For Ian Downes (50), a native of Tallaght in Dublin, the dream started in lockdown. While on the beach one day, Downes said to his son Leon (now 14) that “pops used to be really fun when I was little; they aren’t any more” and an idea was born: to bring fun back to the ice-pop world. He went home and began to boil syrups, squash fruit and mix milk until he perfected the Kahuna Pop.“I sold my car,” he says. “Then I bought a little van and we did it up and we started doing farmers’ markets. The markets were great for giving a small business like us a start.”Since then, Kahuna Pops has “taken off like a rocket”. “What was really just a lockdown project has turned into a full-time family business for us. We did the markets for two years and we kept getting so many people saying we’d love to see you in our shop.” Kahuna Pops, which are handmade, are now sold in more than 50 outlets across Ireland, including seven Avoca stores. The business is in the process of building a new production facility in Walkinstown, Dublin 12, and, in the meantime, is managing exceptional heatwave-related sales. Kahuna Pops. Photograph: Ian Downes “We’re all hands at the pump at the minute to keep up with the demand,” Downes says of the current hot spell. “I’m working from 7am in the morning until 11pm at night producing the ice pops and then two days a week distributing them. It’s a seven-day work week.”This week has been his busiest period since Kahuna Pops began. “This week was double our busiest week last year. We’re purchasing as much ingredients as we can and turning them into pops as quick as we can, and then it starts all over again,” says Downes. “We do a full delivery on Friday and by Monday people are ringing me saying that the freezers in their shops are empty. This week has been the hardest work I’ve ever put in but it’s very rewarding.” Downes says Kahuna Pops, which sell for €4 each, use ingredients mostly sourced from local producers. He describes the business as a “family company”, with the next generation closely involved. “My son Leon, he’s 14, and he designs all the packaging. He helps pick the flavours too. It really is a partnership.” Kahuna Pops. Photograph: Ian Downes The most popular Kahuna Pops are the Fruit Blaster and mint chocolate flavours. “It could be raining outside and people still want these ice creams,” says Downes, who does not seem to be melting under the pressure of greater demand. “We’re putting it up against the big boys and we’re doing great,” he says.