Q&A with Sara Chaudhary, Marketing Director of Revolution Artisan Pops | Fort Collins, CO
Sara Chaudhary, self-starter and pop enthusiast, is the Marketing Director at Revolution Artisan Pops, an ice pop shop located in Old Town Fort Collins, CO. She’s a Marketing major at Colorado State University and will be graduating in the spring. Chaudhary has worked at Revolution Artisan Pops for almost a year — starting in March 2016 a month after the company opened. Learn more about her time at Revolution Artisan Pops through this inside look Sara gave through an email interview!
Q: What is your favorite thing about Revolution Artisan Pops?
A: My favorite thing is how inherently fun the product is. I’m sure it’s possible to get excited about promoting things like chemicals for dry cleaners, or office supplies, but it would be a lot harder for me to get excited about that. Our pops are so tasty, unique, and vibrant that they’re super easy to get passionate about even if you don’t work there!
Q: What drew you to Revolution Artisan Pops?
A: I have always loved food, so I totally fell in love with the pops after I tried the shop for the first time! At that time I was desperately searching for an internship I needed to complete for one of my minors, and I realized I was applying to places I didn’t even want to work. So after a bit of soul searching, I began to make a list of places I would want to work- fun businesses with a great product and a great opportunity for me to learn and grow. That’s when I thought of Revolution- I knew they were new, I liked their product, and I thought they might need help with marketing. So I sent them an email that basically said “Hi, do you need an intern? Because I need an internship!”, and they hired me!
Q: Did you do marketing elsewhere before working at Revolution Artisan Pops?
A: Not professionally! I had previously done some marketing work for my acapella group, CSU Mainstreet Acapella. I ended up doing a lot of the things I had done for the group for Revolution, so I was definitely grateful to have had the experience!
Q: Tell me about your most rewarding marketing moment.
A: My most rewarding marketing moment was definitely seeing our large retractable banner in person after a super long and tiring design process. I had to keep editing the design over and over again because we were having issues with the image resolution, but it was totally worth it when it finally came in and I was able to see a physical manifestation of all the work I’d done, and know that something I had created would have lasting value for the company. That was pretty cool.
Q: Along with marketing, do you work at the shop during business hours?
A: Occasionally, yes! Right now I don’t have any set shifts of my own in the shop, but I cover people sometimes. I’ll have some regular shifts in the future though, and I also work a lot of the events we do!
Q: What is a typical day like working at the shop?
A: It’s generally very fun and laid back! There’s a little cleaning to do, but other than that it’s just telling people about all our awesome pops and serving them treats. Almost nobody is upset when they get popsicles, so it’s a pretty good time.
Q: Who are the typical customers?
A: A lot of the customers are CSU students, but we do get a good amount of other Fort Collins community members and CSU alumni as well, especially families! There was a dad with two little kids who would come in all the time over the summer. They had obviously begged him to go every time because their excitement was much more evident than his, but they must be good at begging for treats because they would come in a few times a week!
Q: What is the best experience you’ve had with a customer?
A: Pretty much any time I get to serve a Pupsicle- they’re little doggie pops we make with peanut butter, beef broth, and a milkbone handle! Just the other day I got to give an 8-week old puppy named Paige her first pupsicle while she was out on her first walk in Old Town, and it was probably the best day of my life.
Q: What’s your favorite flavor pop?
A: That’s really tough because they’re all good, and it definitely depends on my mood. But I think my favorite pop is probably the Harbinger’s Coffee and Sweet Cream. I love coffee, and that pop is just like an iced coffee on a stick with a dollop of sweet cream on top, it’s so good.
Q: What about the strangest flavor pop you’ve had?
A: We don’t have any super whacky or gimmicky flavors, but I think our Salted Cantaloupe is probably our most eccentric! It’s actually really good though, the salt only serves to amplify the melon flavor. The most popular flavors are probably the Raspberry Hibiscus and the Nuance Dark Chocolate, though it definitely changes with the season!
Q: How are the different, unique flavors created?
A: The owners Jarod and Rebecca create all the flavors, but they take input from other employees and the community- I’m pushing pretty hard for a mango pop right now. They also often find inspiration from the other great local products in town, and try to use whatever local produce is in season. Using local ingredients helped them come up with one of our summer flavors, Rhubarb Jasmine! It used fresh rhubarb from local farms as well as Jasmine tea from Happy Lucky’s.
Q: Do you know if Revolution Artisan Pops is thinking about opening any other locations?
A: We’re not planning on opening any other only Revolution Artisan Pops locations at the moment, but we are opening a small, local grocery store soon called Revolution Market! It will be right next to Waffle Lab on Olive and Mason. We’ll feature the same local produce and products that we love to use in our pops, and expand our offerings to include sandwiches, drinks, breakfast foods, and take-home meals! We’re really excited about it. Our pop production will move there, and of course the market will sell the pops! Our pop shop will remain open for a while, but eventually we might move it to the market as well.
Q: What was the experience like opening a shop with an unconventional product for sale?
A: It’s been challenging at times, but really fun! Like with any business, a lot of our challenges have just come from people not knowing where we’re located or that we exist at all, but that’s gotten less troublesome with time. The other big challenge has been the seasonality of demand for popsicles, and overcoming perception that they’re just a sugary, summer treat for kids. Educating the public is also a bit tricky, and it doesn’t help that we can’t actually call them popsicles- Popsicle is a trademarked term! Even though these are things we’re always working on overcoming, the reception to the pops from people who have tried them has been really fantastic. Once people try them, they’re hooked!
