Another day, another 90s relic getting a hype train. This time it's the jacket potato, because apparently Gen Z discovered carbs. A TikTok-famous operation called SpudBros, started by two brothers named Jacob and Harley Nelson from Preston, is going national. They just teamed up with a roadside retail group, EG On The Move, which runs a bunch of gas stations. Trial spots opened at their locations in Blackburn and Wakefield.
The whole thing blew up because the brothers posted videos of their massive loaded potatoes online during the pandemic. Celebrity attention from people like Will Smith and MrBeast didn't hurt. Now they're trying to turn that internet clout into a real chain, with help from a company called Taster on franchising. This is a wild pivot from their start with a single potato cart.
It's a direct contrast to Spudulike, which totally collapsed a few years back after high street traffic died. The new plan is to skip the failing town centers entirely and plant themselves where the cars are, next to brands like Subway and Greggs. If the trial runs work, they'll slap these potato stations across the country. So the humble spud is back, not as a sad office lunch but as a social media-fueled roadside attraction. The whole model banks on nostalgia plus convenience, hoping people want a cheap, familiar feed when they stop for gas.
The whole thing blew up because the brothers posted videos of their massive loaded potatoes online during the pandemic. Celebrity attention from people like Will Smith and MrBeast didn't hurt. Now they're trying to turn that internet clout into a real chain, with help from a company called Taster on franchising. This is a wild pivot from their start with a single potato cart.
It's a direct contrast to Spudulike, which totally collapsed a few years back after high street traffic died. The new plan is to skip the failing town centers entirely and plant themselves where the cars are, next to brands like Subway and Greggs. If the trial runs work, they'll slap these potato stations across the country. So the humble spud is back, not as a sad office lunch but as a social media-fueled roadside attraction. The whole model banks on nostalgia plus convenience, hoping people want a cheap, familiar feed when they stop for gas.
