Protein Pints expands into chocolate-dipped Protein Pops nationwide

Protein Pints expanded beyond its signature frozen pint on June 23 with Protein Pops, a chocolate-dipped bar format that delivers 10 grams of complete protein per stick. The Grand Rapids, Michigan, company is using the launch to push into a new frozen occasion built around portability and portion control, not just the at-home spoon-and-pint routine that built its name.

Protein Pops debuted in four flavors, Caramel Crunch, Vanilla Crunch, Peanut Butter Crunch and Mint Crunch. Each bar carries 180 to 190 calories and at least 75% less sugar than traditional ice cream, with no artificial sweeteners, natural ingredients, gluten-free positioning and all nine essential amino acids. A limited quantity went on sale immediately at ProteinPops.com, while Sprouts Farmers Market was set for a nationwide rollout on June 29. Harris Teeter was slated to follow in late July, with additional retailers planned for the fall.

The company called Protein Pops its first major format expansion just two years after launching at retail. That timing matters because Protein Pints is no longer behaving like a small experimental brand. By June, it said it was present in more than 15,000 retailers nationwide, a footprint large enough to make the move into a frozen novelty bar look like a deliberate extension of an existing franchise rather than a side project.

Protein Pints was founded by childhood friends Paul Reiss and Michael Meadows, who grew up in Hudsonville, Michigan. Reiss left college in 2022 at age 21 to pursue the company full time, and the founders built the brand through years of research and development, collegiate pitch competitions and work with Michigan State University’s dairy plant. Chris McKellar later joined Reiss and Meadows as principal formulator, giving the startup a technical backbone as it moved from concept to commercial production.

Early velocity helped set up this next act. Protein Pints says its first 14 retail locations sold at twice the rate of established competitors, a claim that now serves as part of the brand’s growth story as it reaches deeper into frozen doors. Protein Pops extend that playbook into a more familiar ice cream-bar format, one that can win on taste, texture and convenience at the same time while keeping protein front and center.