Forge & Flame BBQ
Zero followers. Zero event bookings. Zero brand presence. Forge & Flame BBQ went from a standing start to 12K followers and fully booked in four months.
A new street food and catering business needing to build a following and attract event bookings from a standing start.
Starting from absolute zero in a crowded food content landscape presented a significant challenge. There were already numerous established BBQ and street food accounts online, many with years of content and hundreds of thousands of followers. Breaking through required content that was genuinely exceptional — not just good — and a distribution strategy that could accelerate growth faster than organic alone would allow. Jake and Connor had passion and extraordinary food; they needed creative execution to match.
The event booking side was particularly pressing. The business model depended on securing corporate events, private parties, and market slots to generate income. Without an audience or reputation, persuading event organisers to take a chance on an unknown catering brand was a difficult pitch. A social media following that demonstrated quality, reach, and engagement would be their most powerful sales tool — and they needed it fast.
Forge & Flame BBQ launched as a street food and private catering concept in Barnsley in early 2024, the brainchild of pitmaster brothers Jake and Connor Sutton. Having spent years perfecting their low-and-slow technique — 18-hour briskets, applewood-smoked ribs, hand-crafted rubs — they were ready to take their food to the public and build a business around it. The product was exceptional. The challenge was that absolutely nobody knew it existed.
Key Problem
A new street food and catering business needing to build a following and attract event bookings from a standing start.
We produced cinematic food video content for Instagram Reels and TikTok, combined with a targeted local awareness campaign to build brand recognition fast.
We identified early that the food itself was cinematic — there is something genuinely compelling about a perfectly barked brisket being carved, about smoke rolling off a pit, about sauce pooling on a wooden board. Our content strategy was built entirely around making that theatre visible and irresistible. We shot short-form video with a cinematic approach — slow motion pulls, macro lens detail shots, dramatic lighting — and edited to trending audio formats that maximised the chance of algorithmic amplification on both TikTok and Instagram.
Volume and consistency were as important as quality. We committed to a content cadence of five videos per week across TikTok and Instagram, supplemented by daily Stories showing the prep process, market setups, and behind-the-scenes moments that made the brand feel real and accessible. Local community amplification — tagging Barnsley food and events accounts, engaging with South Yorkshire food communities — accelerated growth in the critical local audience that would become event customers.
Cinematic Food Video Production
Weekly video shoots producing five short-form videos for TikTok and Instagram Reels, combining slow-motion carves, macro detail shots, and smoke-and-fire atmosphere for maximum visual impact.
TikTok Growth Strategy
TikTok-native content strategy using trending audio, hashtag research, and duet-friendly formats that drove significant algorithmic reach and accumulated 2.1 million video views in four months.
Daily Stories & Behind-the-Scenes
Daily Instagram Stories capturing prep, market setup, customer reactions, and team moments that built an authentic, engaged community around the brand.
Event Booking Content
Dedicated content series showcasing corporate events, private parties, and market appearances that converted followers into event booking enquiries.
Before Bee Viral vs after.
Real numbers. Real progress. Here is exactly what changed and when.
Brand identity established; shooting brief agreed; Instagram and TikTok accounts created and optimised
First shoot completed; 5 videos produced and launched across both platforms
Consistent content cadence established; combined following reaches 800; first event enquiry received
Brisket carve video posted — hits 100,000 TikTok views overnight; 850,000 total over following week
Event enquiries overwhelming — waiting list opened; 12 corporate bookings confirmed
12,000 combined followers; 28 event bookings completed; 2.1 million total video views
- Brisket carve video hit 100,000 TikTok views in its first night — week 6 of the account existing
- That single video reached 850,000 views and directly triggered a wave of event booking enquiries
- A waiting list for new bookings opened within 8 weeks of the brand launching from zero
- 28 confirmed event bookings — corporate catering, private parties, and market slots — all attributed to social media
- From zero to one of the most-followed independent food brands in the Barnsley area within 4 months
- 2.1 million video views achieved without a single pound spent on paid promotion
What we achieved together.
Forge & Flame grew from zero to 12,000 combined Instagram and TikTok followers in four months, building one of the most-followed independent food brands in the Barnsley area.
Twenty-eight confirmed event bookings — including corporate catering, private parties, and market appearances — were secured directly through social media enquiries in the first four months.
A single TikTok brisket carve video reached 850,000 views; combined video views across TikTok and Instagram Reels exceeded 2.1 million in the first four months.
The first viral moment came in week six — a brisket carve video that Jake filmed during a Saturday market appearance and sent to the Bee Viral team for editing. Turned around and posted the same evening, it hit 100,000 views overnight on TikTok and 850,000 over the following week. The enquiries that followed were overwhelming — event organisers, market managers, local businesses asking about Christmas party catering, and food lovers asking when they could try the food. Forge & Flame had to put up a waiting list for new bookings.
What made the growth sustainable was the community that formed around the content. The daily Stories, the behind-the-scenes prep videos, the market setup timelapse content — all of it made followers feel invested in the Sutton brothers' journey. When Forge & Flame posted about a new market appearance, hundreds of followers would show up. The social following had become a genuine business asset — an audience that actively supported and championed the brand. Twenty-eight event bookings in four months for a brand that didn't exist is a result that exceeded every expectation.
The Bottom Line
Street food and catering is a discovery business. Unlike a fixed restaurant with a location and footfall, Forge & Flame needed to build an audience that would follow them to markets, book them for events, and spread the word. In 2024, that meant one thing: social media. Jake and Connor came to Bee Viral with a bold brief — build a brand that commands attention.
We knew the food was special. We had no idea how to show the world. Bee Viral took what we were doing and made it look incredible on camera. The brisket video going viral was surreal — we were turning away event bookings the week after. From nothing to fully booked in four months. Unbelievable.
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