Harnessing Insta Power
Cuarentena Baking and Foodie in Barcelona cooked up a following of 20K. What’s the secret ingredient to their Instagram success?
“Every success story is a tale of constant adaptation, revision, and change.”
As we headed into the pandemic’s second wave, a New York Times story brought me hope. Two broke artists had turned their fate around with a $42 toaster oven and a phone.
The story of @cuarentenabaking in Mexico City demonstrates the power of Instagram when it comes to launching a successful business with minimal resources in very little time. At the height of the Coronavirus lockdown, artists David Ayala-Alfonso and Andrea Ferrero didn’t even own an oven, as the New York Times article explains. In desperation, they bought a toaster oven on credit and tried their hand at baking.
It turns out they were naturals, notwithstanding a few kitchen fires and other minor meltdowns. At first, they posted close-up photos of their gooey concoctions for their friends, but then the orders started flying in. They owe a large part of their overnight success to Instagram. At the time of this writing, the couple’s following was already at 17K and growing fast. They’ve moved to a larger space with a fully-stocked kitchen and have even hired help.
They didn’t set out to build a successful business on Instagram, but whatever they did, clicked. The pandemic’s strict quarantine measures no doubt played a role in their popularity. When people are homebound and socially isolated, social media grabs more airtime. Throw in some dulce de leche, and all that warm sweetness becomes a welcome contrast to the fear and anxiety brought on by global events.
Their baked goods are also very unique — almost like works of art in themselves. I would even call them extreme. They’re what happens when cookies meet smores; or when churros and muffins collide. Cake in a jar. Who else does that? No one that I can remember.
But what really stands out to me is how they personalize their deliveries, creating a special intimacy with their customers that is quite unusual for a bakery. People requested love notes on brownie boxes for their sweeties, when they could no longer physically meet. They were baking more than just cakes in a lockdown — what they offered was comfort and connection, almost akin to therapy.
Photo of Cuarentena Baking by Meghan Dhaliwal for The New York Times
Photo of Cuarentena Baking by Meghan Dhaliwal for The New York Times
It takes more than just mouth-watering images to stand out as a foodie on Instagram. Veteran Suzy Taher of ‘Foodie in Barcelona’ knows this. So what’s her secret sauce?
Everyone’s on Instagram. Yet, not everyone’s a success. I’m always intrigued by what makes some accounts boom, while others just putter along. Cuarentena Baking is a story of reinvention, that shows how powerful a tool Instagram can be. That got me thinking about who else we know with a strong following in this space. FERN member Suzy Taher, who founded the immensely popular blog foodieinbarcelona.com came to mind. @foodieinbarcelona has over 20K highly engaged fans on Instagram. How does she do it?
Suzy, tell us a little about your business.
Suzy: Foodie in Barcelona is a passion project, I did not create it to be a business. That could be one of the reasons why it has been so popular. Money was never the driving factor.
I started Foodie in Berlin when I saw a need for honest reviews in English on where to eat. There was no one I could trust, who spoke truthfully about restaurants. Everything was “Amazing!” — except that it wasn’t. Brunch was the big thing at the time, and many of these “amazing” spots really disappointed. So I set out to find my own hidden gems and tell people about what I found. I later continued my foodie investigations in Barcelona. I’m not loyal to any one area in particular. All of the city interests me, from hidden hole-in-the-walls to high-end.
For me, it’s about being curious. Like playing detective, I piece together stories. I go in with no expectations. I simply do it because I love it, I have fun. I like to see how the story plays out, and uncover that element of surprise.
I started using Instagram around 8 years ago when it was still new. Social media for me was a way to drive readers to my blog — not the other way around. My blog has suffered from a massive drop in tourism to Barcelona over the past year as a result of Covid. If I had a least 900 readers a day, now it’s closer to 150. Instagram gets an immediate response and has surpassed my blog in terms of exposure and engagement. Food on Instagram is big, but it’s struggling. Everyone and their mother is taking pictures of their meals. So you have to come up with something more.
What do you consider to be the secret to your success?
Suzy: I’ve never tried to appeal to the masses. My voice on Instagram is like an amplified version of me. The tone I use in my Instagram Stories is especially unedited. I’m more tongue-in-cheek and sarcastic than crowd-pleasing. People get to know the real me behind the scenes — I’d even go as far as saying they get to know an extreme version of me. There’s nothing generic about it. You either like me, or you don’t.
