King of Pops turns Atlanta World Cup matches into frozen treats honoring Spain, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and more
Inside King of Pops' headquarters on Decatur Street, the freezer cases are filling fast with a global lineup of flavors inspired by countries whose soccer teams will play World Cup matches in Atlanta soon. It's part food experiment, part cultural tribute, and part summer kickoff for one of the biggest sporting events in the world. It's also Day 1 of production.
The company is rolling out eight World Cup popsicle flavors in total: seven tied to teams playing in Atlanta and one Team USA pop. In all, King of Pops expects to produce about 70,000 non-U.S. flavors and 40,000 Team USA pops over a three-week production run.
The rollout begins in the second week of May, starting with Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Haiti and Cabo Verde, according to the company.
Prices for the new flavors will run about $5 at the South Downtown location, while franchisees set pricing at other stands.
For co-founder Steve Carse, the World Cup project fits into a 16-year journey that started in the aftermath of the 2009 financial crisis.
"I was laid off from AIG in 2009 during the Great Recession," Carse said. "My brothers and I had dreamt of doing this together."
His older brother, an anthropologist, had first introduced him to paletas during fieldwork in Panama, Ecuador and Mexico. What started as a temporary idea "for a year or two" turned into a long-term business that Carse now describes simply: "It's really the only thing I know how to do — make and sell pops."
His brother Nick, originally a lawyer, joined the company a month after launch.
"He was helping nights and weekends," Carse said. "I was crashing on his couch."
The World Cup flavor lineup leans heavily into global research and storytelling through food. Carse said the team looked at restaurant menus, ingredient traditions, and cultural context, even turning to Reddit communities and personal networks tied to the countries represented.
"We did a lot of research, like on Reddit," he said. "We tapped into our network, people that we know in these countries or that knew people in these countries."
Product development lead Jessica Luna said the timeline was tight, with the team initially working from just seven confirmed teams.
"We only knew about seven teams when we had to get everything rolling, and the clock started ticking," Luna said. "We didn't have a ton of time."
Her process mixed digital research with culinary experimentation.
"I was using Wikipedia, I was Google researching, I was getting on subreddits for these different countries," she said. "What's a dessert you love? What's something that grows in your country that would make a good popsicle?"
Each flavor began either with a concept or a key ingredient, then moved into testing.
For Spain, Luna landed on Tinto de Verano, typically a mix of red wine and lemon-lime soda, reimagined using Georgia muscadine grapes, lemon and lime juice, cane sugar, and salt.
"I did try it, and it was okay, but it wasn't as good as this drink in Spain," Luna said. "So I had to think about how to bring it back to something local."
Other flavors reflect similarly specific cultural inspirations: There's the Morocco pop, made with mint tea, green tea, spearmint, cane sugar and lemon. Cabo Verde includes doce de coco with coconut cream, caramelized sugar and shredded coconut. Uzbekistan is kompot-inspired apricot, cherry, lemon and apple. Saudi Arabia is halawa-inspired tahini, milk, cream, orange blossom honey and sea salt. Haiti has Ji korosol with soursop, milk, lime juice and nutmeg. South Africa: Granadilla and naartjie with coconut cream and the USA pop is stars & stripes layered with strawberry, vanilla cream and blueberry.
Luna said Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan were among the most challenging.
"Tahini in a popsicle is a little wacky," she said. "But it ended up being one of the most delicious."
The company describes its internal "flavor pyramid" ranging from familiar tastes at the base to more adventurous combinations at the top. Luna said the Saudi Arabia pop sits near the "tippy top."
Once initial recipes were developed, the team went through multiple rounds of tastings in-house.
"We sit around a big conference table and really think about these pops," Luna said. "We'll make two options for every country and decide which one feels right."
Taste tests focused on balance, sweetness, acidity and salt, and on how the flavors might resonate with people from the countries being represented.
Carse said the intent is not just tourism-driven novelty, but shared recognition.
"I hope that a lot of kids get to go to these games and then connect that experience with what they're tasting," he said. "You learn what tahini is, and then you see the match. That's powerful."
The World Cup push also includes a South Downtown cart opening ahead of the tournament, plus locations at Piedmont Park, Avalon in Alpharetta, and Ponce City Market. King of Pops will not be inside stadiums but plans to appear at watch parties across the metro area.
A limited contest tied to the rollout will reward fans who collect all flavors with a commemorative scarf, and the company will also give away two tickets to a World Cup semifinal match in Atlanta.
Carse said the scale of the event is still hard to grasp.
"It's hard for me to even imagine what it's going to feel like," he said. "But I'm excited to see the energy from these fans."
For both Carse and Luna, the World Cup flavors are less about spectacle than connection. They're a way to translate global cultures into something cold, handheld, and immediate on a hot Atlanta day.
"We put a lot of love into these," Luna said. "We're really proud of them, and we're excited for people to taste."