Heated Rivalry puts Montreal and its bagels in the spotlight

A brief shot of a St-Viateur Bagel T-shirt in the TV series Heated Rivalry led to a sharp rise in online merchandise orders and increased social media interest in Montreal following the episode's Dec. 12 release.

The TV series Heated Rivalry included a brief shot of a St-Viateur Bagel T-shirt in the opening of its fifth episode. The scene features the character Rose Landry, played by Sophie Nélisse, and lasts under a minute. After the episode aired on Dec. 12, the Montreal bakery reported an increase in online orders and merchandise sales. Tourisme Montréal also noted visible social media interest from fans saying they want to visit the city. Reported details: - St-Viateur Bagel has been producing its bagels since 1957 and sells logo T-shirts in its stores. - The bakery's marketing director, Benjamin Choquette, said online merchandise sales, especially the logo T-shirt, almost tripled after the episode. - Bagel orders rose as well, though to a lesser extent, with sales concentrated mainly in Quebec and Ontario and some interest from other provinces, the U.S. and a few shipments to Europe. - The Mont-Royal Avenue branch reported orders rising from about 100 to around 200–300 in the two weeks after the episode aired. - St-Viateur staff said the initial enthusiasm surprised them and that the buzz has begun to subside toward more normal merchandise sales. Summary: The on-screen appearance of the St-Viateur logo translated into higher merchandise demand and a short-term rise in orders, and it coincided with increased social media attention to Montreal. St-Viateur management said they hope Sophie Nélisse might visit to mark the moment, and the company reports the initial surge is easing.