Fudge company owner thankful that ‘people are really trying to shop local’

Having weathered the storm of the Covid-19 pandemic, the owner of Ely Fudge Company believes that “people are really trying to buy local”.

Louise Mortimer said that, despite losing money from trade shows and different events that have been cancelled, “the shop itself has done quite well”.

She added that “trade-wise, we’ve actually been slightly up”, as well as having received rates relief on the building from the local council.

What really helped throughout lockdown, according to assistant manager Emma Harvey, was the success of their online website.

Louise said she is optimistic for the future: “We’re quite pleased with how we’re doing, as long as we don’t have another lockdown. That’s the key thing - to keep everything open.”

She added that the support from local people has helped to get the company through the tough time.

“When we were shut, a lot of people got into using the online website, which will hopefully carry on.

“And everyone has commented a lot on social media about how happy they are that we are back open.

Louise added that the support has been “really lovely; it’s a lovely little city and there is a great amount of support.

“People are very much trying to buy local - even if they are not local themselves.

“They’re trying not to use the big chains; we keep hearing that from other independent shop owners too.”