Latest news with #Wholesome
RTÉ News
7 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
How a Mullingar sweet shop has embraced viral food trends
When David Quirke opened Sugarplum Sweetery in Co Westmeath just three years ago alongside his wife, Denise, it was partly driven by a desire to balance their healthy restaurant Wholesome, which they'd opened three years prior, with something more "naughty". Creating one of the most viral and coveted sweet treats to hit the Irish food market in years was probably not on their five-year plan. Sugarplum Sweetery, a multicoloured and eye-catching shop in Mullingar, had been drawing sweet fanatics with its selection of gummies and chocolates since it opened, but it wasn't until they launched their take on the viral Dubai chocolate bar that business truly started to boom. "We've always been a social media-led brand", Quirke said at TikTok's 2025 Trend Forecast event in Dublin on Thursday. "Everything we do, we're obviously massively inspired by Willy Wonka, everything is nostalgia-based. When you come to our ship it's all about an experience. It's bringing back in that nostalgia." Heavily inspired by the likes of Roald Dahl, and anything that excites the imagination as well as the stomach, Quirke recalled seeing how the original Dubai chocolate bar by Fix - a thick milk chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream and crispy Knafeh pastry flakes - captured the attention of viewers across the world, before dying down again as homebakers tried their hand at copying the recipe. The couple travelled to Dubai to taste the original, spending a month tweaking their recipe at home to create a version that uses Irish butter and other "secret ingredients". Taking a new product from testing to market is an arduous process, and one made more challenging for the team due to the time of year: "When we seen that there was a massive demand for this, it came around Christmas, which is our busiest time of the year - about a third of your yearly turnover would come in December. To add on [the] Dubai [bar] and a massive viral hit, we had to hire huge amounts of staff so quickly, we had to train them up, we had to expand our kitchens, buy new equipment, and all of that took a few weeks or a few months, but we expanded as fast as we possibly could." Despite this, there was still a four-week delay for customers waiting to get their hands on the bar - something that only added to its appeal. "We thought that might be damaging to the business, that people might not want to wait as long, but it went even more nuts when people were waiting four weeks. Everyone wanted to jump into the queue to get chocolate." Now, six months after the launch, the Sugarplum team is still working 24-hour days. Far from being a one-off viral hit, Quirke believes their take on the pistachio-filled bar isn't going anywhere. "It's all down to reorders. It's something that we feel will still be our number one product in five years' time." Having tasted virality once, it's not surprising then that the team has embraced novelty and catching trends as they come: "You become addicted to that viral nature of it. Even six months on the company is very viral on TikTok and that's down to jumping on every trend that's there." Their latest launch - thick-filled chocolate bars packed with indulgent ingredients - is another response to dessert bars, which have proven popular on social media.
NDTV
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Fake Or Real? Here's The Truth Behind The Viral Kangaroo Airport Video
A heartwarming video of a kangaroo holding a boarding pass has gone viral, captivating the internet's attention. The clip shows the kangaroo patiently waiting to board a plane while two women, a passenger and airline staff, engage in a heated debate. The video was shared by user "Wholesome Side of X," who often posts viral content. The adorable video was captioned, "Airline staff is not allowing this cute kangaroo to board the aeroplane, the way he is holding the boarding pass and waiting to be scanned." Check the video here: Airline staff is not allowing this cute kangaroo to board the airplane, the way he is holding the boarding pass and waiting to be scanned 🥺 (ai) — Wholesome Side of 𝕏 (@itsme_urstruly) May 26, 2025 The video has gone viral, garnering more than 4 million views on X. The adorable marsupial's big eyes and cute demeanour have won over viewers. One user wrote, "Bro looks better behaved than most adults that board planes." Another commented, "It looks like the kangaroo is the calmest one in this video." A third added, "Oh, why, oh why? He is still anticipating getting into the aircraft. pls let him... Guess he passed the security check as well." The video's authenticity was questioned by many viewers, with some speculating that it might be AI-generated. This suspicion was further supported by the user who shared the video, captioning it as "(AI)". Notably, the video originated from the Instagram page "Infinite Unreality," which specialises in bizarre AI-generated videos, including clips of other animals in unusual situations, like hippos and giraffes on planes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Infinite Unreality (@infiniteunreality) When prompted by a user on its origins, Grok, an AI assistant, also called the video fake and wrote, "Yes, the video of a kangaroo holding a boarding pass at an airport is likely AI-generated. The original post labels it as '(ai),' and no credible reports confirm such an event. Kangaroos have appeared at airports, like Melbourne in 2013 or on a 2021 flight, but not as passengers with tickets. The scenario is highly implausible, and AI tools in 2025 commonly create such content. No evidence suggests the video is real." The viral kangaroo video highlights the growing realism of AI-generated content and the ease with which it can mislead viewers, sparking discussions about the need for effective ways to verify authenticity. Expressing frustration, one user wrote, "These fake videos need to stop." Another said, "God save us from this tsunami of AI crap."
