Photo credit: Linnea's Liqkers & Pops
When Linnea Harrington was only 34 years old, she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. As a busy mom with two young daughters and a career in sales, she found herself having to slow down. A year after completing active treatment, she started getting antsy as a stay-at-home mom. “I also thought about what, at age 34 and without a genetic history of breast cancer, I was putting into my body and into my daughter’s bodies,” she reflects. “Over the summer, we started making fresh fruit frozen pops.”
That led to Linnea’s Liqkers & Pops, her company offering Liqkers, a line of boozy frozen treats for adults, and Pops, her non-alcoholic frozen creations. She also has a partnership with Sprecher Brewing to make their new Freezer Brew adult ice pops, which debuted at Miller Park this season.
“Living in Milwaukee, the next natural progression was adding alcohol for the adults,” she says. “We started taking them to parties, and people asked where they could buy them.” Harrington found out about the Hottest Kitchen Entrepreneur Challenge, a competition for aspiring food and beverage entrepreneurs. Through encouragement of friends and family, she entered and won the 2016 competition. The prize included a booth at the Midwest Food & Beverage show, which is where she met Sam Maglio Jr., of Maglio Companies, along with representatives from Sprecher Brewing.
Through Maglio’s help, Harrington took her concept from the home kitchen to production at his facility on Port Washington Road. Harrington says both the Liqkers and the Pops are fruit-based, with no preservatives and little to no added sugar. She uses local ingredients whenever possible, such as Door County cherries and spirits from a local distiller. She gets fruit that’s not in season or grown in Wisconsin from Maglio Companies.
The Pop flavors include Rosemary Lemonade Detox, which has activated charcoal, known for its toxin-reducing properties. “It’s black,” she says, “but when you taste it, it has a light, bright flavor.” There’s also Blueberry Raspberry Blast; Very Very Cherry, Watermelon Cooler; and Strawberry Basil Punch. The boozy Liqkers come in Dirty Rosemary Lemonade, also with activated charcoal; Strawberry Hibiscus Rosé; Cherry Old Fashioned; Key Lime Coconut; Orange Ginger Mule; and Jalapeno Mango Margarita.
Harrington has always loved to cook and entertain, and she has often crafted signature drinks for family get-togethers. She’s also inspired by food trends and online recipes. Because there are no preservatives, the pops must be kept refrigerated and then put into the freezer before serving. Harrington says it’s been challenging learning about state and federal liquor laws and labeling requirements.
The collaboration with Sprecher Brewing began with a root beer frozen pop and has since grown to also include their orange dream and grape sodas. The Freezer Brews line has Belgian-style ale with pineapple, wheat ale with mango and Mexican-style ale with lime and sea salt. The Sprecher pops are available at the brewery’s gift shop, as well as at Sprecher’s Landing and other two stands at the Wisconsin State Fair.
Although Harrington took the Pops and Liqkers to many fairs and festivals last summer, she’s scaling back a bit this year and focusing on building a retail presence. For more information and where to find Linnea’s Liqkers & Pops, visit facebook.com/LinneasLiqkersandPops or liqkersandpops.com.
