Paddle Pop is a brand of ice confection products originally created by Streets, which is now owned by the English-Dutch company Unilever. It is sold in Australia, New Zealand, and a few other countries. It is held for eating by a wooden stick which protrudes at the base. The brand has a mascot known as the Paddle Pop Lion, or Max, who appears on the product wrapper.
Paddle Pops have been very popular since their launch by Streets in 1953,[1] and the name has become one of the best known brands in Australia.[2] It is Streets Icecream's biggest volume item[2] with A$70 million annual turnover.[citation needed]
Launched to the public in 1953,[1][3] the brand had a 50-year anniversary in 2004 at which point it was one of the best known brands in Australia. The wooden stick holding the confection is known as a Paddle Pop stick (used commonly for arts and crafts and known also as a popsicle stick[4][5] or craft stick[6]).
Paddle Pop Lion mascot costume
In 1960, the brand's mascot was introduced, the Paddle Pop lion.
In 1999, Paddle Pop was launched in Malaysia and Indonesia with a promotion that featured a thermochromic glow-in-the-dark plastic stick.
In 2005, there was a spin-off product which was the Paddle Pop flavour in a dairy snack form.[7] Paddle Pops is now available in 20 countries,[8] although other countries may sell them under different brands from Streets' Heartbrand sister companies, Wall's and HB Ice Cream.
Paddle Pop Adventures, a Thai animated series, had its first release in late 2005. There are 12 movies for this series, as well as two other animations. Each part was originally released in separate episodes, but was condensed into dubbed movies for Australian audiences.
Streets came to media attention in 2010 when they reduced the size of the Paddle Pop by 15%. Streets claimed that this was to make them healthier but others attribute it to food inflation.[9]
The Beach Hotel in Seaford, Adelaide, is known for creating unique cocktails. One of their products is the 'Rainbow Paddle Pop Martini'.[10]
Paddle Pop ice creams and ice blocks are available in box packs, in ice cream buckets, cups, and commonly in singular form inside freezer displays in stores.
