There was a season in my life when a Lemon Drop felt like the perfect little reward at the end of a long corporate day, back when I was getting dressed for work, handling business, keeping up with emails and meetings, and still making sure I looked cute enough to slide right into after-work plans without missing a beat.

That was my ponytail era for real, because I kept a ponytail laid and swinging like it had somewhere to be, and most days it did. Once work was done, I already knew the night was going to end with me meeting my friends, sitting at the bar, listening to the music, and letting the whole day loosen its grip a little bit.

from my ponytail era

We would meet up at this restaurant and order Lemon Drops, and over time it became one of those simple routines that felt bigger than it probably looked from the outside. We were not trying to make every night a big production. We were just showing up cute, sitting together, talking about life, laughing about whatever had happened that week, and giving ourselves permission to enjoy the evening without rushing through it.

To the bar.

To my friends.

To that music playing in the background.

I think about how present we were, because we were not sitting there glued to our phones or half-listening while scrolling. We were really talking, really listening, letting the music play in the background, and enjoying the kind of friendship that makes even an ordinary night feel like something worth remembering.

A Lemon Drop sitting pretty in front of me always felt like the day had finally decided to be sweet.

Now, I’m not going to act like I never touched my phone, because if the outfit was cute, the ponytail was sitting right, and that Lemon Drop was glowing in front of me, I was absolutely going to take a quick selfie. A girl needs documentation when she looks good and feels good at the same time.

But after that, the phone went back down, and the night went right back to what it was supposed to be, good drinks, good conversation, good music, and that grown-woman feeling of being outside with your friends, not trying to prove anything, just enjoying yourself.

That is the memory I wanted Lemon Drop Kernelz™ to carry. I loved Lemon Drops so much during that time that I learned how to make them at home, because I wanted to understand how to get that balance just right. The bright lemon, the smooth sweetness, and that little sparkle all had to work together in a way that felt fun, feminine, and grown without being too heavy.

When it came time to bring that feeling into Kernelz™, I was thinking about the first sip after a long day, the barstool conversations with my girls, the music in the room, the cute selfie before the real talking started, and that version of myself who was working hard but still making room to enjoy her life.

Lemon Drop Kernelz™ is bright, sweet, smooth, and full of that cocktail-hour glow, made for the lemon lovers, the best-friend linkups, the after-work unwinders, and anybody who knows a flavor can hold a memory just as strong as a song can.

This one belongs in the Bussin’ Universe because it carries a whole mood with it, citrus in the air, gloss in the purse, music in the background, laughter at the bar, and a ponytail swinging like the night was made just for her.

She is bright, she is smooth, she is cute at the bar, and she knows how to enjoy herself.

Welcome to the galaxy, Lemon Drop Kernelz™.

Behind the Flavorz: Lemon Meringue Pie Kernelz™ — Aunt Shell, Family Functions, and That Sweet-Tang Bite

made for the dessert table I still think about

One of my favorite dishes growing up was lemon meringue pie. That was my dessert. I’m talking about the one I’d be thinking about before we even pulled up.

And it was always Aunt Shell.

Aunt Shell would bring them lemon meringue pies to everything — Thanksgiving, family reunions, and honestly whatever function somebody decided to throw together.

That’s how it is down South. Families like mine are big, and we gathered for any holiday that came with a plate. Easter, for sure. Halloween… not really, but you know, we still saw each other.

We just found reasons.

That’s what we did.

Lemon meringue pie doesn’t just mean dessert to me. It means walking into a room full of your people and already knowing what the table is giving.

I used to eat mine with a fork, real slow. I’d try to stretch the moment out.

I’d also try to sneak a bigger piece — every single time.

And every single time, I’d get caught.

spot the pie
wait my turn
try for the big piece
get humbled

End up with a smaller piece like I didn’t know any better.

It was sweet and tangy, and it had this flavor right in the middle that I couldn’t put my finger on when I was younger. I just knew it hit. I knew it made me pause. I knew I wanted another bite before the last one even happened.

Not just lemon. Not just sweet. That feeling.

When I decided to do popcorn, that was one of the first things that came to mind. I wanted to recreate that childhood moment of watching Aunt Shell set that pie down like she knew she was about to make everybody happy.

Now she don’t make lemon meringue pie anymore.

Shame on you, Shell.

and if you reading this, get back in the kitchen 😭🍋

So I did what I do.

And yes, it’s the first to exist — built on my special formula, my frozen popcorn — because I wanted it to feel different. I wanted it to carry that same sweet-tang balance and that soft, creamy “what is that?” feeling I remember from the middle of the pie.

This flavor is Aunt Shell walking in with the pie.

The family already circling the table.

Me trying to act like I was not planning my second piece before my first one was gone.

Lemon Meringue Pie Kernelz™ is sweet, tangy, creamy, bright, and built from a family-table feeling.

This one means a lot to me.

