Latest news with #Austinites
CNBC
15 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.
Time Business News
2 days ago
- Business
- Time Business News
Moving to Austin? Here's Your Newcomer Checklist
If you're planning a move to Austin, Texas — welcome! With its creative culture, booming tech scene, and unique blend of urban living and outdoor spaces, Austin continues to attract thousands of new residents each year. Whether you're relocating from another part of Texas or coming from across the country with professional long distance movers, moving to a new city can be exciting, but also overwhelming. To make your transition smoother, we've put together this comprehensive newcomer checklist tailored specifically for future Austinites. From housing tips to must-have utilities, here's everything you need to settle in and start thriving in your new hometown. Austin is a city of diverse neighborhoods, each with its own vibe, price range, and commute options. Before signing a lease or making an offer on a home, do your homework on the areas that match your lifestyle and budget. Downtown: High-rise living, walkability, great nightlife – but expect high rent. South Congress (SoCo): Trendy, artistic, close to action. Mueller: A planned community with family-friendly parks and modern homes. North Austin: Suburban, tech-heavy, more affordable. East Austin: Culturally vibrant, up-and-coming with a mix of new development and historic charm. If you're moving from out of state, professional long distance movers can be a game-changer in getting your belongings safely into the city. Companies like Riverhills Moving, known for their efficiency and local knowledge, can also help you navigate Austin's traffic and narrow downtown streets. Austin's housing market has been extremely competitive in recent years, especially during peak moving seasons like spring and summer. If you're buying, be prepared to make fast decisions — homes often go under contract within days. If you're renting, you'll also need to move quickly, particularly in sought-after neighborhoods. Use local real estate platforms like or Austin Home Search. Work with a local agent who understands the rental/buying cycle in your target neighborhood. Have financial documents ready (proof of income, credit report, deposit funds). Once you've arrived, you'll need to establish residency in Texas — which includes updating your address and obtaining a Texas driver's license. Here's your post-move checklist: File a change of address at Update your address with banks, insurance, and online subscriptions. Apply for a Texas driver's license at the DMV within 90 days. Register your vehicle in Texas and update your car insurance. This process may take a few weeks, so be proactive, especially if you need proof of residence for work or school enrollment. To avoid any interruptions on move-in day, you'll want to set up your utilities ahead of time. Unlike some states, Texas has a deregulated electricity market, meaning you can choose your electricity provider. Electricity: Use comparison sites like Water/Sewer: Handled by the City of Austin Utilities. Internet/TV: AT&T, Spectrum, and Google Fiber are the top providers. Trash/Recycling: Included in City of Austin services for most residents. If you're using Riverhills Moving, ask their team about utility setup timelines—they often have resources for newcomers to stay ahead of common move-in issues. Austin is known for congested traffic, especially during peak hours. If your job requires commuting, be strategic about where you live in relation to your workplace. Luckily, there are options: Capital Metro (CapMetro) offers affordable public bus routes and a commuter rail (MetroRail). Biking is common downtown thanks to wide bike lanes and rental programs. Carpooling or working remotely is popular to reduce time on I-35 or Mopac Expressway. Many neighborhoods are walkable or bike-friendly, but long-distance commuters often need a car. If you're hiring professional long distance movers, coordinate delivery time outside of rush hours — traffic backups can delay move-ins by hours if poorly timed. Austin isn't just a city — it's a lifestyle. Known for its live music, food trucks, and quirky local businesses, you'll never run out of things to explore. Once you're settled in, dive into the city's culture: Attend ACL (Austin City Limits) or SXSW for music and arts. Visit Zilker Park, Lady Bird Lake, or Barton Springs for nature. Explore local breweries and coffee shops to meet neighbors. Joining a local group — whether it's a volunteer organization, parenting circle, or creative meet-up — helps newcomers feel at home quickly. Riverhills Moving often shares a newcomer's guide with its clients because staying connected is one of the best ways to thrive in Austin. The moving company you hire can make or break your relocation experience. If you're coming from out of state, be sure to work with professional long distance movers who are licensed, insured, and have a reputation for safe, efficient delivery. Local companies like Riverhills Moving are ideal because they combine interstate experience with local Austin knowledge—from navigating narrow driveways to understanding building regulations in high-rise apartments. Are they FMCSA-licensed for interstate moves? Do they offer packing/unpacking or storage services? Is insurance included or optional? Can they provide a written estimate with no hidden fees? Booking early and choosing a reliable partner ensures a less stressful transition into your new life in Austin. Relocating to Austin is an exciting decision — but it's also a big life transition that deserves careful planning. From choosing the right neighborhood and setting up utilities to hiring professional long distance movers or working with local pros like Riverhills Moving, your success depends on having the right information at your fingertips. With this newcomer checklist in hand, you'll be well on your way to planting roots in one of the most dynamic and fast-growing cities in the country. Austin may be weird (in the best way), but once you settle in, you'll quickly find that it's one of the best places to live, work, and explore — Texas-style. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Eater
3 days ago
- Business
- Eater
Most Exciting Austin Restaurant Openings, Summer 2025
