During the early days of Chloe’s Fruit you could find them at the Chlo-On-The-Go truck parked at the beach in Montauk, serving their better-for-you fruit pops to beachgoers. Now they are available in over 10,000 stores nationwide. And this summer Chloe’s Fruit is expanding its partnership with Juice Press and bringing its Soft Serve Fruit out East. We caught up with founder Chloe Epstein to learn more.
Tell us a little about your background. What inspired you to start Chloe’s?
When I became pregnant with my first child, I began paying more attention to the quality of the foods I was eating and started focusing more on removing artificial ingredients from my diet. I had (and still have) an intense sweet tooth that specifically favored frozen yogurt and frozen treats in general, but I couldn’t find any that satisfied my cravings without artificial fillers. So, I began experimenting in my kitchen with frozen bananas in every appliance I could find and from there, Chloe’s was born. At the time, I could not have predicted the impact this passion for a healthy lifestyle would have on my family’s lives.
During the brand’s early days, you took Chloe’s on the road and served out of a truck in Montauk. How would you say Montauk played a role in the success of the company?
Ahh yes, back in the day we had our truck, “Chlo-On-The-Go” parked in an ideal spot off the beach in Montauk serving our Soft Serve Fruit and Pops. It was quite the learning experience, but the truck was an absolute stunner and an effective way to introduce Chloe’s to hot, hungry, hip beach goers. I loved hearing from people all over the Hamptons about their “Chlo-On-the-Go” sightings. It was definitely an effective marketing tool for us at the time.
You’re expanding your partnership with Juice Press and bringing your Soft Serve Fruit to the East End this summer. Tell us more about that.
We are thrilled to expand our partnership with a likeminded brand like Juice Press. At the beginning of this year, Juice Press took over our Union Square location to launch the first Juice Press x Chloe’s, and now this summer, they are bringing our Soft Serve Fruit back to the Hamptons, swirling our mix at the Juice Press Southampton shop. With a focus on better-for-you eating, together we are excited to satisfy all your cravings and look forward to a great summer in the Hamptons!
Tell us about some of your more recent additions, like the oat milk pops and your no sugar added pops.
While our core line of fruit pops still remain top-sellers, we recognized that some of our consumer were looking for more indulgent, yet still better-for-you options. We started by dipping our fruit pops in dairy free dark chocolate and were then the first to introduce an oat milk based frozen pop in 2020. We launched with classic flavors like salted caramel, raspberry chip, and mint chip and went more decadent with our latest additions, cookies & cream, chocolate peanut butter, and brownie batter. It’s fun to see the excitement around Chloe’s going more indulgent. We have built consumer loyalty and trust in our commitment to delivering only the most delicious products using the simplest ingredients.
At the same time, we wanted to respond to the growing interest in No Sugar Added (NSA) options. We strive to be as inclusive as possible with our offerings and eliminating the added sugar helps with those who have sugar restrictive diets. We started with a strawberry NSA option and have just recently added the most delicious, refreshing grape flavor to the line. Our NSA pop uses fruit, allulose, and monk fruit to sweeten the experience. Allulose is a rare sugar that is naturally found in foods, offering a better alternative to the artificial sweeteners found in so many other pops on the market. Our NSA pops are only 40-50 calories of pure yumminess.
What’s your favorite flavor?
This should be the easiest question but it’s ever-changing based on my daily cravings! Dark chocolate, lime, and our raspberry chip oat milk pops were in major demand this past weekend in my house. The kids and I have also been excessively snacking on our Spider-Man strawberry lemon pops. They are a smaller portion size so we can’t help but go back for more.
You’re now in over 10,000 stores. That’s amazing! How does it feel?
Thank you! It is amazing to see but there are always more retailers that we have our eye on — we want every shopper and family to have access to Chloe’s and we are working on some exciting new products for the upcoming months, so please stay tuned! What’s most exciting about the growth is that we created this business in order to make better-for-you frozen treats more accessible to all. I personally was frustrated about the lack of options in the space and today, I know my kids can get a delicious treat that they will be truly excited to eat almost anywhere, from their favorite supermarket, to camp, school, or their friend’s freezer. That’s rewarding.
What do you love to do on the East End when you have free time?
This summer I hope to spend my free time outside being active! As much beaching, biking, and boating as possible. I love my Hamptons workouts, farm outings and can’t wait to spend many long lunches and dinners at Sunset Beach, Crow’s Nest, and Duryea’s.
