Two unlikely businesses are coming together to distribute face shields in a time of need. (FOX 9)
HOPKINS, Minn. (FOX 9) - As small businesses fight to keep their doors open despite COVID-19, many are thinking further outside the box than ever before. For a family of entrepreneurs stretching between Brooklyn Park and Hopkins that means bringing very different businesses together.
Identification Services in Brooklyn Park doesn’t normally make medical face shields.
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Cupcake shop and ID badge company team up to deliver face shields to first responders
Two very different businesses are teaming up to make ends meet amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our main business is promotional products, name badges,” said Zach Kinder of Identification Services.
But as we all know, these are not normal times.
“You can imagine when all this hit the healthcare industry and schools, it impacts us directly,” said Kinder.
The company was forced to furlough two-thirds of its staff. It has now figured out a way to make face shields, but the business hit a snag in the plan. They weren’t sure how to get the face shields to the people who needed them.
That’s where Amy Brace of Amy’s Cupcakes Shoppe came in with a sweet offer to become the much-needed distributer for the company her grandmother started.
“They were having a hard time pivoting because everything they do is for corporate events,” said Brace. “After we came up with the first order for 450, they were like, ‘OK, we can do this.'”
Brace started her bakery five years ago. During the pandemic, she’s now shipping nationwide and delivering curbside for the first time.
“It’s going much better than expected,” she said. “Apparently everyone wants comfort foods, which I can’t disagree with.”
So far, orders for shields have come from a local hospital, the airport and a company out of state. Plenty are being donated.
“We donated to the Hopkins Police Department, the fire department, Minnetonka police and fire and the post office so far,” said Brace.
The new recipe to team up and survive is working.
“The hope is that enough of our regular work would come back and we can get more of these face shields going and get more people back to work,” said Kinder.
Orders for cupcakes and face shield donations can be made at the cupcake shop’s website.