Start-up of the week: Boozey ice pops dreamt up in Mare Street

The Gazette hunts high and low each week to bring you news of the most interesting new businesses in Hackney. This week we speak to the man making ice pops for adults.

We all remember walking home from school on a hot summer’s day with no fewer than three ice pops stuck in our pockets.

And thanks to Alex Situnayake, we can all relive that memory as adults with no justification needed. That’s because the Brummie bartender came up with the idea for Wavey Ice – a boozey ice pop. And he did it while working at Rita’s in Mare Street three years ago.

“I used to make cocktails and would have to make fruit syrups,” said Alex. “I spoke to my friend about going round parks to sell ice lollies and thought why not just make our own.

“We’ve had a great response and last year we did festivals. This year we’re doing Lovebox and we want to sell them online too.”

Alex has launched a crowdfunder to raise £5,000 to get the website started, and in three weeks has already received half that total. He continued: “We’ve made a solid start, collaborating with brands like Jack Daniels – but we need more support.”

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