I think about those days all the time. I miss them. I want us to stay close. I want the generation after us to still know what it feels like to be in a room full of family, laughing too loud, eating good, and side-eyeing somebody because they tried to grab an extra piece.

the family, the plate, the memory

A Cosmic Winter Snack: Blue Raspberry Sherbet Kernelz™ Arrives

babyyyy, the freezer been gossipin’

Babyyyy let me tell you somethin’…
The universe been whisperin’, the freezer been hummin’, and I been listenin’.
So here she go, struttin’ out the cold like she know she fine:

Blue Raspberry Sherbet Kernelz™

A sweet-n-tangy, sherbet-style frozen popcorn that hits your tongue like a cold summer memory wrapped in a winter coat. It gives icy sparkle, creamy swirl, and that little lip-smack moment where you pause like, “Hold on… who made this?”

Baby blue plus creamy white swirl?

LOOKIN’. LIKE. A. SNACK.

And making you one in the process.

This flavor was created to celebrate the brand-new Frozen Line on the site — a whole icy galaxy dedicated to treats that can chill in your freezer and still come out tasting like they were mixed five minutes ago.

Six. Whole. Months.

That is not just storage. That is freezer-to-fantasy technology. That is “I forgot I had a bag and now my future self is blessed” behavior. That is winter snack insurance with a little blue sparkle on top.

for the blue raspberry lovers</kz_caption]

This one is for the folks who grew up thinking blue raspberry was a whole different fruit. Like it fell from a blue tree in a magic orchard only kids, corner stores, snow cone stands, and slushie machines could see.

And chile… growing up, my favorite color was BLUE. So anything blue? I was eating it on sight. Candy, drinks, popsicles, snow cones, slushies — if it looked like it came from a cartoon freezer, I was already reaching.

I didn’t know I was low-key a raspberry girl. I just thought the universe painted it cute and called it a day.

A whole childhood thinking “blue” was the flavor. Turns out raspberry been my boo all along.

So this drop is personal. It is nostalgic. It is full-circle flavor healing. It is that blue-mouth, sticky-finger, winter-break snack memory coming back grown, glossy, and Kernelz cute.

Taste

Sweet raspberry tang with that icy sherbet-style pop.

Look

Baby blue and creamy white swirl energy.

Vibe

Cold, cute, nostalgic, and a little dramatic.

This is the bag for the blue raspberry girlies, the blue raspberry boys, and everybody in between who ever believed blue was a flavor and nobody could tell them different.

It is winter-themed, but it still carries that cold summer memory. Like walking through snow with a slushie in your spirit. Like your childhood snack drawer put on a faux-fur coat. Like the freezer opened up and said, “Come get this sparkle real quick.”

The Frozen Line is officially here.

Pick your frozen flavor
Pop it in the freezer
Save it for your sweet-tooth emergency
Pull it out when the craving calls

Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Popcorn

the first frozen bite that changed the lab

Strawberry Cheesecake Kernelz™ is where the frozen popcorn line really began. Before it became the red-and-white fan favorite sitting pretty in the cold-storage galaxy, it started as a kitchen-lab dream: sweet strawberry shine, creamy cheesecake richness, and a crunchy frozen-popcorn finish that had to be tested, remixed, frozen, thawed, and perfected batch by batch.

This is the story of how Strawberry Cheesecake Kernelz™ became the OG frozen flavor — the one that taught the Bussin’ lab patience, texture, timing, and what happens when dessert popcorn gets bold enough to become something brand new.

Kitchen-lab dream
Six months of testing
Frozen-popcorn blueprint
OG flavor status

Why Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Popcorn Had to Be Different

A regular sweet popcorn would not have been enough. Strawberry Cheesecake frozen popcorn needed that soft, creamy dessert feeling without losing the crunch that makes Kernelz™ Kernelz™. The strawberry side had to pop bright and sweet, while the cheesecake side had to bring that smooth, rich finish that makes people close their eyes after the first bite.

The flavor mission

Bright strawberry sweetness, creamy cheesecake richness, and that signature Kernelz™ crunch all had to work together — even after the popcorn went frozen.

This flavor had to taste like dessert, but still bite like popcorn. That balance is what made the lab keep going back to the bowl, the freezer, and the recipe notes.

The mission was not just to make something sweet. It was to create a frozen dessert-popcorn experience that felt layered from the first bite to the last: berry up front, cheesecake in the middle, and a cold crunchy finish that made people understand why this flavor had to lead the frozen line.

From the maker

This one took patience.

Founder Spotlight

Hi, I’m Kēsh!

A quick hello from the flavor brain behind That’s Bussin’ Kernelz — made with heart, Memphis energy, and popcorn that actually tastes like something.

From Kitchen-Lab Idea to Frozen Flavor Blueprint

This flavor took six months of testing, remixing, freezing, thawing, and trying again. Every batch helped build the blueprint for the frozen popcorn line — not just a flavor, but a whole new way to experience gourmet popcorn.

Some batches had the berry. Some had the cream. Some had the crunch before freezing, but not after. Strawberry Cheesecake had to pass every version of the test before it could become the flavor that opened the freezer door for everything that came next.

This was not just a flavor. This was the beginning of the frozen Kernelz™ universe.

Taste the OG Frozen Kernelz™ Flavor

If you want the flavor that started it all, shop Strawberry Cheesecake Kernelz™ and explore more frozen popcorn flavors from That’s Bussin’. You can also read more flavor stories in the Bussin’ Universe Logz.