Guilty pleasures: Try Hyderabad's 'Junnu Icecream', 'Cola Sticks' to relive childhood memories
Grab these nostalgic guilty pleasures, but with a slightly healthy twist, at Vintage Ice Creams in Hyderabad. This ice-cream shop serves 24 different kinds of cola sticks.
By Amrutha Kosuru Published on 19 March 2022 3:05 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Remember the peculiar frozen Pepsi-cola stick that was stuffed in a small plastic pouch that our mothers didn't want us to eat? They were small ones that were cold- like a slushie and would cause a brain freeze after one slurp. They were one of the many summertime guilty pleasures of every 90's kid.
Grab these nostalgic guilty pleasures, but with a slightly healthy twist, at Vintage Ice Creams in Hyderabad. This ice-cream shop serves 24 different kinds of cola sticks. "Unlike what local brands used to manufacture which were usually filled with a lot of sugar levels and excessive carbonation, we use natural flavors in our products," says Mada Vani, the co-founder of Vintage Ice-creams.
In addition to the classic Pepsi pops, Vintage Ice-cream has six milk-based cola sticks and five natural fruit-flavored cola sticks. Badam with Cashew and Almond Milk Cola Stick, Blueberry Milk Cola Stick, Butterscotch Milk Cola Stick, Chocolate Cola Stick, Pista Milk Cola Stick is the milk-based ones. They also have Green Apple, Rose, Grape, Kiwi, Orange, and Litchi are some of the few fruit-flavor-based Cola sticks available at Vintage Ice Creams.
Even before Vintage Icecreams was set up in Hyderabad in 2018, Vani and her family were involved in the ice-making business. "We have been manufacturing cola sticks for a very long time. It all began with my grandfather's ice business," she said. Hailing from Narasapuram in Andhra Pradesh's West Godavari District, Vani previously worked in the IT sector. "But my heart was always with my family business. I saved up and relocated my family to Hyderabad where we started Vintage Icecream," she said.
"From the beginning, we have experimented with various kinds of cola stick recipes. All the products and recipes we use are our own," Vani said.
Currently, Vani, her sister Padmaja and her father M Rajeshwar Rao head the business. In addition to the main branch in Hyderabad, Vintage Icecream has 12 stores across Chennai, Bangalore, and Vijayawada.
Apart from the Cola Sticks, one can also have their ice creams that are milk-based instead of powder-based. One of the most unique items on their menu is 'Junnu Icecream'. "We make this ice cream using proper Junnu milk. So it's available rarely and in limited quantity. We are perhaps the only place in Hyderabad or the entire country to make such icecream," Vani said.
