Viral baked potato business Spud Bros opened its first Scottish store in Edinburgh at Lothian Road today, with hundreds of people queuing ahead of the grand opening.
Co-owner Jacob Nelson, who runs the business with his brother Harley, posed for photos with customers outside the new unit, which opened to the public at 12pm on Wednesday, July 15.
Mr Nelson said he was delighted to bring a taste of his home county Lancashire to Scotland.
He said: “We are very excited to be here in Scotland, we love Scotland. We came up with the team to Edinburgh and Glasgow for pop-ups earlier this year and the response and support was crazy.
“I’m hoping everyone comes in and enjoys the vibes, and of course the jacket potatoes. We have worked very hard with the ingredients, properly locally sourced where we’re from, Preston in Lancashire.
“We are bringing a taste of Lancashire to Scotland. We just hope people really love our baked potatoes as much as we do.
“Now we’ve got our first branch in Scotland there are plans for another 12 here. As long as people keep coming here and enjoying what we offer, then who knows what will happen? It just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
“We have worked incredibly hard as a family business to make the best baked potato was can. It’s all about the great food and great vibes for us.”
Despite customers having queued for hours, there certainly was a great vibe in the mostly teenage crowd. Many hoped to be among the first 100 customers in order to bag a free baked potato.
After the ribbon was cut and glitter cannons were set off, customers streamed in, with a bagpiper piping them into their first experience of SpudBros.
The party continued inside with staff dancing at the checkout while handing out free spuds to delighted customers.
The first to be served was Ed Jaxon, 30, who had queued from 11pm on Tuesday - 13 hours before the shop was due to open. Ed, from Fife, was rewarded for his efforts with not only a free baked potato, but also an Xbox and retro Scotland football top.
Speaking about the influence of social media on SpudBros, Mr Nelson is just happy that it has helped grow the business in recent years.
He said: “We have been a food family for a long time. I worked in the original SpudBros shop in Preston as a teenager, before my dad, the Spudfather, bought it, and now my brother and I run it.
“It means so much to us, SpudBros, it’s our life. We don’t know how we became social media stars, people just seemed to really like our content. That side of things has really helped grow our business, particularly with younger people.
“It’s great to inspire the kids, and it shows that social media isn’t all bad, it can be a positive thing.
“It’s nice that customers want their photos taken with me but I don’t see my brother and I as celebrities, that’s never what we intended, we just want to grow the business, and in the last few years social media has really helped us do that.
“It’s all part of the package, it still feels strange when people ask for pictures, I don’t see myself as famous or special really, but I get it, and it’s great to have that interaction with our customers.”
Located at 126 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, the new SpudBros Express is open seven days a week, 11am-8pm.
17. Social media
SpudBros has transformed the humble baked potato into a social media phenomenon, combining premium ingredients, bold flavours and authentic creator-led storytelling. | Iconic Media Photo: Kevin Quinn