After a hot summer’s day at school, you often felt the need for lolly or ice cream. The problem though was that you didn’t always have enough pocket money for an extravagant treat, and this was where Tip Tops Ice Pops saved the day.
Do you remember these colourful and cheap ice pops from when you were growing up?
What Were Tip Tops Ice Lolly Pops?
Tip Tops were a long plastic tube filled with a fruit flavoured drink that was frozen to create what is commonly known as an ice pop. They were sold in shops and from ice cream vans and they were a very cheap frozen treat compared to other lollies and ice creams.
Ice Pops were very popular in the 1960’s and 1970’s but I personally remember them from the 1980’s and 1990’s when I was at school.
As I mentioned they were very cheap, and I can remember buying them for 10p each. However, I think the Tip Tops brand disappeared in the 1980’s.
More Retro Sweet Treats:
Popular Flavours and Colours
Blue – Raspberry Flavour
Red – Cherry Flavour
Orange – Orange Flavour
Nowadays there are lots of ice pop flavours available. I’ve always been partial to a cola flavoured ice pop.
The Struggle of Opening Tip Tops
Although Tip Tops were very affordable, they weren’t easy to open. This is even the case with the Ice Pops you can buy today. Back then you would usually resort to tearing the end of the plastic tube open with your teeth.
I have to admit we had ice pops in our freezer this summer for my kids and they are still tricky to open. Scissors are the easy answer to open them.
Where Were Tip Tops Made?
Tip Tops were made in West Bromwich by Crystallized Confections. The Tip Top factory was on Tunnel Road, Hill Top, West Bromwich and the tramline between Wolverhampton and Birmingham ran underneath the factory.
Can You Still Buy Tip Top Ice Lolly Pops
You can’t buy Tip Tips as you remember them anymore but there is a wide variety of ice pops available in most supermarkets. They are all come in a variety of different flavours and are pretty much the same product that you remember from back in the day.
A popular brand today is the Mr Freeze Ice Pops. You can find them on Amazon Here.
Slush Puppy Ice Pops are also popular too and you can also find them here on Amazon.
The ingredients in the fruit flavoured drink are probably a little healthier nowadays though!
More Retro Sweets and Treats
Take some more trips down memory lane by taking a look at some of my posts covering other retro sweets, treats and snacks below.
Panda Pop Fizzy Drinks from the 80’s
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