Latest news with #lollipops
News.com.au
23-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- News.com.au
Australian brand selling popular item every 2.5 seconds
A brand new item from a beloved 'better for you' confectionary company is selling every 2.5 seconds. Funday Natural Sweets was started by Daniel Kitay, having always loved a sweet treat eating habits, he cut out lollies and dropped 25kg — but he always felt like something was missing. And so, Funday Natural Sweets was born. Earlier this year, the brand launched its lollipop collection, with no added sugar, made with natural flavours and sweeteners. For the last four years, Funday had solely done gummy candy, releasing its own versions of a Party Mix, Peaches and Cream and Sour Cola Bottles to name a few. But they decided to branch out into lollipops, with fan favourite flavours such as pineapple, strawberry and cream, cola and sour apple. Since launch, the brand has sold a single lollipop every 2.5 seconds, stacking up to 35,000 pops a day. 'More and more Aussies are looking for treats and lollies they can feel good about, but they still want the fun that comes it and the flavour — but without all the artificial ingredients and the high sugar,' Mr Kitay told 'What Funday has been able to do is tap into another confectionary sub category and deliver that without all the sugar but still offering the same traditional taste. The interesting thing, when we go through the scoping of a potential product, we look at the traditional product in the market and we found that in a 12 gram lollipop each has 10.3 grams of sugar. 'For us, that was a wakeup moment.' Mr Kitay said he didn't think consumers were aware of the sugar content in a traditional lollipop, as it was such a quintessential part of Australian culture. It was the perfect moment for the brand to dive into the category. He said there were countless rounds of tests and trials to deliver the best possible guilt-free lollipop. 'We don't use any sugar to make our lollies, we use real food ingredients like tapioca starch and chicory root fibre that actually give a sweet flavour. We then add a touch of the all-natural stevia leaf to balance things out,' the Funday website explains. Since its release, the new product has been 'flying' off shelves, with Mr Kitay saying he has been hearing anecdotal feedback from customers, friends and family who are going into stores and being unable to find anything because they're selling out. 'It's the exact type of response we want when we launch a product. It clearly means we're talking to what the customer wants,' he said, adding it also presents a challenge for the brand to try to keep up stock levels so people don't miss out. 'Ultimately, it's one of those moments when we realise and we're onto a winner and we know it straight away.' It's no secret that Funday is a hit among consumers, regularly receiving letters from fans inviting the brand to their weddings, thank you cards, as well as Easter, Christmas and Eid cards. 'Everyone is blown away by how much people love what we're doing,' he said. Since launching four years ago, Funday can be found in 7000 stores across Australia — including Woolworths, The Chemist Warehouse, petrol stations and independent grocers. It's also launched in New Zealand, Singapore, the Middle East and Amazon in the US — and the response has been equally great. 'It's only been four years, so in the life cycle of a business we are so new and fresh so my view in running Funday from the outset has been big business mentality with how we operate — in terms of due process, hiring the right people, setting up the right culture and setting up things for the long term success,' Mr Kitay said. 'The tricky part that I spend a lot of my time on is how do we maintain a start-up mentality within a business that is growing really fast. What separates us from multinationals is the sheer smaller size and the ability to be agile, allows us to respond to market demands way faster than anyone else. It's our secret weapon.' Looking back, Mr Kitay said he set high goals at the outset and has done what he set out for Funday to do. But, for other people who doubted the proposition, the brand's success has been 'surprising'. 'I know there were a lot of doubters in the beginning saying that we'd never be able to do it, it takes years to work with retails — but all the negative doubts has fuelled me to make sure we double down and deliver. 'I am also equally aware of how big it's become.' Mr Kitay kept tight-lipped on what might come next, but did say the new drop of products over the next 12 months would be 'revolutionary' for the industry and building on the same principles of the iconic lollipop. He said a lot of the products would get customers back into enjoying confectionary, adding that the ultimate goal of the business was to help people enjoy lollies like a kid again.
