'Pic-A-Pop Belongs To Manitoba'

For several decades, Pic-a-Pop was a common drink throughout Manitoba, Minnesota, Alberta and even Hawaii.

However, the Manitoba product began to disappear as the Canadian dollar dropped, ultimately leaving Manitoba.  That all changed recently, however, as Canadian Gold Beverages in Marchand purchased the rights to the well-known drink.  The once again Manitoban product is now back on shelves throughout its home province, and it hasn't gone unnoticed.

"I was delivering my first Pic-a-Pop to a store in Brandon and people came in and were really excited," describes Peter de Jong, Canadian Gold Beverages Owner.  "They're not excited for the weather or whatever, they really go for Pic-a-Pop.  So I brought twenty cases, and I think I have to go next week again."

De Jong has looked to Pic-a-Pop's history while bringing the drink back to stores in choosing which flavours to produce.

"We did bring the first five flavours back," he explains.  "We did a contest of which flavours we should do next, and two flavours came up.  In second place was Strawberry, and in first place was Black Cherry.  So now there are seven flavours."

With another flavour set to launch on Mother's Day, the Pic-a-Pop renewal project has been going well, which de Jong takes pride in.  He notes Manitobans need to be proud of their province, and with Pic-a-Pop now back within Manitoba it's something that belongs to the entire province.

"We're getting close to completely covering Manitoba," says de Jong.  "We are working with larger retailers, so we cover Manitoba, Saskatchewan and part of Alberta."

While it's been so-far-so-good for Marchand-based beverage, de Jong adds they are still learning, and likely always will be.