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When the sun pops out, so do cravings for sweet summer treats, especially icy cold popsicles. Shape matters little, and neither do names; call them ice pops, push pops, freezer pops, popsicles, or fruit bars — just so they’re frozen and preferably come with handy wooden sticks for proper holding. As for what does matter? The taste, texture, and ingredients used.
With those things in mind, along with melting speed, availability of options, and general appeal, we did a Tasting Table comparison of 12 store-bought popsicle brands. They all have characteristics that customers gravitate toward, but a handful rose to the top spots. Two fruit-filled icy wonders clustered in the top five slots, including one each from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Both would easily slide into my own shopping basket — and will very likely do so in the coming months. But in our very careful comparison, the 365 Fruit Bars from Whole Foods, and available on Amazon, edged out the Trader Joe’s Fruit Frenzy Bars.
Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are both known for natural flavors and relatively “clean” eating, so they’re fairly easy to compare. Several versions and flavors exist for both these brands, which lean away from additives, preservatives, and artificial colors or flavors, compared to many mainstream products in the same genre. Here’s a deeper look at the two specific fruit pops landing on our list, plus a general overview of the Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods popsicle lineup.
Whole Foods 365 popsicles bring real fruit and natural ingredients
The Whole Foods 365 line of icy treats includes Tasting Table’s chosen fruit bars, which took the number two slot in our ranking. They’re available in mango, lemon, lime, strawberry, and Caribbean Mix flavors, though varieties may vary by location. A look at the ingredient list for the 365-brand mango fruit bars reveals they indeed contain real mango, not just “mango flavor,” compressed inside a solid bar and speared by a wooden popsicle stick. Other ingredients include water, cane sugar, guar gum, and citric acid. That’s a pretty clean collection of goodness, which shows in the taste.
Our review found that the inclusion of real fruit and natural ingredients in 365 Fruit Bars, plus the exclusion of high-fructose corn syrup, resulted in a much fresher taste. The Caribbean Mix is an especially enjoyable flavor for summer, but for something with more tartness, we recommend the Mango Fruit Bar, which features the tartness of a just-underripe mango.
Trader Joe’s icy fruit bars pop with color and size
Trader Joe’s wasn’t far behind in our ranking of 12 store-bought popsicle brands, taking the number five slot for its Fruit Frenzy Bars. The visual appeal alone makes them stand out, with vividly colored stripes of raspberry, lemon, and strawberry in each bar. But, rather than artificial colors and flavors common with other brands on the list, the TJs frozen popsicles tasted and looked natural. They do indeed contain real strawberries, raspberries, lemon juice, lemon pulp and oil, water, cane sugar, guar gum, and carob bean gum as stabilizers, citrus acid, and turmeric for coloring.
The size is larger than many similar popsicle-style treats, which is a plus for most folks. The only negative thing in our review is that they melt relatively fast, meaning it’s hard to eat that generously sized bar before it starts dripping. It’s important to note that TJ’s products are often seasonal, or sometimes rotated out altogether. That’s especially true for ones geared toward summer sales — so Trader Joe’s stores may vary in their inventory of these Fruit Frenzy Bars.
At the moment, the Trader Joe’s website showcases Strawberry Lemonade Ice Bars with fruit puree, juices, and no artificial flavors. Another good choice is the Mango Cream Bars made with purée from Magdalena and Alphonso mango varieties, and the Blueberry Dream Bars. If you’re feeling particularly enterprising, try making your own fruity ice pops with just two ingredients!
