The rain has gone, the sun will be out and temperatures back in the late twenties and early thirties, perfect weather for a new local business to be in demand.

Daniel Peterson and Grace Guiuo have come up with a winning summer treat with their Citrus Bliss Icy Poles.

After years of development and research, they have recently been confident to go into commercial quantities to make Citrus Bliss the flavour of summer 2024/25!

Based in Goonellabah, these two entrepreneurs are changing the face of what we call a treat! Their recipe is 100% organic fruit juice, no added preservatives or sugar - packed full of refreshing, chilled goodness.

Daniel describes the flavour as “Tangy. It strikes that balance between sour and sweet. Of course, it's going to be too sour for some people and maybe too sweet for others. It grabs your attention, and for some, it grows on you.”

A flyer caught my eye at a service station during a visit to Woodburn. A new local business with a new product, how could you say no? Citrus Bliss struck me as more of an adult flavour, not over-sweet, and so refreshing with the citrus hit. But Daniel says they are most popular with kids. The Living School is one of his biggest customers.

Daniel says they are popular in drinks. Serving suggestions include breaking them up in a cool glass of sparkling water or a dip for an alcoholic drink.

The time of year that the icy poles are made is when the fruit ripens, “Production occurs during winter because I'm trying to capture the nutrient of the fruit juice while it's ripe.”

The goodness of the icy pole wasn't the only good thing about it. It was important to Daniel to make the whole product sustainable.

“We wanted packaging alternatives to plastic. The one we use is a cellophane material, which is the same type of cellophane we used to play with in primary school. It's completely starch-based, and it's backyard compostable.”

The fruit that Daniel uses is not A-grade that goes into shops, it's the seconds, where marks or shapes are not good enough for shop shelves. 

“We are juicing fruit that would otherwise go to waste. Part of the benefit of it for the farmer is that by using that second-grade fruit, I'm reducing the habitat for fruit flies.”

“This year is the first year that I've had the product packaged properly, and I've had a commercial quantity of stock.

Daniel started a business in juices at markets about eight years ago. The Icy Poles was a different business venture that started 3 years ago after spending some time experimenting with different fruits and veggies and assessing their frozen state and flavour.

“I took a lot of inspiration, initially from the farmer who grows the fruit. His orchard is at Rosebank, and he planted those trees himself some 30 years ago. 

“Based on feedback that he'd been given and his experience, he was encouraging me to try and develop a product like this that could be commercialised.

“This is the technical stuff, but it holds its flavour extremely well, and it holds its texture and its other characteristics as a frozen fruit juice.”

Daniel and Grace are looking for more retailers interested in stocking their products and more lemon orchards for future stock!

At the moment, there are around 80 stockists from the Gold Coast to Coffs Harbour and Bellingen. In and around Lismore, you can find them at:

• 24-hour Liberty Service Station, Lismore
• Astro Service Station, Lismore
• The Smashed Avo grocer at Goonellabah
• The IGA on Rous Road, Goonellabah
• Hilltop Station grocer
• General stores at Bexhill, Clunes Goolmangar, Dunoon and the Channon 

• The FoodWorks at Wollongbar
• The Village Fresh Fruit and Veg, Alstonville  
• The Woodburn Service Station
• Coraki Spar
• Casino at the West post office. 
• The Manor pantry at Kyogle

You can also buy them online and have them delivered locally for free!

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