Winkler, Man. doughnut shop riffs on Bieber, Tim Hortons with hit new ‘TimWiebs’ promotion

A Manitoba doughnut shop didn’t have a celebrity like Justin Bieber endorsing its products, so it went with the next best thing — a bunch of guys named Tim Wiebe.

Valley Bakery in Winkler has come up with its own homegrown answer to Tim Hortons’ ‘TimBiebs’ promotion with the introduction of ‘TimWiebs,’ an offering of doughnuts selected by locals with the same name.

Sales manager Thomas Guenther said the idea — which has been getting a lot of attention online — started as nothing more than an off-hand joke.

“It all came about when our owner, Andrew Penner, and his family were joking around about TimBiebs. A popular name here is the last name Wiebe, so there’s the obvious silly homonym connection there,” Guenther said.

“He brought it to me, and he and I talked about it and I thought it was dumb and silly and fantastic, so we went for it.

Trending Stories

“We reached out through social media and asked for people named Tim Wiebe to contact us with their favourite doughnut that we already make. We collaborated and worked together a pack of six, we got a sticker … and the rest is ridiculous history.”

The delicious six-packs the bakery compiled — with the help of four Tim Wiebes — have been flying off shelves so far, in what is traditionally a slow post-Christmas season.

“We were crazy busy yesterday and we’ve been crazy busy this morning. It’s been very, very busy, and hugely positive,” said Guenther.

“We’re just very grateful. Our customers like it, so that makes us happy. We didn’t think it would be a huge thing at all.”

“People are often pulling themselves out of Christmas and getting used to the new year, and January can often be a bit of a buzzkill, but it just turned out to be a perfect time.”

The TimWiebs packs — which include chocolate with toasted coconut, lemon, raspberry, caramel, Bismarck, and plain glazed — will be available at the bakery until the end of January.