The average 12-ounce can of cola contains nearly 40 grams of sugar, so when Evansville resident Jacqueline Dente was given the chance to create a healthy alternative, she took it.
Looking for a job, Dente previously worked at concession stands at Swonder Ice Arena and Hartke Pool. Because of this experience, her self-teaching nature, and her love of the community, specifically Franklin Street, Karen Sue Conaway, her friend and market master of the Franklin Street Bazaar, approached Dente about making homemade soda for the market. That’s when Dente created Notorious P.O.P., a soda stand that sells its products at the bazaar, which runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday from June 21 to Sept. 20.
Dente mixes syrup consisting of cane sugar and fruit with carbonated water to produce a healthier alternative to commercial brands. Her flavors include ginger ale, orange, grape, and strawberry — Madagascar Vanilla, a cream soda with vanilla aged in bourbon barrels, is the most popular. Dente says she continuously tries new flavors to gauge customer perception.
“I’ll be walking through the store and see a great price on fruit and think, ‘I’m going to make that,’” says 30-year-old Dente.
The therapeutic massage student at Ivy Tech Community College says it was important to create a product with no high fructose corn syrup or other additives.
“My daughter is allergic to red dye,” she says. “I would never want to create something that she wouldn’t be able to have.”
For more information about Notorious P.O.P., call 812-431-8678 or visit its Facebook page.
