The humble baked potato is experiencing a renaissance, with TikTok algorithms bringing the stuffed potato to new audiences and transforming this once-hackneyed classic into the lunch of the moment.
Young potato sellers are breathing new life into traditional British food, with modern twists on their favourite toppings.
And by live-streaming their performances on social media, they are attracting new customers from as far away as Australia and South Africa.
At 10.30am, a queue is already forming outside a closed baked potato truck on a converted tram in Preston, Lancashire. Waiting in the queue are customers from Liverpool, Glasgow and Orlando, Florida.
The first customer of the day gets their free lunch and in the past people have camped out front as early as 4:30 a.m. Ask almost anyone in line why they are there and they will give you the same answer: they have seen the Spud Bros on TikTok.
The Spud Bros are real-life brothers Jacob and Harley Nelson and have over 2.6 million followers on the social media platform. Over the past year, their posts have been viewed 1.5 billion times on TikTok, with views reaching 10 million per day.
They’ve even introduced baked potatoes to international celebrities – the Jonas Brothers are now fans.
“Everyone loves baked potatoes,” said Harley, 22.
“It’s comforting food and delicious,” added Jacob, 29. “You can’t beat this – it’s nice in the winter and filling. And it’s cheap – five pounds for a plate of cheese and beans.”
Part of their success is due to the baked potato’s enduring appeal, the brothers said, but they’ve also tried to improve on classic ingredients.
Their chili is made with cocoa powder and a blend of 10 different herbs and spices; their shredded cheese is a blend of three sourced from a local supplier; and their garlic chicken comes from a nearby Indian restaurant.
“We chose the baked potato, but we gave it our own twist,” Jacob said. “We made it better.”
But as much as his food, it’s his social media videos that draw people in. “Yesterday we had 5,000 people watching us live stream what we’re doing,” he added.
The TikTok account was started by his father, Tony Nelson, 58, who took over the field after the Death of his friend Keith Robertswhose family had owned the business since 1955. Roberts had given Jacob his first Saturday job at the age of 14, selling potatoes.
When Tony took over the stand four years ago, he brought Harley on board to drive with him. They watched students from the nearby university ignore the potato trolley as they went to buy lunch at nearby fast food chains.
“It was heartbreaking to see all these people coming through,” Tony said. “So we went out and talked to them and asked, ‘What does it take to get you to come and get a potato?’”
“They just said that potatoes aren’t sexy,” she added, “but one of the things they said was about using social media.”
Jacob later quit his job and joined the family business, and he and Harley began growing the TikTok account Tony had started, “and it’s gone absolutely crazy ever since,” Tony said.
“If you had seen this queue three or four years ago, there were probably people in their 50s and 70s, that was our demographic,” he added. “If you look at it now, it’s all young people coming.”
On the tram there is a scratch-off map showing where its customers come from: Kenya, Japan and California are all already crossed out.
“We had a girl,” Jacob said, “who was touring Europe, she was from America and she was specifically planning to come to the UK, just because she saw our TikTok videos.
“She said she wouldn’t have come to the UK for anything else. So we made a video with her. We gave her Heinz beans, Vimto, Northern Nectar… She loved it.”
The most distant customer of the day is Jason Sales, 32, originally from Connecticut but now living in Orlando. He is in the UK visiting his partner’s family.
Jacob found him in line and handed him a free chip, topped with cheese and chili.
“It’s delicious,” Sales said. “I’ve had baked potatoes before, but I’ve never eaten anything like this, so full to the top.”
And the Spud Bros business has helped put Preston on the map – their account got the Lancashire town trending on TikTok and when the brothers travel, people now recognise the name of their hometown.
“I don’t say I live near Manchester anymore,” Harley said. “I can say I’m from Preston.”
It’s not just the Spud Bros who are bringing British baked potatoes to audiences around the world. In Tamworth, Ben Newman, known as Spudman, has 3.7 million followers on TikTok.
She’s had her spot for over two decades, but after trading slowed significantly during Covid, she turned to TikTok to rebuild her business again.
He said that when he first took over the farm, he “didn’t use social media.” “I didn’t see the point. In those days, street trading in the city was enough to sustain it,” he said.
“Nowadays, everyone is glued to their phones. So that’s where you have to advertise. That’s where you have to be.”
And it’s not just social media stars who are seeing potato sales rise. Newman regularly mentions other “potato-loving men and women” from around the country on his account, and “literally, they’ve been selling out every day.”
“Look at the number of vans with jackets popping up everywhere,” Tony said. “And we’re inundated with questions like, ‘How do I get started? How do I do it? What do I do? What do I need?’”
“The kids will also travel and help other people,” he said. “It’s really cool.”