Summer is historically a bit slow in the restaurant world — Austinites are off elsewhere for vacation, and tourists aren't exactly flocking to experience the Texas summers. So, while it's a great time to visit hard-to-reserve spots, new restaurant openings slow down. Still, there is excitement on the horizon. A new Southeast Asian restaurant is coming to an East Austin hotel, featuring Singaporean chili crab and other authentic street food. The sisters behind a beloved taco spot are opening a new mezcal bar with snacks. And downtown is getting another fancy steakhouse from the team behind Red Ash. Seafood spot Fish Shop, which was announced earlier this year, has experienced some delays but is expected to open this summer. Here are the most exciting restaurant openings of summer 2025. Location: in the Frances Modern Inn at 1123 E 11th Street Projected opening date: July 2025 Chef Laila Bazahm will open Southeast Asian restaurant Siti (the Malaysian word for woman) to take over the former Poeta space at the Frances Modern Inn. Bazahm, who is of Brazilian and Filipino descent, also owns Spanish Restaurant El Raval on South Lamar and has a colorful culinary career that includes serving as executive chef at Eberly and owning restaurants in Barcelona, Houston, and Ibiza. Siti will offer dishes she craved during her time living in Asia, such as Singaporean chili crab, beef rendang (previously a signature dish at her restaurant in Barcelona), and a raw bar. The space will add a climate-controlled patio where Bazahm will grow herbs for her dishes. Location: 1905 Aldrich St. Key player: Reyna Vazquez, Maritza Vazquez Projected opening date: mid-July 2025 The sisters behind Veracruz All Natural taco trucks are opening a mezcalería, La Mezca, in Mueller next to Veracruz Fonda and Bar, their restaurant that earned a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide. The mezcalería will feature over 20 mezcals and agave spirits from small family producers across Oaxaca, Guerrero, Durango, and San Luis Potosí. The bar team, led by Sebastian Cajas and Bryan Ruiz, will offer cocktails and guided tastings. There will also be snacks, including street tacos like carnitas de hongos (mushroom carnitas), barbacoa, and citrusy fish. Location: 200 West 6th St. Projected opening date: Early Summer 2025 The group behind Italian restaurant Red Ash and steakhouse J. Carver's is opening another downtown restaurant centered around a wood-burning grill. The Kimberley in Downtown Austin will be a fine-dining spot serving dry-aged steaks, seafood flown in daily, and pastas made in-house. There will be a full bar with martinis and a wine room that holds over 1,000 bottles. Location: 1401 East 6th Street Key players: Justin Huffman and Nicole Rossi of Justine's and Le Beef Projected opening date: July 2025 The team behind the burger pop-up Le Beef is opening Fish Shop, an East Austin seafood restaurant featuring a well-stocked raw bar. Expect specialty seafood, such as spiny lobsters, raw clams, and Dungeness crab, along with martinis and other classic cocktails, wine on tap, and Champagne. Don't worry — that super-juicy burger is on the menu, too. See More: Austin Restaurant News Austin Restaurant Openings
Axios
7 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Best Austin day ever with Andy Roddick Foundation CEO
With summer's start, things have heated up with the Austin-based Andy Roddick Foundation and its CEO, Jaime Garcia. Why it matters: The foundation tries to address the opportunity gap by running after-school and summer camps for kids in poorer communities around Austin. "Those that can fund it are giving their kids more and more experiences, and those that can't are just falling behind during the summer, and they're having to relearn their math and reading all over again," Garcia tells Axios. By the numbers: Last year, 220 children from Harris, Hart and Pecan Springs elementary schools — in East and Northeast Austin — attended the foundation summer camps. The chief aim of the camps is to keep up and improve academic skills with 6-to-1 student-to-teacher ratios. "That's like a private school experience," she says, noting outings to museums and spelunking activities at caves. "The two biggest barriers for any child attending after-school and summer care are cost and access." Threat level: President Trump's proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 would zero out funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers, the only federal funding stream dedicated to afterschool and summer programs, per the Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for access to afterschool programs. As part of our running feature asking Austinites about their best day ever, we met up with Garcia to talk about her ideal day. Garcia grew up in Houston and came to Austin to attend the University of Texas, where she majored in biology before getting a master's degree in business at Texas State. She and her husband have raised two daughters in southwest Austin. This interview has been edited for clarity. How does your ideal day begin? "I love meeting our foundation partners at Mozart's and ask how I can support them. Or I go for one-on-ones around the lake, where I find peace and where I love to run — I've run four marathons." What's next? "I'm probably hosting a summer tour — it's important for corporations to come through and see the work that's being done. Closing that learning gap means working together. They might see a teacher working on a STEM project with kids. Or how we bring in roller skates and entire kits — how it's tough at first, but how they get the hang of it by week two." What are you doing for lunch? "I might meet at the Grove with a supporter of the foundation. They make a great kale salad." You're meeting with families, too? "I love the foundation's family nights — we'll serve pizza to the kids and their families at one of the schools, and they can do something like create art together. And we always have middle schoolers and high schoolers who have been through the program who rush in — they love helping out." And what about you and your family? "We try to get dinner together. If we're going out, we love Cabo Bob's." "I grew up in a family where my mom made tortillas every single day of my life. We didn't even use forks because we used tortillas to eat our food. So I'm very picky going into a restaurant — if it's store-bought, it doesn't work for me. Hence Cabo Bob's — they've got homemade tortillas — and they're fun, too."
