State's only Black-owned soda company celebrating culture and community

Oklahoma’s only Black-owned soda company celebrating culture and community

One man set out to celebrate culture and community after founding what he calls Oklahoma’s only Black-owned soda company

Oklahoma’s only Black-owned soda company celebrating culture and community

One man set out to celebrate culture and community after founding what he calls Oklahoma’s only Black-owned soda company

TASTE OF AFROPOP. IT’S NOT YOUR CLASSIC SODA. PEOPLE LOVE AFROPOP AND PEOPLE FEEL A DEEP CONNECTION TO IT. WHAT MAKES HIM STAND OUT? THEY SAY THEY FIZZLE OUT THE COMPETITION AS THEY’RE BASED ON THREE C’S CREATIVITY. OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A BLANK CANVAS FOR ARTISTS TO CRAFT. BLACKER THE BERRY. LIKE I SAID, THAT WAS THE ONE THAT’S INSPIRED BY HIP HOP AND CULTURE. I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS NO BLACK OWNED SODA COMPANY IN OKLAHOMA, YOU KNOW. AND SO I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, YOU KNOW, FOR US TO HAVE THAT AS A COMMUNITY AND AS, AS A AND AS A CULTURAL GROUP. JAMEL STEPHENS, THE FOUNDER OF AFRO POP, SAYS HE’S OKLAHOMA’S ONLY BLACK OWNED SODA BRAND. HE SAYS HIS CREATIVITY LED HIM TO CREATE THE CRAFT, BUT HE DREW INSPIRATION FROM J COLA, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE FEW BLACK OWNED SODA BRANDS IN THE SOUTHWEST. IT WAS A MIRACLE TO BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN THE 1960S, AND HONESTLY, IT PAVED THE WAY FOR ME TO DO THAT AGAIN. HIS SODA ALSO ALLOWS LOCAL BLACK ARTISTS TO SHOWCASE THEIR TALENTS, AS EACH CAN IS A CANVAS FOR STORY. FOR EXAMPLE, WITH GRANDMA’S HOUSE, THAT’S THE YOU KNOW, THAT’S OUR BUTTERSCOTCH CREAM SODA. AND SO, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE THINKS ABOUT GRANDMA’S HOUSE AND THAT BOWL OF CANDY WAITING FOR THEM IN A MARKET THAT’S EXTREMELY CROWDED. THERE’S STILL NOT A WHOLE LOT OF NATURAL OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE. AND SO I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO GIVE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, AN AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE AS WELL AS A NATURAL EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU POP INTO YOUR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES, THAT’S WHERE YOU’LL FIND AFRO POP. STEPHENS SAYS HIS END GOAL IS TO MAKE IT INTO BIGGER RETAILERS, SUPPORTING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, SUPPORTING THESE SMALL BUSINESSES. IT JUST CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR FAMILIES TO BE ABLE TO BE SUPPORTED AND, YOU KNOW, YOU’RE NOT JUST SUPPORTING A LARGE CORPORATION, BUT YOU’RE SUPPORTING PEOPLE THAT ARE RIGHT HERE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

Oklahoma’s only Black-owned soda company celebrating culture and community

One man set out to celebrate culture and community after founding what he calls Oklahoma’s only Black-owned soda company

One man set out to celebrate culture and community after founding what he calls Oklahoma’s only Black-owned soda company. >> Download the KOCO 5 app | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channelIt’s not your classic soda.“People love Afropop, and people feel a deep connection to it,�� said Jamel Stephens, founder of Afropop.What makes them stand out? They say they fizzle out the competition as they’re based on the “three C’s": creativity, craft and culture.“An opportunity to create a blank canvas for artists,�� Stephens said. “Blacker the Berry, like I said, inspired by hip-hop. I noticed there was no Black-owned soda company in Oklahoma, so I wanted to be able to create an opportunity for us to have that as a community and as a culture group.”He said his creativity led him to create the craft, but he drew inspiration from Jay-Kola, which was one of the few Black-owned soda brands in the southwest U.S.“It was a miracle to be able to do something like that in the 1960s and, honestly, it paved the way for me to do that again,�� Stephens said.Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.His soda also allows local Black artists to showcase their talents, as each can is a canvas for storytelling.“With Grandma’s House, that’s the butterscotch crème soda, everyone thinks about grandma’s house and that bowl of candy waiting for them,�� Stephens said. “In a market that’s extremely crowded, there’s not a whole lot of natural options for people, and I wanted to give people an authentic experience as well as a natural experience.”When you pop into your small local businesses, that’s where you’ll find Afropop.Stephens said his end goal is to make it into bigger retailers.“Supporting the local community, supporting small businesses. It creates opportunities for families to be supported, and you know you’re not supporting a large corporation but supporting people right here in your community,�� Stephens said.Top HeadlinesGene Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog found dead in New Mexico homeA flight like no other: Friends take off on plane as only two passengersOG&E customers to see higher bills starting in April after latest bill increaseEdmond family grieving loss of man killed in ‘senseless act of violence’Federal pipeline plans have Oklahoma town buzzing

One man set out to celebrate culture and community after founding what he calls Oklahoma’s only Black-owned soda company.

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It’s not your classic soda.

“People love Afropop, and people feel a deep connection to it,�� said Jamel Stephens, founder of Afropop.

What makes them stand out? They say they fizzle out the competition as they’re based on the “three C’s": creativity, craft and culture.

“An opportunity to create a blank canvas for artists,�� Stephens said. “Blacker the Berry, like I said, inspired by hip-hop. I noticed there was no Black-owned soda company in Oklahoma, so I wanted to be able to create an opportunity for us to have that as a community and as a culture group.��

He said his creativity led him to create the craft, but he drew inspiration from Jay-Kola, which was one of the few Black-owned soda brands in the southwest U.S.

“It was a miracle to be able to do something like that in the 1960s and, honestly, it paved the way for me to do that again,�� Stephens said.

His soda also allows local Black artists to showcase their talents, as each can is a canvas for storytelling.

“With Grandma’s House, that’s the butterscotch crème soda, everyone thinks about grandma’s house and that bowl of candy waiting for them,�� Stephens said. “In a market that’s extremely crowded, there’s not a whole lot of natural options for people, and I wanted to give people an authentic experience as well as a natural experience.��

When you pop into your small local businesses, that’s where you’ll find Afropop.

Stephens said his end goal is to make it into bigger retailers.

“Supporting the local community, supporting small businesses. It creates opportunities for families to be supported, and you know you’re not supporting a large corporation but supporting people right here in your community,�� Stephens said.

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Oklahoma’s only Black-owned soda company celebrating culture and community

One man set out to celebrate culture and community after founding what he calls Oklahoma’s only Black-owned soda company

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