the staff and players to the energy of the city itself," Matthews told Rivals. "What excites me most about the chance to play for Coach Sark is knowing he pushes his players to be their best in every way -- both on and off the field. At Texas, I know I'll be challenged to grow into the best version of myself, which aligns with the goals I've set for my future." Texas' main competition for Matthews is South Carolina. "The opportunity to learn from Coach Orphey and Coach (Duane) Akina ... I got to do some board work with both of them and let's just say we had a time. That experience made the idea of becoming a Longhorn even more exciting," Matthews said. "I'm feeling really good. I got a good look at the vision they see for me. My comfort with Coach Sark and Coach O is high. Those are my guys. Austin is nice city for sure." Spiegelman says he's close to calling it for the Longhorns. Four-star OT Zaden Krempin (Prosper, TX) is emerging as a Texas lean. He tells Rivals UT is rising to the top of his list. "I'm a perfect fit here," Krempin said. "Texas is only doing 45 official visits. They told us how they only wanted to bring guys that fit their program." LSU and Texas A&M both made a good impression on the North Texas prospect, but the Longhorns knocked it out of the park with Krempin over the weekend. "It was incredible, he said. "Texas has something special happening here. You can just feel it. I got to see a detailed plan for me from the strength and development piece to the OL room. Overall, it was awesome from the moment we got here. It was a good time. Austin is a cool place." Four-star LB Brayden Rouse (Marietta, GA) was also in town this weekend. Spiegelman says Texas is trending with the blue-chip. "They did a great job making me a priority for them and showing that," Rouse said. "Texas impressed me." Texas is battling Tennessee of Rouse. "The visit was great," he said. "It was good for me to get my family on campus and see what the school has to offer. I was impressed on their presentation on how they see me fitting in their scheme and program. I also had a great time spending time with the coaches and continuing to strengthen those relationships ... Texas has always been a school I could potentially see myself going to." Four-star DL Bryce Perry-Wright (Buford, GA) was on the 40 Acres for the sixth time this weekend. He says Texas is at the top of his list with Texas A&M and Clemson. "The overall visit was great," the Georgia native said. "I really felt like I could see myself fitting in at Texas — not just as a player, but as a person. There was a strong sense of belonging being on campus this weekend. The energy was good and I could honestly picture myself there." Perry-Wright tells Rivals he's very comfortable with the coaches, the city of Austin and principles of the Texas program. "It's a system I feel like I'd thrive in," he continued. "Bonding with the players and coaches, and just being around everybody again was a real highlight. The city itself and the atmosphere around Austin are special and the overall vibe from the people I was around this weekend made a strong impression. They showed real belief in me and my ability to make an impact early. That meant a lot. The coaches made me feel welcomed, valued and like they truly want me to be a part of what they're building." Follow us on X/Twitter at @LonghornsWire.
Axios
4 days ago
- General
- Axios
East Austin high school wins national design award
An east Austin high school has won a prestigious national design award. Why it matters: The design of Eastside Early College High School is meant to reflect the complicated legacy of desegregation while also providing a state-of-the-art learning environment. Catch up quick: The high school cost roughly $80 million, with money coming from a 2017 Austin ISD bond. It's on the site of the old L.C. Anderson High School. Anderson served as Austin's only Black high school for more than 80 years until it was closed in 1971 during desegregation. Driving the news: Earlier this month, the project, by Austin-based architecture firm Perkins and Will, won an education facility design award from the American Institute of Architects for its sustainable, resilient and inclusive design. How it works: The design team reconstructed brick-by-brick parts of the old building, which had to be torn down, while expanding it into a 4-story, 173,000-square-foot school that overlooks the Austin skyline. What they're saying: Members of the Perkins and Will team met with Anderson alumni as they put together the design. The shutting down of the old Anderson school "tore apart friendships, shut down Friday night lights and morning doughnut parties and cut off students from favorite teachers," Angela Whitaker-Williams, the project's managing principal at Perkins and Will, tells Axios. The challenge was "how do we reflect on the history and propel it into the future," she says. Zoom in: The team recreated the brick entrance facade, but built classroom space that would be "very flexible, collaborative and high-tech," Whitaker-Williams said. "The building's base incorporates the original Anderson High School's brick and midcentury modern lines, honoring the deep African American history of the site," reads a project description from the design firm. "Rising from this foundation, the new campus symbolizes the perseverance of a community whose school was closed by federal court order."
