“A business with a soul”: The success story of Lush Crush ice-pops

Published on: April 8, 2019

“There’s no other way of finding out if you would have been successful. Just take the plunge and do it,” says Ayesha Samie Cashmiri, owner of Pakistan’s first ice-pop-only parlour, Lush Crush.

When people would question Ayesha about opening a shop that only sells ice pops, that too at a price point much higher than commercial popsicles, she did not let the scepticism stand in her way.

As a mother of three daughters, she saw the market gap for healthy treats for children and believed that ice-pops made with care would sell.

Launched in August 2017, Lush Crush quickly gained popularity for its delicious, guilt-free ice-pops, made with all-natural ingredients and no preservatives or added sugar. It sold more than 10,000 ice-pops in its first month of business, and in less than two years, Lush Crush has opened three more outlets in Karachi.

When asked about why their story resonates with customers and what draws them in consistently, she says Lush Crush is a business with a soul.

“If we say an ice-pop is made with real oranges, they know we’re telling the truth.”

Watch our interview with Ayesha to hear why she took the plunge to run a first-of-its-kind food business (01:16); how she continues to maintain the popularity of the brand (02:30); challenges faced in the business (03:28), and her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs (04:18).

Without any prior experience in entrepreneurship, Ayesha’s interest in branding and innovation, along with her teaching experience gave her some solid footing when making a product from scratch. Formerly a lecturer at The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and later an assistant professor at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi, Ayesha’s academic experience came in handy while she poured over chemistry journals to learn the science of freezing and other production processes.

Ayesha’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: don’t fall into the trap of fear, because once you start to fear, you have stopped growing.

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This video has been published in association with Lush Crush.