It’s summertime and what better way to celebrate than with a treat to chill you down? Enter Curly Girl Pops—a new woman- and Latina-owned business based in Montpelier, Vermont. Owner, Arealles Ortiz, melds her passion for nutrition and food together to bring something quite joyful to our community. Get to know Arealles and Curly Girl Pops!

What inspired you to start Curly Girl Pops?

When I earned my B.S. in Nutrition & Food Sciences at UVM I had an AHA! moment. Why not combine my passion to promote healthy eating habits and part-time popsicle hobby into a real business?

What makes your pops unique?

We are redefining what it means to eat a popsicle. Most of our memories that involve popsicles include rocket pops and those tube pops with food coloring, sugar, and water. Contrastingly, Curly Girl Pops aims to promote healthy eating habits. We keep it 100% real with Certified Organic fruit & veg (locally sourced when available), filtered water, and Vermont maple syrup. We also incorporate herbs, superfoods, and seeds to elevate our products’ nutritional value. Curly Girl Pops are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, & protein our bodies depend on. To complete the process, all pops are made and wrapped by hand. Keeping the planet in mind (compostable packaging); with love infectious enough to spread.

We know it's hard to pick favorites... but if you had to spend one day just eating one of your flavors—which would it be?

Definitely our Radical Razz. A balanced blend of intensely ripe organic raspberries, hibiscus tea, creamy coconut milk, and a touch of nature’s sweetness (VT maple syrup).

Why is selling locally and the local food movement is important to you?

As a small and seasonal business, I have learned to have a solid foundation for sustainable growth means tapping into the community and creating connections. Curly Girl Pops aims to nourish the Vermont community while on a mission to source more local ingredients to incorporate into our popsicle creations. We want to be a role model for other small businesses that want to contribute to their local economy as well as keeping their environmental impacts at the forefront.

How does working with Food Connects help your business/what are you excited about in this partnership?

As a sole owner and operator, time management is very important. Food Connects has helped bring my product to local farm stands around the state that I otherwise wouldn't be able to reach. My hope is that my partnership with Food Connects will further my connections with Vermont farmers who might be able to guide my business' aspiration for incorporating local fruit into our popsicle creations.

Any fun facts about your business/products?

Curly Girl Pops is Vermont’s only Latina-Owned Business. Representation matters. By supporting this business, you help cultivate the seeds for other BIPOC in the community who are in the midst of starting their own business' from the ground. Lastly, when Vermonters support BIPOC businesses, we are actively bringing equality to our country's disproportionate racial wealth gap. Keep up your support!

Anything else?

Catch me every Saturday at Burlington Farmers Market!!

Anything that you are doing to respond to the COVID-19 crisis?

I have been fully vaccinated!! Currently operating out of my home kitchen but a mobile commercial kitchen space is in the works! Stay tuned!