Booty Bass

brand soda, but you still get it in those original bottles,” Alger explains.

And based on the analysis of the pop that was still being filled in those original bottles (Alger paid a company to analyse what was being put in them for him), it was most certainly not any soda pop that Alger would bottle. “It was absolutely horrible. The flavor profile was terrible – it was like someone made it in their bathtub and bottled it from there. I could not believe how bad it was.”

‘Bootleg’ pop in old Pop Shoppe bottles is an issue that Alger figures he’ll deal with somewhere down the road since he now owns the U.S. trademarks for Pop Shoppe as well. Though it’s within his rights as trademark holder to restrain bottlers from packaging their sodas in those old reuseable Pop Shoppe glass stubbies, it’s also a costly issue to try to curb. “My focus is getting the brand back out in the market and out into as many stores as possible and then we’ll look at doing something about that later on. For me, it’s an issue, but not a priority right now.”

A Pop Shoppe Collector is Born:
Before he began his venture into the beverage world, Alger admits he wasn’t much of a soda pop collector. Once he knew what his plans were for the old brand, his attitude about collecting changed drastically and a Pop Shoppe memorabilia collector was born. “I just wanted to secure as much memorabilia dedicated to the Pop Shoppe as I could.”

Alger has bought nostalgic items like bottles, openers, signs, and even a replica Eddie Shack Pop Shoppe jersey as seen in many of the old ads for the soda pop.

Which begs the question: will there be a new spokesperson named for Pop Shoppe and would Alger ever consider trying to bring Shack, the original spokesman for the brand, back into the fold?

“We’ve had some conversations with the design team and there’s no doubt about it – he was a huge part of that at the time. It may be something we do down the road but nothing immediate,” Alger confesses. “But it is a consideration.”

For the most part, Alger says he has more of an in-store marketing philosophy for the brand with most advertising and promotion done with point-of-sale materials and in-store specials. “Let’s face it, people are coming in ready to buy something – a lot of people don’t have their mind made up specific to a brand or a flavor so if we work hard on the inside of the store P.O.S. material than I think we can really grab the attention of people and let them know that the brand is available there.”

For Alger, the big kick-off for 2005 will be at this year’s Canadian International Food & Beverage Show in Toronto where Pop Shoppe will be well-represented.

Taking the brand into the electronic age:
The website for Pop Shoppe has created new buzz among soda drinkers and collectors alike who remember the brand with fond memories. “Lately I’ve been getting e-mails and calls from people who have memorabilia and photos of Pop Shoppe – it’s absolutely fantastic to see these things. Some of the e-mails I get from people that are so excited to see the brand back in the market are great. They see that trademark and they get a flood of memories and emotions. They’ll see that logo and it’ll take them right back to a summer at the cottage or whatever. I think that’s unbelieveable that a trademark and a brand can hold that kind of equity for somebody.”

Chatting With the Original Founder of Pop Shoppe:
Someone who can certainly relate to Alger’s situation of starting up a beverage company from scratch would be Gary Shaw, one of the original founders of Pop Shoppe when it was still a young fledging start-up company in London.

Alger was thrilled to have the chance to chat with Shaw recently about Pop Shoppe’s early days.

“This was a man that started something and didn’t realize how big an impact it would have. He and his partners began with ,000 and it sky-rocketed from there. For them to have the vision to take it to where it was and to be able to identify the definite need in the marketplace for it was brilliant,” Alger says.

When Alger broke the news to him that he was about to bring the brand back from the dead, Shaw was excited.

“He’s a guy that says once he closes the chapter on something he moves on and from there he started up ‘Grandma Lee’s’ (another well-known Canadian company). He certainly speaks proudly of the accomplishments they made with the Pop Shoppe.”

If anything, Alger adds, Shaw was a little surprised that no one had attempted to take another run at the nostalgic favorite before now.

More Pop Shoppe Memorabilia Coming:
Alger urges Pop Shoppe fans to be on the lookout for some retro memorabilia that will soon be launched to coincide with the return of the brand. “We’re going to start working on some stuff – we’re going to look at some of the things that Pop Shoppe did in the past and look at doing some of those things. We’d kind of like to go retro like frisbees or yo-yos or things that fit in with that ’70s time,” he says.

Personal acquaintances of Alger and his fiancee got a special treat at their wedding back in November when they received a commemorative Pop Shoppe bottle produced especially for the wedding guests. It featured a wedding graphic on the corner of the label and came packaged in a giftbox.

Should the brand ever reach the levels of sales that it once did, Alger is mindful that some of the wedding guests may want to cash in on its success by putting their special wedding bottle up for bids on eBay. So he numbered each bottle and recorded who was given which bottle, just so he knows who to rib should he ever discover that someone is selling their special gift.

Currently there are about 70 bottles present and accounted for.

So what’s been the toughest part of bringing back a legendary soda pop? Alger says it’s the fact that he’s doing the entire project on his own – from distribution deals and financing to marketing and product development (which is rare in the cut-throat beverage industry these days). And dealing with a brand that most people remember means there are big shoes to fill with little room for error. “I take it quite seriously and I realize that there are a lot of people that have a fondness for that brand. I want to bring it back as original as it was and give people that 5 or 10 minutes in a day when they can think of a fond memory of Pop Shoppe and whatever else they were doing at the time,” he says.

But at the same time, he recognizes that his core audience is still that 13 to 17-year-old group of consumers that will inevitably make or break the Pop Shoppe venture. So far, Alger says he’s amazed that the kids are buying up Pop Shoppe – perhaps because everything retro from the past seems to be cool again, including clothes and hair styles. “I think the kids get de-sensitized by all of these other marketing companies that put these hardcore graphics on their packaging… when they see something like Pop Shoppe, it’s simple, but it’s got that nostalgic look to it. It’s just simple soda. I don’t want to market this like ‘if you’re able to drink this you’re going to be able to snowboard better or you’re gonna be able to jump off cliffs’ or whatever. It represents a simpler time,” Alger stresses.

And what about all of those packrats who still harbor cases of 20-year-old Pop Shoppe bottles in their garage or basement?

They’ve already started coming out of the woodwork.

“We had somebody that called us saying she had a couple cases of those empties and wanted to know how she could get refunded for the deposit. What can I say… if I had a need for them I’d certainly take them back. I told her that her best bet was to try putting them up on eBay,” he says with a laugh.

For more information about The Pop Shoppe, visit their website at: www.thepopshoppe.com.

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