Eater
12-06-2025
- Business
- Eater
Austin's Food Truck Scene Is Getting Hotter
Austin's intrepid food trucks punch far above their weight class, and they've long found a receptive audience in the city's uniquely offbeat food landscape. Since food trucks took off in popularity in the city in the mid-2000s, and even decades before the 'chaos cooking' trend became part of the cultural lexicon, the most successful mobile restaurants in Austin offered new, often funky, takes on diasporic cuisines. Think: Asian Southern fusion at the Peached Tortilla, Korean fusion truck-turned-chain Chi'Lantro, and of course, Torchy's Tacos. Today, Austin's most popular food trucks continue to sling tantalizing twists on cuisines and dishes that keep Austinites coming back again and again to line up in 100-degree weather. This should come as no surprise in a state that essentially invented the food truck with the chuck wagon, horse-drawn carriages from the late 1800s that fed Texan cowboys salted meat, baked beans, and biscuits as they worked. Austin's food truck scene, which entered its modern form in the 1990s, isn't quite as large as in some other cities — even after the number of food trucks surged from 648 in 2006 to more than 1,500 in 2024, that still pales in comparison to, say, Los Angeles, which is home to over 4,000). Nonetheless, Austin's inventive, nonconformist food trucks have firmly cemented themselves in the city's culture. Today, many stand alongside many of the city's best brick-and-mortar restaurants. (Michelin seems to think so, too.) Even with all that success, the food truck scene is only heating up and continuing to evolve, pushing further beyond straightforward tacos and barbecue. For some food truck owners, many of whom are immigrants or transplants, trucks have been a successful way to introduce takes on their respective cuisines to the Capitol City, often without the higher labor costs and razor-thin profit margins that come with opening a standalone restaurant. The result: Diverse menus, bold experiments, and profoundly personal food stories told in food trucks across Austin. KG BBQ pitmaster Kareem El-Ghayesh, a native of Cairo, Egypt, first came to Austin in 2012 and fell in love with the flavors and techniques of Texan barbecue. When he returned to Egypt, El-Ghayesh tried his hand at replicating what he ate in Texas, even though it was difficult — if not impossible — to source the cuts of meat, wood, and smokers. El-Ghayesh became so entranced that he left his career in finance to move to Austin in 2016, where he enrolled in Austin Community College's culinary school. There, he worked under the tutelage of several different chefs and pitmasters of local barbecue joints, including Miguel and Modesty Vidal of the now-closed Valentina's, which initially opened as a food truck. In 2017, he used his experience to host a series of pop-ups serving classic takes on Central Texas barbecue. Finally, in 2022, he launched KG BBQ as a full-fledged food truck in East Austin — a decision he says was a logistical nightmare, but a much more manageable financial risk than a brick-and-mortar. 'A food truck is a lot cheaper, a lot more profitable, and more approachable. I've had a lot of experience working in barbecue food trucks, so it just made sense,' El-Ghayesh says. Though his pop-ups focused on traditional barbecue, El-Ghayesh says he quickly realized he wanted to infuse it with Egyptian flavors, inspired partly by Valentina's approach to incorporating Tex-Mex ingredients and dishes into its barbecue. Today, KG BBQ serves a variety of Egyptian-Texan barbecue dishes, including its diner-favorite pork ribs that are first dry-rubbed with Egyptian spices and later slathered with pomegranate barbecue sauce. Egyptian flavors show up in the sides, too, like El-Ghayesh's pink buttermilk potato salad, which uses roasted beet puree, and KG's Mediterranean rice, which is spiced with turmeric, bay leaf, and cinnamon. El-Ghayesh's fusion-forward approach has earned him a devoted following and awards, including Eater's Best New Food Truck Award in 2023 and a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2024. 'No one really anticipated that, including myself,' El-Ghayesh says of the truck's success, but he attributes it to KG's novel combinations of Egyptian cuisine and barbecue — an entirely new flavor for Austin. 'How well the flavors go together, and also how much effort and love went into this, I think those are the two main ingredients to my success.' While trucks like KG BBQ captivate diners with Texas-born fusions that pay homage to the chefs' culture, others earn loyalty by preserving food traditions. Run by the Bigi family, Italian natives who split their time between Austin and their home city of Mantua, in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy, Artipasta serves the types of exact, traditional Italian dishes that you don't often see coming out of a truck. The operation, parked at South Austin's Thicket Food Park, eschews Alfredo or meatballs for specialties like bechamel-laden lasagna, spaghetti with clams, and gnocchi with tomato sauce. Ugo Bigi, the family patriarch, originally got his start in the automotive industry. However, he tapped into his passion for cooking after his honeymoon in the U.S. revealed what he saw as a dearth of traditional Italian restaurants. Years later, the family decided to fill that gap. 