Penticton boy's videos advertising parents' grocery store go viral

The branch of Global Grocers in Penticton, B.C., only recently opened but it's already become a local sensation, thanks to the help of 10-year-old Aarav Gaba.

Aarav has made a star of himself after his videos advertising his parents' store went viral.

He says he started making the videos when the pandemic hit last year, as a way to keep the boredom out and help promote the new Penticton location of the grocery chain.

"I got the idea to make a little life-hack video for all those people that want to smile during quarantine," Aarav told host Sarah Penton on CBC's Radio West.

In one of Aarav's most recent videos — his personal favourite — he introduces customers to all the Mexican products the store has to offer.

"I put the item in front of the camera and then I tell people about it and then I do something to make them laugh. I do a little dance or something funny," he said.

Some of the videos on Facebook and Instagram have received up to 18,000 views.

Riz and Deepak Gaba, who own the grocery chain that specializes in selling food from all over the world, say their son has always been the "class clown" and loves making people laugh.

Riz says that since the videos went viral, the store has got a lot of attention. She says people from all over B.C. have commented saying they plan to visit the store because of Aarav.

"It's quite exciting. He's actually, in fact, helping us grow our business and we've got a lot of positive feedback," Riz said.

"We've been getting messages from people who travel during summer time. And they're all promising that they'll check our new store out," she said.

Riz says Aarav learned how to create, edit and post all of the videos on social media all by himself.

Aarav says he plans to continue doing videos that feature food from different countries around the world.

"I have been having a lot of fun with them and I probably will for the coming years," he said.