SABATTUS — It’s like a scene from TikTok — people lined up with chairs, camped out for the 10:30 a.m. opening of Marvelous Macarons on Saturdays at 136 Sabattus Road in the Mixers Plaza. Except it actually started on TikTok.

“I was a one-woman show — perfectly capable — and then it was like I needed a staff of 20, trained and ready to go to keep up.” That’s how Jenna Roberts, the owner and baker at Marvelous Macarons, describes how her normal bakery routine was recently turned upside down.

Dubai fruit cups are the new wildly popular offering at Marvelous Macarons in Sabattus. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

“The first day I would say there was well over 100,” she recalled. “I had significantly underestimated what was going to happen that day … we ran out by like 12:30.”

Teenagers, pre-teens, grandparents, women of all ages and even men patiently wait up to two hours for the privilege of forking over $10 or $14 for the latest confection craze, called the Dubai strawberry cup. It sells for up to $25 elsewhere and in cities like Boston.

It started Feb. 15, when Jennisha J. Warner posted her visit to Marvelous Macarons on TikTok, describing how the Dubai cup tasted. It is fresh-cut strawberries blended with warm milk chocolate, pistachio cream, tahini paste, and kataifi dough — a shredded phyllo dough. It’s rich.

Jenna Roberts shows off the TikTok video Thursday that drew crowds to her store, Marvelous Macarons in Sabattus, for her Dubai chocolate fruit cups. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

It went viral — viewed by some eight million people on TikTok. She did a similar posting after visiting Mancini’s Deli and got a huge spike off that as well,  Roberts said. Now the bakery is offering different fruits and alternatives to chocolate.

The other huge draw is, of course, the macarons with a dozen flavors and colors to choose from. It’s taken Roberts five years to perfect the cookie, a delicate, meringue-based confection made with egg whites, almond flour, sugar and food coloring. They are notoriously difficult to bake properly and can be affected by ambient temperature, humidity and other factors.

Part of the reason for the long lines is Roberts runs the bakery entirely by herself but has had to enlist the help of her mother and sister to try to keep up with demand.

Jenna Roberts slices strawberries Thursday for her wildly popular fruit cups, made with fresh fruit, pistachio cream, kataifi and chocolate. She began selling them at her Sabattus store, Marvelous Macarons, 136 Sabattus Road, after an unexpected TikTok video went viral, drawing long lines of customers. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

“I found when I first opened, I was opening four or five days a week but the quality was suffering because I didn’t have the time to make everything fresh like I wanted to,” Roberts explained. “I really like to do everything fresh and homemade.”

She cut back opening to the public to just Fridays and Saturdays but still works six or seven days a week cleaning, shopping, planning and preparing for those two days.

On Thursday, she was planning to make more than the 300 fruit cups she sold last week, and 110 dozen macarons in addition to all the cupcakes, brownies, blondies, cookies, croissants and fresh-squeezed lemonade for the upcoming weekend.

The lemonade is the other reason for the lines. Roberts said it’s time-consuming because it’s fresh-squeezed. Why not eliminate it? Not a chance she said. “I think I would be crucified if I didn’t have my lemonade.” She’s hired her daughter just to make the lemonade this weekend to try to speed things up, keep the line moving and the frustration level down.

Sliced strawberries and pistachio cream mixed with a shredded phyllo dough called kataifi take center stage in Marvelous Macarons’ popular fruit cups. Owner Jenna Roberts also offers a variety of fruits, melted confections and toppings, including sprinkles, Oreos, pretzels and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

The ingredients for the Dubai cups are Middle Eastern in origin and sourcing the pistachio cream and kataifi dough are particularly challenging because of the surge in popularity. Roberts drives to New Hampshire to get it because local suppliers are out of stock until May.

Between preparing Dubai fruit cups, Jenna Roberts and her crew of family and friends were preparing all sorts of sweets Saturday morning in the kitchen of Marvelous Macarons in Sabattus.  Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Like others before her, Roberts got her start selling her home-baked macarons at the Lewiston Farmers’ Market, and for now she’s just enjoying the ride. She changes her menu every week and this weekend plans to offer Baileys Irish Cream and Lucky Charms macarons for St. Patrick’s Day.

The new offerings keep people coming back, she said. “We have a cupcake that’s blueberry pancakes and coffee. It’s a coffee, maple-flavored cupcake, with a blueberry butter cream, like a play on blueberry pancakes and coffee,” Roberts said calmly, as if it was an everyday item.

Despite inflation and even fears of a recession, they keep coming. Trendy and tasty seem to be something people from all walks of life don’t mind coughing up a little more for. “I think it’s an outlet and I think people still need a treat. You know what I mean?” Roberts asked.

Christian McCollough, of Auburn, was first in line last week and again on Saturday, lining up at 7:30am for the 10:30 opening of Marvelous Macarons in Sabattus. He brought his friend and co-worker Russell Common, second from left, with him for the viral Dubai fruit cup that has been an instant craze. Over 100 people stood in line Saturday morning to buy the sweet treat.  Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

The calls come in every day, Roberts said, even one during the interview. “Do you have fruit cups?” the woman on the other end asked. Roberts explained only on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. but the fruit cups sell out fast.

“When you bring them their cups, they’re like dancing and they’re smiling,” Roberts said. “One girl was almost in tears, like it’s just been so nutty.”

Nutty, cultish even, with people exchanging Snapchat and making friends while in line Saturdays. They come from all over, not just Lewiston and Auburn, but Bangor and Madawaska, and New Hampshire and Boston, just because they saw it on TikTok.

“I love every second of it,” Roberts beamed with a smile. “I’m gonna just keep riding it until … I’m sure it will die out eventually but like I said, we’re adding pancakes this weekend!” Just in time for Maine Maple Sunday next week.

Marvelous Macarons is open Fridays from noon to 6 p.m. in addition to her Saturday hours. You can find the business on Facebook and Instagram to find out what’s new each week.

A freshly made Dubai fruit cup sits on the counter Saturday morning at Marvelous Macarons in Sabattus.  Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal