POP-i Ice Cream
Company description
POP-i (Popeii) Ice Cream is a Brownsville ice cream and paletas shop serving hand-crafted gelato, sherbet, milkshakes, fruit plates, and aguas frescas made from family recipes nearly 50 years in the making. The business was part of the Quality of Life Ventures cohort of Startup Texas, the accelerator and pitch competition sponsored by the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC) in partnership with UTRGV's Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center (ECC) and taught at the eBridge Center.
POP-i's story spans three generations. Josh Contreras's father, Mario Contreras, opened Neveria Popeye in Matamoros, Mexico in 1978, where Josh grew up helping out every summer. In 2009, the family opened Popeii Ice Cream in Brownsville with Josh's sister, Cuzette Contreras-Perry, to keep that tradition going stateside. Josh spent years afterward in Seattle working as an aerospace designer before coming home in 2022 to buy the business from his father and sister, rebranding it POP-i and taking on the role of President/CEO to bring the family's recipes to a new generation of customers.
Founder: Josh Contreras
Program: 2024 StartUp Texas Accelerator, Quality of Life Ventures cohort
Links and socials
Website: pop-iicecream.comv
Facebook: facebook.com/popeii.icecream
Email: info@pop-iicecream.com
Sells at: 400 Old Port Isabel Rd, Brownsville, TX 78521