Hi my name is kalli…

During our annual family trip to the Dominican Republic, we stayed in a small community that had a local paleta shop, located right next to our condo. Paletas are an amazing Mexican treat that I have grown up eating when we would drive down to Mexico to visit my family. When my family and I tried the local paleta shop in the DR called Joy Nutritional Pop, we were amazed by the gourmet flavors and fresh ingredients. We found ourselves going to get paletas about three times a day.  We just could not get enough!

During one of our visits to the shop, (on Christmas day), the owner, Valeria Carcasson, asked what our plans were for the day. We mentioned to her that we were going to spend Christmas at Cristo de Niños, a local orphanage, and asked her if we could buy the rest of her paletas to take to the kids. Valeria was very touched and asked if her family could accompany us to visit the children. We immediately became great friends. It was so special to watch the joy these simple pops brought to all the children. At that moment it was clear, Joy Pops must be in Utah so that I could bring the same experience to my home state. I was so grateful for the Carcasson Family, for their generosity and selfless acts of service.  After thanking them for giving up their Christmas dinner to spend time with a family of strangers and these beautiful children, I worked up the courage to ask Valeria if she would consider helping me take Joy Pops to Utah. Valeria was delighted!  We talked through the logistics, and she offered to share her recipes and mentor me on how to make fresh delicious paletas. 

When I got back to Utah, I could not stop dreaming of bringing Joy Pops to all of my friends and family. I developed a business plan and started to raise money. My dreams became a reality when we found our cute, blue 1969 Chevy P10 ice-cream truck. We purchased our truck in Arizona and drove it 670 miles North to Draper, Utah. She was taken to an auto shop and restored to serve the greatest paletas Utah would ever eat. I named my company “Joy Pops” after the company “Joy Nutritional pop” that I studied under in 2018

Now, I have been making paletas for over 4 years. This has been an absolute dream come true! We have had the pleasure of catering all different types of weddings and parties. My goal is to spread the joy even through something as simple as a Paleta. Seeing all different people enjoy my pops makes all the hard work worth it. Thank you to everyone who has supported me in this journey. 

Love, Kalli LeBaron