In 2014, husband and wife Khalid Hamid and Shelly Marshall returned to New York after vacationing in Trinidad with a craving for ice cream and sorbet with the flavors of the Caribbean, like soursop, sorrel, and rum punch. Much to their chagrin, they couldn’t find any. So they set out to make it on their own, and in 2015, after much trial-and-error, Island Pops was born.
Hamid and Marshall won competitions and sold their products at street fairs and food markets before opening a brick-and-mortar location in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood in 2018. One bite and you’ll understand why it’s so popular: these sweet treats are packed with Island flavor, and they’re made by hand with only the highest-quality natural ingredients, many of which are sourced directly from the Caribbean.