The other reason may be more practical. The name “Foodie in Barcelona” is very searchable. It has been a big part of generating a strong following. There are a lot of other bloggers and accounts with names like “Food Bcn” and “Food in Bcn”. I often get confused, but once people find me, they tend to stick around. It’s then up to me to provide continuously engaging content. Each time to go into the city I do so without any target numbers, goals, or specific destinations in mind. The point for me is the journey itself and uncovering whatever it is that I find.
Something else that makes me stand out is being honest. Everything is exactly how I describe it. It’s like having a close friend tell you about a restaurant or shop. And the human stories I tell about the people behind the businesses.
Have you ever upset anyone by being honest? Are you pressured to write good reviews?
Suzy: At the beginning, I was a little too sarcastic and dry, and some found that upsetting. Certain cultures don’t get my sense of humor. Now, no one gets upset. If I don’t like something, I don’t write about it. It’s that simple. If I have a bad experience, I tell the business directly, rather than sharing it publicly.
I don’t really get pressured by businesses to write great reviews, because I don’t let them know I’m coming. Many people in my position tell the restaurants first, so they get free meals. I never do that — I’m not trying to be a traditional food critic. I pay for my meals. It definitely takes the pressure off and keeps things honest and real.
How has Instagram changed over the years, for better or worse?
Suzy: In the beginning, it was purely lighthearted and fun. I never obsessed over every post, there weren’t any fancy presets, it just was what it was. Now, it’s work! Everything needs to be strategized. Instagram has become very high-maintenance. You can’t ignore it, and you really have to put in the time.
With stories, I am able to be a bit more silly. I’m not as concerned about aesthetics. It’s how Instagram used to be — spontaneous and fun. My captions are usually pretty humorous.
Content is important, but if you really want to grow, you need to interact with your audience. It’s all one big algorithm. It’s sad when an account solely focused on popping zits has become more popular than Beyoncé. But there you have it.
How do you get 20K followers on Instagram? What are 3 things that have helped you grow your audience and keep them engaged? Got any other tips?
Suzy: When I hit 19.7K followers, I stagnated for about 6 months. Nothing happened! So I spoke to a friend in the industry, who told me I needed to interact more. I immediately saw a difference. The three things he told me to do were:
When you’re looking at other people’s posts, scroll really deep — go way beyond the first 50, and interact with them. Sometimes I give my phone to the kids to do this for me.
At least once a week, choose a hashtag that’s relevant to you and what you do, use it in your posts, follow that hashtag, and like or engage with other people’s posts using it, too.
Use the right hashtags — don’t be too generic! Be strategic, and go niche.
The other thing I’d say is: Think about why you’re doing this. Is it because you have to? Is it adding something positive to your life? Is it worth the hassle? Because it’s work. Don’t do it for the likes. Don’t do it if it doesn’t positively enrich your life. I do it because a lot of good things have come out of it. But not everyone needs to be on Instagram.
What content gets the most engagement? How much of your personal life do you share on Instagram? Where are your followers from?
Suzy: I mainly write about cooking, where to shop, and restaurant reviews. My stories are much more popular than my posts. I publish stories especially when I’m cooking. My posts and stories about Barcelona always get the most engagement. Sometimes they are totally random. They could be of me following someone down the street. It doesn’t always have to be about food. It’s about Barcelona, with some quirky element of surprise every time.
I share very little of my personal life on Instagram. I don’t have another personal account, or I wouldn’t have any personal life! I don’t want to exploit my kids on social media, and don’t want to be on my phone when they’re around.
My followers are mainly from Spain, the UK, the US, and The Netherlands.
How often do you publish Instagram posts and stories? Is there a best time of day, or day of the week? How long does it take you, and when do you find the time?
I travel to the city once a week for new content. I post every other day. I’m always experimenting with timing. I used to post only in the morning. Now, I’ve been trying later in the day to see what happens, since everyone else seems to post in the mornings. Mondays are not the best day to post. For stories, I find that Thursday and Friday are ideal — I’ve been getting as many as 1200 views and tons of engagement on one story alone.
Creating a post will typically take me up to 20 minutes. I use the app Light Leap to sharpen my images slightly. I never use presets and I prefer to tweak everything myself. The more followers you have, the more work it creates for you. You have to interact with your audience. I spend quite a bit of time replying to comments, questions, invitations, etc.
