Being a vendor during a pandemic : starting or buying a business
Among all the vendors of Dieppe’s Market, some of them have founded or bought a business during the Covid-19 pandemic. For our second article of this series of blogs, here are a few stories of vendors who had to deal with the challenges of the pandemic right after starting their new journey.
Also read the first article of this series :
Being a vendor during the pandemic: the home delivery service
A creative mother-daughter project
It’s around the beginning of the pandemic, in April 2020, that Caroline Boudreau (a new vendor at the Dieppe Market) and her daughter Élodie, 8 years old, have started making craft earrings.
“My daughter is very creative and spends a lot of time on Youtube searching for inspiration. One day she told me “Mom, we should make earrings!” [...] A few months later, ELO New Style, inspired by the young girl’s name, was created.
The founder explains that the earrings made from leather that she offers every week at the Dieppe and Bouctouche’s Market (and in 5 hair and esthetics salons in Tracadie) were at first supposed to be made out of clay.
Having never participated in a market before, the owner of ELO New Style had to face a lot of challenges, relying on vendors who had been participating for a few years now testimonies and experiences.
“When I first started, there were not many people nor tourists. Many regular vendors around me were not selling anything.”
Caroline also explains that the concern of the clients towards the pandemic had a big impact on artisanal product sales when Dieppe’s Market reopened.
“At first, people seemed timid and did not dare approach our kiosk even though we had an operational plan and security measures in place.” [In line with the Dieppe Market management office requirements in order for vendors to be able to set their booths.]
“Then we got used to the routine and things kept getting better until we got back to the red phase.”
The founder of ELO New Style concludes however on a positive note : “We see a lot of support from the public. Clients are supporting the vendors and are extremely comprehensive. They respect the rules, keep their distance and still purchase our products despite everything.”
A useful and innovative solution!
Jessica Caissie, who you probably already met at Dieppe’s Market last fall, makes masks that stand out by their functionality.
Wearing a mask being first recommended and now required during this pandemic, the idea came from her parents when last October, she was searching for a special function : “I was looking for an anti-fog mask since I wear glasses!”.
She then decided to look on the internet to find a solution. “That’s when I found a tutorial on Youtube.”
With this discovery, Jessica immediately starts making her first reusable anti-fog mask and makes some improvements at the same time. With a circular shape, she explains that the trick for a mask adapted to people with glasses is the way the mask is folded so that the expired air will not fog the glasses.
This discovery became a success: “I could put my glasses, remove the elastics, move like I wanted to, my glasses were holding it at its place and I did not have an annoying fog problem anymore.”
However, despite the pandemic that favours buying her products, Jessica Caissie is facing some challenges as well. With some stores being closed, material becoming rare or more expensive, and shipping time being extended, finding materials that are trendy, accessible and comfy is not always easy.
The young creator that will be back at the Dieppe Market from February 6th 2021, persists and does everything she can to provide safety to her customers. She washes every mask once they are done before carefully packing them and for special needs, the anti-fog masks expert also offers a custom made service!
A new type of “fusion” cuisine
The local business Mets Acadiens was bought by Kha Quach in february 2020 just before the pandemic. This caterer and founder of Gourmet Meals, a popular restaurant in Moncton offering a mixt of Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine, also had his share of challenges.
“I had problems for a few months after COVID-19 happened. From March up to July, we struggled. We didn’t know what to do. At that time the farmers markets shut down and we had to shut down our restaurant too. It took us months to figure out what to do.”
The owner of Mets Acadiens decided to create his own and unique trademark in order to diversify its product offering as well as his sales locations.
“We bought the business and created an Acadian and Chinese food fusion. Everything is homemade, vacuum sealed and frozen before being sent to our customers”, which facilitates the distribution of his products.
“We did home meal delivery and decide to expand our business wider by supplying our meals to open grocery stores such as Jean Coutu, Corn Crib, and MacArthur’s Nurseries. We also supply our meals to the George-Dumont hospital.”
In their meals, you’ll find potatoes substituting noodles, and vice-versa. “We have seafood chowder served with potatoes, so we made the seafood chowder [...] with rice noodles [...]”
This new method was working very well until we went back to the orange phase last September.
“We are now back in red phase. Not knowing how long it will last, I have to figure out new ways to survive.”
Despite the challenges, Mets Acadiens customers never miss a chance to show their appreciation. “Our community is very happy to be able to purchase our products. A lot of the people are now working from home and need ready-to-eat meals too.”