CNN
12-05-2025
- CNN
Boy accidentally orders $4,200 of lollipops using his mom's phone. Here's what happened after
Holly LaFavers, a Kentucky mother whose son accidentally ordered nearly 70,000 lollipops from Amazon, speaks with CNN's Fredricka Whitfield and shares what happened afterward.
CNN
11-05-2025
- CNN
Boy accidentally orders $4,200 of lollipops using his mom's phone. Here's what happened after
Holly LaFavers, a Kentucky mother whose son accidentally ordered nearly 70,000 lollipops from Amazon, speaks with CNN's Fredricka Whitfield and shares what happened afterward.
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Kentucky mom's astonishment after 70,000 lollipops show up at her doorstep
A Kentucky mother was left stunned to find mountains of lollipops mysteriously piled on her doorstep, only to discover that the order was placed by her mischievous son during an unsupervised shopping spree. Earlier this month, Holly LaFavers opened the front door of her Lexington home to a jaw-dropping sight - 22 massive red boxes stacked tall on her doorstep, containing a staggering 70,000 Dum-Dum suckers in total. The mastermind behind the sugary surplus? Her eight-year-old son, Liam, who already concocted grand plans for the surplus of lollipops he'd ordered from Amazon while on his mother's phone. 'He told me that he wanted to have a carnival, and he was ordering the Dum-Dums as prizes for his carnival,' LaFavers told CBS News. 'Again, he was being friendly, he was being kind to his friends.' However, LaFavers was in for another shock when she checked her bank account, only to find that the candy had set her back a whopping $4,000. 'When I saw what the number was, I just about fainted,' she told the outlet. The flustered mother quickly turned to Facebook, sharing two photos that captured the unbelievable sight of the massive delivery - each box packed to the brim with 2,300 suckers. The mastermind behind the purchase was her eight-year-old son, Liam, who had already concocted grand plans for the surplus of lollipops he'd ordered from Amazon while on his mother's phone (pictured: Liam and LaFavers) Eight more cases in the order were unaccounted for, but after a quick trip to the post office, LaFavers was able to return the remaining boxes to the sender before they made it to her doorstep. From there, she figured the best course of action was to sell the boxes individually and try to recoup some of her unexpected costs. 'Hi Everyone!' LaFavers wrote to Facebook. 'Liam ordered 30 cases of Dum-Dums and Amazon will not let me return them.' 'I contacted Amazon as soon as I realized what had happened,' she continued. 'They originally told me to reject the delivery and they would refund my money. The driver never knocked or rang the doorbell so now they will not take them back.' She decided to market each sealed box for $130, hoping to turn the sugary setback into a bit of a profit - or at least recoup some of the money. However, her anxiety finally eased when she managed to secure a refund from Amazon, despite the initial headache. 'After a long day of working with the bank and talking to a few news stations, Amazon called and they are refunding my money!!!' LaFavers wrote in an update to Facebook. 'Thank you everyone that offered to buy a box to help us,' she added. 'I will be happy to get you what you ordered or donate them to a charity of your choice.' In even better news, LaFavers received a pleasant surprise when her bank agreed to waive any fees associated with the order. 'I was able to laugh about it a little earlier today, so I can finally laugh about it,' she told WKYT News. Still, LaFavers walked away with a very valuable lesson: Liam is officially banned from using her phone. Just in case Liam cooks up another bright idea and manages to get a hold of her phone, LaFavers already started adjusting the device's settings - determined to make sure no more surprise deliveries land on their doorstep. Either way, if any Dum-Dums stick around the LaFaver home, one thing's for sure - blue raspberry will be the flavor of choice.
CBC
08-05-2025
- CBC
#TheMoment a Kentucky boy bought 70,000 lollipops on his mom's phone
Kentucky mom Holly LaFavers recounts the moment she discovered her eight-year-old son had used her phone to purchase 70,000 lollipops.