'What we wanted to bring here was traditional, typical Italian food from our area … and to make those flavors as best we could and make people from here in Austin taste it,' says Matteo Bigi, Ugo's son. 'The dream is to eventually spread out this type of cuisine to more people.' Chef Marlon Rison, co-owner of Community Vegan, was living in Dallas when he decided to open his vegan comfort food truck, but the city's 'meat and potato' food culture didn't feel like a great fit. Austin's, however, where his partner was living at the time, did. 'I knew if we had food that tasted good, [Austinites] would show up, regardless if it was vegan or not, and that's exactly what happened for us,' he says. Locals quickly fell in love with Rison's heavy use of cauliflower, mushrooms, and onions to mimic the umami, savory taste of meat, and his takes on comfort food that yield fried oyster mushroom lemon pepper 'wings,' beer-battered cauliflower 'chicken' sandwiches, and macaroni and 'cheese.' Rison doesn't have a formal culinary education — he learned how to cook as a child from hanging out in the kitchen with his mother. After transitioning to a vegan lifestyle as an adult, he gained a following online by posting photos of his home-cooked meals on Instagram, incorporating the teachings of his mother and celebrity vegan chefs Babette Davis and Chad and Derek Sarno. 'All the concepts that my mom taught me are exactly what I'm incorporating into the kitchen,' Rison says. 'For instance, I cook my fried oyster mushrooms exactly the way my mom fried chicken growing up. The way we do mac and cheese is exactly the way [my partner] Erica's mother and grandmother did mac and cheese. It just all happens to be plant-based.' While Austin's vibrant food truck culture makes it ideal for newer business owners to open up shop here, Texas's often unpredictable weather — from severe snowstorms to crushing heat waves — proves to be a significant, even dangerous, obstacle. Food truck teams and solo operators work in what are essentially lightly upgraded metal boxes with fryers and stoves running full blast: Temperatures inside a food truck can reach 10 to 20 degrees hotter than outside and, during triple-digit days, many trucks lose business or even shut down, according to Community Impact. 'No matter how hard the AC fans or everything's blowing, it's pretty intense conditions,' says Rison, who works out of a vintage 1973 Winnebago Chieftain. 'It's not as comfortable as it could be in a brick-and-mortar.' David Florez, owner of Ceviche7, a pint-sized Peruvian food truck just north of the University of Texas campus, says the climate is especially difficult when trying to prepare dishes — like the cevicheria's popular, lip-puckering ceviche de pescado — that require fresh, raw ingredients. Florez won't remove his fish from the freezer until a customer has ordered, which means preparation takes longer. 'In a regular kitchen, you've got a walk-in storage that you can do preparation … and that is very comfortable,' Florez says. 'But right here, I've got demand like a very, very busy restaurant, but I don't have [that accessibility or space].' Those conditions have pushed some food truck owners toward the dream of opening a permanent restaurant. After three years as a mobile business, Artipasta opened its first standalone restaurant in 2022. Rison is saying goodbye to his truck entirely. This summer, he'll replace Community Vegan with three new businesses: a brick-and-mortar version of Community Vegan; Rison and Lott's, a 100 percent vegan smokehouse upstairs; and a lemonade stand in the same property's old smokehouse. Though rewarding, the transition from truck to a standalone restaurant hasn't been easy, Rison says. Expenses have been twice as high as he expected, and the building he's operating out of needed a lot of work — he's had to redo the floors, walls, seating, air conditioning, and even the parking lot. But others are sticking with their trucks for now. El-Ghayesh plans to expand to a second truck in Houston, then, ideally, to a permanent barbecue smokehouse by 2027. 'I've had many, many moments that I remember working 12-hour shifts and going back home after midnight, going to shower and putting my head on the pillow and just thinking, 'What the hell did I do to myself?'' El-Ghayesh says, but adds that he has few regrets. 'I'm so glad I kept pushing through those darker times when I really had nothing else other than the belief in myself. There's going to be a payoff later.' See More: Austin Food Trucks Dining Out in Austin