Do you plan your visual feed and captions in advance or are you spontaneous? Do you use any special scheduling tools? Are all of your photos your own?
Suzy: I’m spontaneous, I never plan anything in advance. All my photos are my own. I don’t use any special hashtag generating tools. I’m pretty old-school and organic about everything, and it seems to work fine. Tagging is important, though. Just as backlinks are important for growth on blogs and websites, you will get a lot more followers when you mention other accounts in your Instagram stories and posts — as long as it relates to the content, of course.
Are you an Instagram Influencer? Can you make a living from your Instagram following?
Suzy: I’m more like a micro-influencer! I’m not driven by financial rewards. I write in English to an English-speaking audience, especially tourists, about local businesses in Spain. I probably don’t have the same level of influence as I would if I wrote in Spanish. I once tried to get my Smeg oven replaced this way, but they just didn’t get it. No one offers sponsorship here as they do in the US or UK. And some of the more lucrative opportunities that have come my way have felt like the wrong fit. I don’t really want to be seen promoting frozen gyoza!
A number of opportunities have come about thanks to my following on Instagram, which I never could have anticipated. That’s really where my revenues come from.
For example, a friend of mine pitches my stories to Conde Nast Traveler. I’ve written a guide book on eating out in Barcelona called Eat Like a Local, published by Bloomsbury. I was engaged by the German app developer Lost In… to create an interactive foodie tour of Barcelona. I’ve been approached by big platforms like Airbnb, and Eater.com. I’ve been asked to do trend forecasting for Lays Chips. And most of all, I’ve developed some incredible friendships through really meaningful interactions around a shared passion for food — this has been especially enriching, personally.
Do you have a favorite recipe, restaurant, or shop in Barcelona?
My favorite shop in Barcelona is probably Honesto Chinese Supermarket. I also love the Indian shop in Raval, JK Asian Ingredients. For something more local, I highly recommend Vila Viniteca. Lately, my favorite thing to cook is Malaysian food. I love the mix of spicy and savory. Rangoon Sisters is an amazing cookbook. Asian cuisine is my go-to, and I miss this kind of food in Spain. If you want to eat something that’s not Spanish, you have to make it yourself!
How have your projects been affected by the pandemic? What’s up next for you?
Suzy: Everything was booming until Coronavirus. I even had a tour lined up with the Mandarin Oriental. With the pandemic restrictions, it has been a challenge reviewing restaurants in the city. Sometimes I couldn’t get there. A lot of them have closed down. Those going back into the industry will have to be really experimental and do it out of love. The ones that survive will have really interesting stories.
After the pandemic, a lot of new restaurants will open — regrowth is fertile. It will be expectation-free, with a lot of new content. I hope to be able to help them by telling their stories.
There’s another business area I haven’t mentioned, which has not been as adversely affected during the pandemic. I’m putting more of my energy into that now. In 2017, I launched Foodie Bowls because I saw a huge gap in the market in Sitges. I wanted to make food for lunch that I would love to eat, myself. Vegetarian food that sustains me through the day, filled with fiber, colors, flavors, nuts, and seeds, and topped with delicious dressings. I am an avid podcast fan and cookbook reader and blogs like Doctor's Kitchen have taught me that the way I put together these bowls is the way people should eat for a healthy gut and body. And then, because I believe in everything in moderation, I throw in a home-baked treat — like a caramel apple muffin. I offer all that for 10€ and I have maintained my price because I don’t think pricing should be a barrier to this kind of eating.
As with my blog, Foodie Bowls also started as a passion project. I relied on word-of-mouth and did not advertise or push at all. I am now making bowls twice a week, on Wednesdays (with an energy ball) and Thursdays (with a baked dessert). Orders are placed in advance via a closed Whatsapp group. This year, I want to concentrate more on the Bowls and maybe even get an assistant. I have some local partners now that help direct interested customers to me, which has been really useful in growing the business.
It all sounds exciting — we wish you the best of luck! How can our readers get in touch with you, order their Foodie Bowls, and follow your foodie adventures?
Blog: foodieinbarcelona.com
Instagram: @foodieinbarcelona
Facebook: @FoodieInBarcelona
Twitter: @FoodieInBarcelona
App: Foodie BCN City Guide
VoiceMap: A Culinary Tour of El Born
Book: Eat Like a Local Barcelona
Bowls: Foodie Bowl Home Pickup
