Wild Flours Sweets and Treats Happy To Report Pandemic Not Dampening Enthusiasm For Valentine’s Day
This story is part of a series on Maritime chocolate and candy companies gearing up for Valentine’s Day.
SAINT JOHN – Uptown Saint John’s bakery Wild Flours Sweets and Treats is more than ready for a socially-distanced Valentine’s Day with their deliciously decadent confections.
“I feel like when it comes to the holiday seasons like Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day we still get quite a few orders, even during the pandemic,” says Wild Flours Sweets and Treats owner Sarah McNulty, adding Christmas and Halloween are also extremely busy holidays.
Wild Flours has seen a drop in revenues overall throughout Covid-19 and New Brunswick’s shift between recovery levels makes it difficult to draw up accurate revenue projections.
“We’re hanging in there, we have loyal customers who come to see us a lot and this year, especially around Christmastime, we really saw the push for support for local,” she said. “People really understood that it’s more important now than ever and then if you want your favorite shops to continue you got to get out there and support them.”
Despite the ups and downs of the pandemic, McNulty saw people kept sending gifts and treats they normally send throughout the year. There was also an uptick in treats being purchased and sent to cheer people up while stuck in quarantine or self-isolation.
“People just want to cheer each other up with something sweet, something nice to send your friends or family,” said McNulty. “We found at Christmastime a lot of people were sending treats where they weren’t able to come home and visit where they normally would.”
She added Wild Flours gets a wide range of Valentine’s Day orders, from women buying treats for their family and children to men with last-minute and walk-in orders for the special people in their lives.
This year’s selection of sweets, from cupcakes and specialty chocolate covered strawberries to ‘Heart Breakers,’ have been very popular.
“We are where we expected to be right now – it seems like it’s going to be close to a regular Valentine’s Day for us, which is great,” says McNulty.
Seeing people enjoy their Valentine’s confections on social media is a major reward for the bakery.
“There are a few people that post them every year, they always have their little setup of what they get for flowers and the treats,” she said. “We love it when people tag us and we get to see it because that’s what it’s all about – we want people to be able the surprise and then enjoy.”
Other stories in the series:
- Adorable Chocolat Made In The Tradition Of French Chocolatiers
- 2021 Can Only Be Sweeter For McGuire Chocolate
- This Halifax Couple Celebrates Valentine’s Day Making Chocolates For You
- Podcast: Bryana Ganong And The Chocolate Factory