Rum & Butter nostalgia leads to business boom for South Dildo chocolate maker
Original Cadbury bar was discontinued in the 1990s
Tracy Pitcher-Stoyles has been making her own take on the once-popular Rum & Butter chocolate bar for years, but since the bar has surged in popularity again on social media, she says she can hardly keep up with the demand.
The inspiration for her creation, Cadbury's Rum & Butter bar, was a favourite for many in the 1980s but was discontinued in the 1990s. At her own treat shop, Busy Mom's Homemade Treats in South Dildo, Pitcher-Stoyles knew she wanted to try to recreate the bar.
"When it got discontinued, I missed it. It was mine and my father's favourite bar growing up. And I wanted to try to recreate it," she told The St. John's Morning Show on Friday.
"Over 120 attempts, [it took] a very long time."
Although Pitcher-Stoyles has been making the bar for some time, she said the Rum & Butter bar has recently made a resurgence on social media across Canada — thanks to an Alberta chocolate-maker buying the trademark from Cadbury.
Pitcher-Stoyles said she's tried the Alberta bar, and that it just doesn't match what she remembers.
"I can remember them with a lot more filling in them than this one had. I can remember them a little bigger. It just wasn't the right taste."
Since she was unable to afford the trademark, Pitcher-Stoyles flipped the name around and began making Butter Rum bars.
When the bar from Alberta began making the rounds on social media, Pitcher-Stoyles said people in Newfoundland and Labrador began scouting her creation to try it for themselves.
"The store's gone crazy. Everybody's calling looking for the Butter Rum bars and we can't keep up. I'm making triple the batches right now," she said.
"Everybody's saying it's a new bar and you got to try the Rum & Butter bars. Well, no, Busy Mom's has been doing it for X amount of years."
The Rum & Butter fever has Busy Mom's making more than 140 bars per day — and selling out just about every day. Pitcher-Stoyles also has a wait list of orders both locally and across the country.
The store is also launching more retro bars in the coming days on top of what they already make, including Graham Sandwiches, Willowcrisps, Maple Buds, Rosebuds and Nutchos.
"It's pretty much a hobby of mine. It's just something that I always wanted to do. Right now I've got two employees, we're still really small, but we're doing it," she said.
"I don't think I'll ever go to the machinery. I want to stay small, and unique and handmade."
With files from The St. John's Morning Show
