Alcoholic ice pop brand aims to ‘break whiskey stereotype’

Wavey Ice has said it is “breaking the stereotype of whiskey being a sophisticated flavour” by launching a new Irish whiskey ice pop.

The new 6.25% ABV ‘Twisted Tropical & Whiskey’ flavour ice pop is being positioned as the “perfect this adult summer treat” and muddles “tropical fruits like mango, orange, pineapple, and passionfruit” with “the smoky notes of whiskey”.

Speaking to the drinks business, Wavey Ice Inc head of marketing Alex Alderdice said that to create the new flavour Wavey uses “a white labelled Irish whiskey” and pointed out that the creation is “a trendy way to enjoy whiskey by blending it with fruity tropical flavours”.

Last year, Wavey Ice, based in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, crowdfunded to meet its £600,000 target which ran until September 2023 when its crowdfunding campaign came to an end.

The alcoholic ice pop brand was launched in 2014 in London. In 2022 it was acquired by Aaron Gibson, investor and startup entrepreneur, and is now run by managing director and head of production Laura Davis alongside a team of four.

The frozen cocktail brand has launched its campaign through equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs, with funds raised to grow both in the UK and internationally.

Wavey Inc managing director Laura Davis said: “We’ve always aimed to bring playful nostalgia with a boozy twist to our customers’ favourite summer treats. With our Twisted Tropical & Whiskey Ice Pop, we’ve achieved just that – a refreshingly cold, adult-focused treat that embodies summer.”

To make sure the Wavey ice pops appeal only to adults and not children or anyone below legal drinking age, Alderdice told db: “We currently stock singles in freezes located in restricted alcohol areas within stores (Northern Ireland, Scotland), and utilise PoS to show they are alcohol products. We also have ambient retail boxes which can be stocked on dry shelves in non-restricted alcohol areas, which customers can then freeze at home.”

Alderdice explained that for Wavey’s online orders, its delivery service operates “an ID check” to verify that each customer is of legal drinking age.

Wavey Ice, which titles itself as “the original UK alcoholic ice pop brand” has plotted its journey from “selling in local parks to shipping across the UK and Europe” and has said that it “continues to bring a boozy twist to your favourite childhood treats”.

Alderice told db that regarding “sales monitoring to 18 year olds” he hastened to point out “these are alcohol products they will come under the Think 25 policy and shops should have systems setup to flag it as a restricted product”.

Twisted Tropical & Whiskey becomes the sixth alcoholic flavour added to the range of five icepops and joins: Trippy Tropical Rum Punch, Easy Espresso Martini, Perky Pornstar Martini, Slutty Strawberry Daiquiri and OG Orange & Vodka. The portfolio also includes two non-alcoholic additions: Virgin Mango Pineapple Mojito and Virgin Sex on the Beach.

Currently, Wavey inc has confirmed that the ice pops will retail for £2.40 each.

Following the brand’s acquisition in 2022, it expanded its product range to include Sips, a grown-up version of Capri-suns, in addition to its ice pops. The brands hit the trend for pre-mixed RTDs while sales of canned cocktails have seen major growth over the past few years. Examples of this can be seen from the flavoured spirits sector’s projected success after it grew to a value of US$16.03 billion in 2021 and has been forecast to be valued at US$50.77 billion by 2029.