Hey Hot Potatoes,

Welcome to the latest edition of the Hot Potato Newsletter! Just when you thought social media was all about posting pretty food photos and hoping for likes, three UK hospitality brands have gone and done something that's got traditional restaurateurs scrambling to hire Gen Z content creators – they've built successful businesses with three unique approaches to social media.

And I mean properly transformed the game. We're talking about a cinnamon roll operation selling out every weekend with 114,000 Instagram followers, a restaurant group investing £50,000 monthly on content creators and a chocolate café with 50 million video views that's never run a single ad. The lines between content creation and business strategy have dissolved entirely.

The numbers are absolutely staggering: 74% of diners now choose where to eat based on social media, 58% of restaurant operators say social generates better ROI than any other marketing tactic and 22% of customers return to restaurants purely because of compelling social content. Meanwhile, global social media ad spend is projected to hit $276.72 billion by the end of 2025, yet the smartest operators are spending zero.

In today's newsletter we ask: Can authentic storytelling really replace traditional advertising? We'll decode Roll Boy's founder-led content machine, analyse Fallow's strategy that secured £3 million in funding and reveal how Cocomelt engineered desserts for virality.

In today’s email: From Zero Ad Spend to Sold Out: Social Media's Hospitality Revolution

Read Time: Approx 4-5 mins

Why Social Media Actually Drives Restaurant Revenue: The Data That Changes Everything

Source: Sprout Social | OysterLink | Cropink | ReviewTrackers

Before we dive into the case studies, let's destroy the myth that social media is just "brand awareness." Three data points prove it's your most powerful revenue driver.

Key Points:

• Social media delivers the highest marketing ROI: 58% of restaurant operators say social generates better ROI than any other marketing tactic, while global social media ad spend is projected to hit $276.72 billion by the end of 2025. Here's the kicker: the smartest operators are spending zero on ads – brands like Roll Boys, Fallow and Cocomelt are building million-pound businesses through organic content alone, proving earned media beats paid media every time.

• The discovery journey happens on your feed: 72% of restaurant guests use social media to discover new restaurants, while 68% check a restaurant's social media before visiting. Here's the kicker: 32% of consumers have booked accommodation they discovered on TikTok, proving social platforms aren't just research tools – they're conversion machines.

• Engagement translates to physical footfall: 22% of customers revisit restaurants due to social media presence alone, while 65% have tried new restaurants based on friends' posts. The hospitality brands winning in 2025 understand that their customers' feeds are more powerful than any billboard.

Roll Boys: When Founder-Led Transparency Generates Millions in Organic Reach

Source: Roll Boys

George Artemi started Roll Boys during what he describes as "the most lost" period of his life. Now with 114,000 Instagram followers and consistent weekend sell-outs, he's proved that radical authenticity beats polished advertising every time.

Key Points:

• The strategy – Invite everyone on the journey: While most brands curate aspirational content, George took the opposite approach. His Instagram, TikTok and YouTube invite followers into every aspect of building Roll Boys – the 4am dough prep, recipe failures, emotional rollercoasters. "I invite people to Be Part Of It," George explains. "Whether you follow us on Instagram, TikTok or our YouTube series, our door is open to come along for the full Roll Boys journey, with all its highs and lows." People don't follow Roll Boys to see cinnamon rolls – they follow to witness someone chase a dream in real-time.

• The results – Building community over customers: Operating just Saturday and Sunday from East London, Roll Boys consistently sells out within hours. George's founder-led approach generated millions in organic reach without ad spend, proving that when you're authentic about struggles and wins, followers become stakeholders who queue every weekend.

Fallow: How £50K Monthly Content Investment Built a Restaurant Empire

Source: The Caterer | Michelin Guide | Wikipedia

Chefs Jack Croft and Will Murray met at two-Michelin-starred Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, then did something unprecedented: they built a restaurant group where the digital team is as important as the kitchen brigade.

Key Points:

• The strategy – Behind-the-scenes access meets sustainability: Fallow employs a head of marketing, full-time videographer, editor, producer and content responder – investing £35,000 to £50,000 monthly, according to co-founder James Robson. The results: 503,000 Instagram followers and 1.6 million YouTube subscribers. Their top TikTok post has 7.1 million views, while their "chef's eye view" YouTube video hit 5 million views. "We stumbled on the 'inside the kitchen idea' when playing around with a GoPro," Will Murray explained. "People connect with it because a key pillar of social media is access."

• The results – From pop-up to £3 million funding: The restaurant secured £3 million specifically to expand their digital team and open their third location. Their team grew to 350 people. The Michelin Guide notes that "thanks to interesting food and innovative use of social media, you can be sure that you'll be walking into a packed restaurant here, whatever the time." Their inside the kitchen style content and recipes, have gained a huge audience and eyes on their brand.

Cocomelt: Engineering Desserts for 50 Million Views

Source: Luxury Life Magazine | Cocomelt | Instagram: @cocomelt.london

Sarah left finance to chase a childhood dream inspired by Syrian chocolate cafés. Cocomelt opened in Soho with one focus: create desserts so photogenic that customers become your unpaid marketing army.

Key Points:

• The strategy – Engineer every dish for virality: Every menu item at Cocomelt is designed with two criteria: taste incredible, look outrageous. Chocolate sushi crêpes. Burrito crêpes dipped in melted chocolate from giant fountains. Fettuccine crêpes that look like pasta. The result? Over 50 million views across social platforms with 102,000 Instagram followers – all without paid advertising. Located at 132 Wardour Street in Soho, the café features "elegant pastel colours" with "neon signs, graphics and pretty flower decorations" providing "the perfect background for your Insta photos."

• The results – Viral content meets accessible pricing: By keeping everything around £10, Cocomelt democratised the Instagram-worthy experience, turning every customer into a content creator without luxury pricing. The café has become a pilgrimage site for food bloggers, not because they're paid, but because the content performs. TikTok shows constant queues and sold-out items.

Traditional restaurants spend fortunes on paid ads to reach people who've trained themselves to ignore advertising. Meanwhile, Roll Boys, Fallow and Cocomelt have built audiences that choose to engage with their content daily. I want to know: Would you rather invest £50K monthly on a content team like Fallow or stick with traditional advertising?

Now, speaking of building empires from nothing... have you noticed how one Connecticut bagel maker went from selling out of his home window during lockdown to landing Paul Rudd and Michael Phelps as investors? Meet PopUp Bagels – the brand that turned pandemic boredom into 196,000 Instagram followers, 15 brick-and-mortar locations and a national franchising deal, all while treating "every person like they're an influencer."

In our next edition, we're crossing the Atlantic to decode how PopUp Bagels leveraged social media to build a multi-million dollar empire from a backyard window. We'll reveal how their trademarked "Grip, Rip and Dip" ritual became viral marketing gold, why they refuse to slice bagels and whether a brand built on Instagram hype and hour-long queues can actually scale nationwide. The bagel boom is bigger than bread – it's a masterclass in turning customer behaviour into content.

Ready to learn more about the PopUp Bagels playbook? Subscribe now for our exclusive breakdown of America's most talked-about bagel empire!Bon appétit,

Max Shipman, Founder, Hot Potato

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