What unique, locally-made souvenirs to buy from Newfoundland
- FancifulRoamer
- Oct 5, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 23
What unique, locally made souvenirs to buy from Newfoundland
Newfoundland has been striving to make the best locally-made, sustainable, traditional products. Each visit, we discover more delicious treats or fun items made by locals, with love. Here are the top souvenirs to stuff in your suitcase during your next visit to Newfoundland.
Chocolate
The Newfoundland Chocolate Company has amazing chocolate. While on the pricier side, but a great treat. The boxes of chocolate are a crowd-pleaser, with a taste of local berries and ingredients. The Newfoundland Sayings bars are a fun souvenir, with mouthwatering caramel chocolate and a local saying across the package. You will have to pick up a few extra, to enjoy on the road home.
The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company is also very popular across Canada. They dip everything in chocolate. My favorites are the chocolate blueberries and the chocolate caramels.
Toiletries
East Coast Glow is one of the most popular toiletry producers in Newfoundland. Their products are plant-based and infused with iceberg water. Most ingredients are foraged and sustainable.
The Wild River Mint + Rosemary Moussed Soap is super popular, and you can get concentrated refills. Their bath fizzies are also great for the skin and have the perfect amount of fragrance. These and many other products will make any bath or shower a luxurious experience.
Fun prints
Newfoundlanders have a great sense of humor and love funny things. You need to get T-shirts and mugs with funny sayings. Prints have become popular, especially those that blend pop culture with local traditions. Visit St. John's Farmer's Market for creative prints, decorations, and paintings.
Downtown St. John's shops will amuse you with funny prints as well. Visit Downhome Shoppe & Gallery, Johnny Ruth, and Posie Row stores to find funny souvenirs.
Crochets and knits
Since Newfoundland has drawn-out winters and low temperatures, everyone needs to be bundled up. So many locals know how to knit and crochet, which are nice hobbies for the long winter.
Stock up on wool hats, mittens, scarves, and more. Even those have comical sayings, like 'Yes, B'y!'. Depending on the context and inflection, it could mean anything from agreement and amazement to sarcasm.
The pets can receive their own souvenirs, in the form of crochet toys. The materials are safe and way better than plastic bits around the house.
Sea salt
The seawater is collected from Trinity Bay and boiled down to reveal salt flakes. All is done locally, by the Newfoundland Salt Company, in Bonavista. Bonavista Peninsula is a great place to visit, with the main attractions in Bonavista town, Trinity, and Elliston.
The salt is available in pure form or mixed with unique, local ingredients. Flaky salt is great for steak, desserts, and much more. It adds taste and a fancy vibe to your meal. You will find the salt products in the shop in Bonavista town, as well as in souvenir shops around St. John's.
Everything blueberry
Blueberries are a huge part of Newfoundland's culture. They grow wild and anyone can go around and pick them. Sometimes you need to have a little scenic hike to find them. The picking starts in August and goes on until late September. The blueberries are small, but tasty and amazing as jam.
If you visit in August, don't miss the Blueberry Festival in Brigus. There's live music, fun shops, and of course, blueberry desserts. The Quay restaurant in Brigus provides a delicious blueberry crisp dessert, served warm a la mode.
Other local berries are partridgeberry and bakeapple. You will find jams and syrups in shops like the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador and other downtown shops. They're excellent on pancakes, ice cream, and other desserts.
Berry wine
Canada is famous for sweet ice wine. The grapes are harvested late after the frost reduces the water content. So there is more sugar per amount of grapes, making ice wine.
The Markland Cottage winery is one of Newfoundland's great berry wine producers. Their blueberry wine is made from locally grown, pesticide-free berries. The wine is semi-sweet, with a rich red color, with fruity and floral flavors. I prefer this wine during the winter, heated up with cinnamon, cloves, and star anise. In European countries, this is called mulled wine or boiled wine.
Craft beer and spirits
There are a multitude of craft breweries in Newfoundland. Pretty much any serious hike will end with a brewery. The most famous are Quidi Vidi and Yellow Belly in St. John's, Dildo Brewery and Museum in Dildo Town, and Port Rexton Brewery in Port Rexton. Don't miss the blueberry or spruce beers.
The Newfoundland Distillery Company in Clarke's Beach makes unique spirits and serves fancy cocktails and cheese boards.
You will find most of the locally made alcohols in the Liquor Stores. Urban Market 1919 in St. John's has a nice selection of beers, as well as many local crafts, from jams to knits.
Screech
And everything Screech. Screech rum is locally made and the traditional drink in Newfoundland. Any adult visitor is Screeched-in on their first trip to Newfoundland. It's a fun tradition consisting of kissing a fish, having a bite of bologna, and a shot of rum. Then you become an honorary Newfoundlander. Read all about it in my article.
Locals mix rum with soda. For a unique experience, grab iceberg ice from Belbin's Grocery store and add that to your Screech drink.
You can take a bottle of Screech home, to share with friends over the tales of your adventures. Or, you can buy Screech-infused coffee, tea, and chocolates.
Honey
Honey tastes differently around the world, as each area has different flora that the bees will use. On toast, in yogurt, or on a cheese board, honey is a healthy, sweet treat to indulge in daily.
There are several honey beekeepers across Newfoundland. Each one is different but delicious. There's generally not much pollution in Newfoundland and plenty of wildflowers.
You will find local honey at the St. John's Farmers Market and in downtown shops with local products. The Craft Council, The Bee's Knees, and Heritage Shop are some of the downtown stores that carry local honey.
Pro Tip! You can collect a free souvenir when you visit a beach in Newfoundland. Some rocks are purple, which is unusual for most. The locals raise an eyebrow when visitors get excited over purple rocks, but they're so cool!
I hope your visit to Newfoundland is wonderful. Make sure you experience everything, from the cod tongues to the berry chocolates.
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