April 1, 2022

11:04

Iury Lima – from Cenarium Magazine 

VILHENA (RO) – Millions of views, almost 40 thousand new followers (and counting), completely jammed message channels and countless requests for orders from other countries: so has been the new routine of Flakes confectionery, from Porto Velho, in Rondônia, after singer Britney Spears, one of the biggest divas of pop music around the planet, shared a video in which the store presents the product that has everything to become its newest flagship.

Despite the boom and gratitude to the artist, for 27-year-old founder and CEO Leonardo Borges, the reason for the success was the work dedicated to the brand since 2016, a time when he needed an extra income while attending medical school.

“Behind it, there’s a lot of work. It has dedication and constancy. If I hadn’t improved the quality of the products, this video wouldn’t have reached her. From the time I started making the candies, I started creating the content, videos and photos that attract attention”, he said in an interview to CENARIUM on Thursday 31st.

Now graduated, he dedicates himself exclusively to confectionery, due to the success of these last six years in partnership with his mother, Laura Vicuna Borges. In fact, having fallen in the taste of illustrious figures is nothing new, but he confesses that something of this proportion had never happened.

“Since 2016 I’ve been working like this. So, from then to now, many famous pages have already posted our work. International figures have also posted, but someone of this level of reach, with 40 million followers, never. So, it was surprising, yes. And, moreover, with a very big national impact,” she said, exuding joy.

“I had no reaction at all, really. I started receiving several messages on WhatsApp and thought it was a joke. I ran to Instagram to check and saw that it was true. I had no reaction at first, because someone with so much reach posting about our work and still loving it (…) it was something really surprising” added the young entrepreneur. 

Viral even before

The video that made Britney Spears’ mouth water has already yielded almost 8 million views on Instagram. But even before that, other publications by Flakes had already shown the world the potential of Brazilian chocolate made in Rondônia. 

On the social network video platform, one of them reached 10 million views. On Twitter, it was watched almost 50 million times. “This video, for sure, she saw because it went viral about three or four weeks ago. It probably fell into her insta “explore”, so she must have seen it and decided to share it”, Borges theorized.

Britney’s Egg

One way to thank the singer was to baptize the easter egg she shared with her name: and so the Britney Egg was born – a sales success on the very first day of the hype generated by the engagement with almost a hundred sales during the workday.

“This easter egg was already on our menu. So there, at the moment, I thought: let’s change the name to see people’s reaction and, quickly, people started sharing, interacting, and they liked it a lot,” explained Leonardo. “The whole day was busy with the store and orders in full swing. There are thousands of messages and our team is responding. This Easter has everything to be the best of our lives,” celebrated the success.

Besides the international star, fans of the singer and people from all over the world have turned their eyes to the chocolates and the wide variety of handmade, fresh and preservative-free products made by Flakes. “A lot of people coming after, from other states, other countries, and unfortunately we don’t do shipping. We have a limited production and the distance also hinders a little bit, due to the freight issue,” detailed the CEO of the brand, who replied to the singer on direct and hopes, at least, to pass the recipe of the delicacy to her. 

“I’m still waiting for her message. I sent a direct asking if I can deliver it there [in the United States] for her, or if I can teach her how to make an easter egg. I’m sure it will work out,” she joked. 

‘Instagrammable’ trend

The term may sound really strange and different, but this is “the concept model” that founder Leonardo Borges wants to follow with the brand. So much so that Flakes’ physical unit in Porto Velho has already undergone this transformation. In other words, it means that the environment is much more like the social network that boosts sales so much.

“We reopened a few weeks ago and it all started on Instagram. That’s why we brought this approach with several corners to take pictures. And this is the concept store model that we intend to expand to other states. The idea is that each city has its own local production so that people can have the same experience as the customers from Porto Velho have here,” he revealed about the project to open franchises; a plan that has already lasted for about a year.

A (more) successful future

Laura Borges, Leonardo’s mother, is our business partner. Partner and co-founder, she does not hide her pride. “There are moments when we feel that emotion, that desire to cry for seeing that all the work we did is being reflected in people’s recognition”, she declared, overcome with emotion.

“Everything takes work, but it is rewarding when the customer comes to the store, compliments and likes it. It is not enough to be pretty, it has to be tasty”, she also said. 

Besides the project of opening franchised stores, the entrepreneur also manages the Flakes Academy, which has more than 15,000 students and trains professional confectioners.

“I started selling chocolates in medical school to have an extra income and so I graduated. There were shifts, store, courses, I also worked in a health center in the middle of the pandemic (…) Maybe, if I hadn’t done medicine, I wouldn’t have come to this”, concluded the young Leonardo.

“I am very grateful and may the best things come ahead”, concluded the CEO’s mother and partner at Flakes.