Sarah McGourty and Sandro Grech, co-owners of Miss Ellen’s travelling treats believe in supplying Easter eggs which are a little less traditional, but a little more special.

“We try and get things which aren’t readily available on the island, like salted caramel eggs. One particular kind is chocolate with hazelnut truffle, covered by a real, painted egg shell,” said the Irish and Maltese duo.

“People do come in looking for the traditional kind, and we sell many smaller items as Easter gifts. Since we are not a supermarket and we don’t get big quantities, the cost is going to be a little bit higher. Keeping that in mind we try and get different things, something a bit more special which is worth spending that little bit extra,” Ms McGourty continued.

Miss Ellen’s travelling treats is well-known for their colourful and vibrant sweet-van. Going back to the origins, Ms McGourty said:

“We opened about two years ago, just after Christmas. We never planned to open a shop; my mum came up with the idea of opening up a sweet shop specifically. I didn’t really like the idea while I was in Ireland. I later came round to the idea, more along the lines of a sweet van. In my head I was thinking of something similar to an ice-cream van, I realised later you can’t really run around in summer with sweets in a van.”

Having worked during a placement programme on the island during her University studies, Ms McGourty said that the plan was always to come back to Malta.

“We were looking at the old English style ice-cream vans and Sandro found the one we have today. He said there are none like it on the island, so I said let’s get it. We brought it over from England and it took ages to set up.”

“The van came maybe in September, and this was coming up close to Christmas. I worried that it could be 6 months before we get it sorted. I said let’s put the van into a shop until it’s ready for the road, and make a shop out of it. We got discouraged, but we luckily managed to make use of the shop we are in today through somebody else’s kindness.”

She added that upon receiving advice from a friend, they decided to keep the shop as a base rather than operate out of the van exclusively.

“It took time to get the shop looking like this however. It took the best part of two years to actually get it to a point where it is sustainable.

Challenges of running a sweet-business

Asked about what the biggest challenge was in terms of getting the business off the ground, she said that just getting people into the store was definitely it.

“I find, generally speaking, many here think that if they go into a shop they feel the need to buy something. It’s hard to get people in to just have a look; we are obviously not in the best location for foot traffic. You often find people spend time looking through the window rather than coming in. “

“Through Facebook people got to know where our shop was and what we sold. With the van driving around people could have a look at a distance, this helped with recognition. The van was obviously used for many events and parties, this helped a lot.”

Traditional sweets

“We sell many of the sweets by weight. Many older people and English people are used to this traditional pick and mix. When i was younger this is how I bought my sweets. That kind of made a name as well.”

“We started with 80 varieties, now we have about 250. There’s so much out there on the market, it unbelievable. When somebody comes in looking for a simple cola-bottle sweet, they would have no idea how many different kinds there are. That’s the fun bit about pick and mix.”

Children will go for stuff they have seen online. If they are with an adult the adult might say get a pick and mix.

“People will come in and choose what they know. I have found in my experience that the Maltese are not very keen on hard candy, they prefer the softer and chewier kind. I was very surprised to see how popular jelly babies are.”

“I’ve learnt a lot since starting the business. What I found interesting is the difference between men and women, whether they are young children or adults. Men seem at a loss when they walk into the shop, having no idea what to choose. I find that women know exactly what they are looking for. It reminds me of how women shop for shoes, they are attracted to a certain style and are very decisive.”

“What I’ve also found is that people here seem to be afraid to ask for what they want, as though they are a nuisance. Having worked at a fine-dining restaurant, my expectations of what services should be offered are very high. People also seem to feel pressured to buy something when they come in. I disagree with this, people shouldn’t feel this way and by looking in at least they would know what’s on offer should they need to come back in the future.”

“Another interesting thing I’ve noticed here is how polite children are. When they come into the shop and we greet them, we always get a smile and a greeting back, I don’t think adults here are so used to being spoken to and greeted when entering a shop.”

Asked about what her typical customer looks like, Ms McGourty said that there no observable pattern, and that all sorts of people come into the shop. She said that whether it is children looking for a treat after school, parents who want to surprise their children or adults just looking for a little comfort, the customers vary a lot.

“In business, I always thought a Friday should be better than a Monday, because of the weekend, but every day is different. It can get very frustrating. On a slow day, you’re left thinking about what went wrong, and then the next day would be a good one. It’s hard to predict when will be good and when will be slow.”

“I never imagined a shop like this. When it was first suggested to me, I pictured a corner shop. I never pictured anything like the shop we have today. I must say however that it took a long time for the shop to look like what it does today. All the furniture is recycled – Sandro is the one to put it all together and do something creative with what we find. He does all the displays and makes the shop and van look so colourful and inviting.”

Turning back to Easter, Ms McGourty said that she expected many people to visit the shop over the weekend, looking for a last minute Easter present. With summer on the way, she added that they are now thinking about which sweets need to be removed, as they do not keep well under the blistering Maltese sun.