While Yehuda Tomor now resides in Jackson, he grew up in Lakewood. His roots there run deep.
Tomor began building his company, Cooloo, out of his old Lakewood garage. It was there that he worked to perfect his idea of a sorbet-like cocktail pop, packed with real alcoholic spirits. After launching in 2019, Cooloo cocktail pops are now manufactured in his hometown.
“Growing up in a place, and then building a company there, is pretty cool,” Tomor says.
With piña colada, mai tai and cosmopolitan flavors, Cooloo pops are party-ready out of the freezer and maintain their sorbet-like texture. Tomor made sure each tastes fresh without all the high-fructose corn syrup and artificial flavoring.
“People can pop them open and have themselves a real sorbet-like cocktail, rather than a kiddy ice pop,” he says.
The locally made product is available at over 300 New Jersey locations, and with summer weather on its way, Tomor says “it’s the perfect thing when you want something a little extra.”
How did the idea for Cooloo come about?
Once my oldest son was born, we were unable to hang out at the bars and we always wanted some good cocktails, and making them at home can be annoying. People want something fresh, so we thought about making the cocktails frozen. Creating a cocktail and freezing it and making it like a real piña colada that’s freshly blended, that was our focus.
What makes your cocktail pops different?
Cooloo cocktail pops aren’t like a berry flavor or peach flavor or something full of high-fructose corn syrup and food coloring. It’s a real crafted cocktail with natural flavors. Our focus is that you can easily take it out of the freezer and enjoy a nice cocktail.
What was the process of making them like? Lots of trial and error?
I did a lot of testing my own stuff in my garage. We did a lot of tasting, and once we figured out exactly what we wanted to do, we worked with some awesome teams to make sure we were able to get the exact flavor we wanted in the product. It really is a perfectly blended cocktail rather than a chunky ice pop you have as a kid.
What flavors do you offer?
It’s like all the cocktails you would want in a bar. We have a piña colada, paloma that is tequila-based, cosmopolitan, mai tai, strawberry daiquiri, mojito and more. We also do a gin and tonic that is a little more rough and tough, which is by far my favorite.
What’s been a standout moment in growing Cooloo?
When people compliment it and become Cooloo fans, that’s the most special to me. It’s really cool creating a cocktail movement of some sort. It’s always heartwarming hearing what people say.