A sculpin scoop? Ice cream creations hooking in customers on the Northern Peninsula

At first glance, eating ice cream out of a fish doesn't seem so appealing.

But that forms the basis for a new tasty treat on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland, that has lit upsocial media andhelped boostbusiness at a crucial timefor oneSt. Lunaire-Griquetstorefront.

The Dark Tickle Company is bestknownfor their jams, preserves and chocolate using local berries and bakeapples, sold throughout the province and at their home base on the northern tip of the island. For years, owner Kier Knudsenhas wanted to expand into homemade ice cream, but he and his stafffinally took the project off the back burner this winter.

"I mean wild berries and ice cream kind of go hand-in-hand," Knudsen told CBC Radio'sWeekend AM. "This winter, we finally got a chance to get at it."

After perfectingrecipes to include their signature berries, the store began looking for a unique way to package their ice cream.

With some thought andlocal inspiration, the SculpinCone was born.

"We wanted to present our ice cream in a very Newfoundland-ish type package, and what could be more Newfoundland than fish?" he joked.

The Sculpin Cone includes two scoops of ice cream and achocolate cod, all tucked into a fish-shaped cone made in-house. After posting about the cone on social media earlier inJuly, Knudsen said the reaction haspassed expectation.

"As it's uncharted territory, [we] had no idea of really what kind of reaction we were going to get."he said. "But it's going over well, and we're getting a lot more locals in our facility than usual. Given this current time, It's great to be honest, to see everybody."

Cones a boost during COVID-19

Like many tourism businesses trying to navigatethe COVID-19 pandemic, Knudsen said sales havedipped from the average summer.

"Primarily we're driven by the tourist industry," he said. "Our main thing is the manufacturing of course, and our main market is especially gifts, so we supply gift shops all across the island."

But without the usual traffic through those gift shops, orders have been slow.

"If you don't have any tourists, gift shops are not ordering and that kind of shuts us down for the most part," he said.

However,the Sculpin Cone has provided a much needed boost in business from both locals and those travelling around the island this year.

"It's been a great help. We saw an increase in local traffic prior to putting that out, which we were surprised of," he said.

"And then this Sculpin Cone and the ice cream just added to it. So yeah, it's all positive."

Knudsen said the uniqueness of something like the SculpinCone is something he would recommend to other businesses, totry to keep momentum through the summer season.

"Keep doing what you're doing, he said. "Do something unique, to try to attract attention in the local market."

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador