Aunt Flora’s Appears on America’s Big Deal Tonight

The cobbler maker pitches her product nationwide during tonight’s episode of the reality TV competition.

The cobbler maker pitches her product nationwide during tonight’s episode of the reality TV competition.

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NOVEMBER 2021

PHOTOGRAPH PROVIDED BY AMERICA'S BIG DEAL

With previous appearances on Oprah and The Martha Stewart Show, Katrina “Aunt Flora” Mincy knows her way around a television studio. Tonight, Mincy and her husband, Ron, will put that savvy to use when they pitch one of their Aunt Flora’s products directly to a national audience as a part of the fifth episode of the reality TV competition America’s Big Deal.

Hosted by Access Hollywood co-anchor Scott Evans and entrepreneur and former HSN host Joy Mangano, the show is a live, shoppable competition series that features small business owners and inventors who sell their products to viewers at home. The contestant with the highest dollar sales at the end of the night wins the chance for a deal with one of the show’s retail partners, which include Macy’s, QVC, and Lowe’s.

“It’s been an awesome journey,” Mincy says. “I’m going to show them what Aunt Flora is all about!”

Back in August, the cobbler maker was contacted about participating in the new series, but there was a catch: she had to supply 1,000 ready-to-purchase gift packs. She selected a product (Aunt Flora’s Soulsation Apple Cobbler Pie Filling), had it mass produced, and then went about creating each pack—everything from packaging to UPC barcodes.

With the help of family members, students and chefs from Diamond Oaks Culinary Arts and Hospitality Services program, and even a few customers, the Mincys were able to prepare the gift packs needed in two or three weeks in September. Each pack includes 16 ounces of the apple cobbler filling as well as bags of two of Aunt Flora’s new dessert-themed coffee flavors (sweet potato and blackberry).

“All of our focus has been on making this exactly the way we needed it to be,” Mincy says. “I kept praying and thinking, ‘Lord, thank you for this opportunity and this is going to make things better.’”

And after struggling throughout the early months of the pandemic crisis, the Mincys needed something better.

The couple’s cobbler business, Aunt Flora’s Kitchen and Cobbler Pie Company, and its soul food restaurant, Mention’s Fish and Chips—both in the Northgate Mall food court—were closed for five months last year. But loyal customers from all over the Tristate came right back when the doors reopened, a testament to the food that Mincy makes.

“Thank God we have followers who are dedicated,” she says. “When we opened up again, it was like we never closed.”

The Mincys have spent all week in New Jersey, getting ready for their America’s Big Deal appearance with rehearsals, COVID-19 testing, and the like. When asked what she’s looking forward to about being on the show, she exclaims, “Winning!”

“But even if we don’t win, we’re winners,” she continues. “The exposure is amazing.”

To purchase an Aunt Flora’s gift pack, visit Mincy’s America’s Big Deal product page and tune in for the show at 9 p.m. EST tonight on USA Network.

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