Among the many icy cold treats we can reach for, nothing quite hits the nostalgic sweet spot like a freezie. Flavoured ice packed into a plastic tube, perfect for grabbing out of a home or corner store freezer and slurping down–freezies are a rite of passage in a Canadian childhood.
Not surprisingly, commercially-available freezies are pretty much sugar water, with a dash of chemicals and some colouring. One Vancouver business, Tubify, has made a delicious impression with their more thoughtful, local, and, yes, healthy freezies.
After a great first year out with appearances at popular food-focused events like Hawkers Market and Food Cart Fest, Tubify is ready for the next step in their business, and they are not only looking to make more freezies and package them for sale at Vancouver stores, but they are also looking for ways to increase their engagement with eco-conscious practices.
Tubify’s freezies don’t have any of the junk that most on the market do. “We make frozen smoothies from fresh fruits and vegetables, in a tube. No emulsifiers, preservatives; just food,” they explain. The plan is to create an all-organic line, build strong relationships with local farmers (even getting their hands on the cast-offs the farmers might otherwise send to the compost pile), and create compostable wrapping.
Casey Wong, Tubify’s co-founder, tells Vancity Buzz that they did about 10 flavours in their first year, but are aiming to have three permanent flavours in their organic line, and continue to rotate in seasonal specialties. In the summer heat, you can cool off with their lip-smacking good Raspberry Lemonade freezies, and the fall you can get cozy with more coffee or tea-centric tastes, for example. (Their Vietnamese-style coffee one is fantastic, BTW.)
While consumers may be a little less into freezies now that winter is fast approaching, Tubify needs this time of year to get ready for sunnier days. They’re in the midst of a crowd-funding campaign to help them source more organic produce and to get their packaging ready for the big time. Perks for supporters range from some freezies to t-shirts, to your own custom freezie flavour–but the campaign ends on Friday, November 13.
Right now you can find Tubify at Noodlebox on West 4th, and on their website; customers can order direct and get their Tubify freezies hand-delivered. The goal is to get into local markets that support artisans–think Whole Foods, Choices, Meinhardt, Donald’s–and also to add more festival and market events for 2016.
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