CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Best friends Rachel McBeth and Jamie Francom created Taste the Carolinas during the pandemic to try and get business back into local bakeries.
Each month six local bakeries include an item like a brownie or a doughnut in a Taste the Carolinas box for a blind taste test. Once the winner is chosen, the bakeries are revealed with the hopes that customers will go back to buy something again.
What You Need to Know
Taste the Carolinas boxes include goods from local bakeries set up for a blind taste test
The Percantile and Creamery on Concord won the July brownie box contest
Winning the brownie contest gave the Percantile and Creamery a boost on social media and brought in new customers who wanted more brownies
July's box was full of brownies, including the winning salted caramel brownie from The Percantile and Creamery in Concord. Sean Colas, owner of The Percantile and Creamery, said they got a ton of exposure on social media.
“We had a huge uptick in the brownie sales, which was really nice,” Colas said. “And just general exposure.”
The exposure was a welcome change from the drop in sales Colas, like so many other restaurants, saw during the pandemic.
“We cut our hours back, and we were just basically in survival mode,” Colas said.
The Percantile and Creamery is located at 8635 Concord Mills Bvd., Concord, N.C. 28027.
The Taste the Carolinas October tasting box is pumpkin themed and can be ordered through September 25 with an October 1 pick up.