1 billion views...for butter?

'Welcome to Episode One of All Things Butter.'

Those words make a woman weak, I tell you. (It’s me. I’m the woman.)

They’re the words of Thomas Straker, my favourite internet chef with a voice that makes his recipes sound as good as they look.

His career has been nothing short of extraordinary. Going from humble beginnings to culinary acclaim, Straker's now the heart of cultural hub and restaurant, ‘Strakers,’ in Notting Hill.

But his fame in recent years came from a simple yet innovative concept.

A concept that went viral, which he then turned into a series, and then a product, that sold 100,000 units in 10 weeks.

This is now being called the 'All Things Butter Strategy.'

And I’m going to break it down for you. Let’s get into it.

The initial concept.

Straker believed that by elevating a simple butter, you could elevate and transform any dish. This was actually the foundation of his second restaurant. He created a butter-centric menu that exploded in popularity. Food enthusiasts came from all over to experience the magic of this dairy delight.

Taking his popularity onto the internet, Straker created a series over lockdown, starting with a butter a day for 30 days. The series popped the fk off.

It amassed nearly a billion views across 90 videos. He featured everything from chicken skin butter to salt and vinegar crisps butter, all equally as delicious.

'It was fantastic to see the demand and interest,' Straker and his business partner, Toby told SME. 'Which led Toby and I to put our heads together as we saw something further in this.'

From TikTok to stock.

The duo visited over 30 supermarkets to conduct market research. They concluded that the dairy category was dominated by heritage brands and plant-based products that were taking over the shelves.

And so All Things Butter was born. The brand's chef-led approach brought a flavour range to British organic butter. And it put British farming at the forefront.

The brand launched last November and has sold nearly 250,000 blocks.

This year, they secured £2.2M in seed funding.

So, what’s in the secret sauce? Aside from butter, growth influencer and podcaster Codie Sanchez believes it’s this:

See what goes viral, repeat that virality, turn it into a product, share the journey, sell a company.

So what are the takeaways for us?

• Identify a unique concept. Straker focused on butter, a simple ingredient in everyone’s household. Then he created an entire culinary concept around it. Once Straker identified his unique angle, he used that to elevate the product and create a novel experience that stood out on social media.

• Build an audience. By choosing to do a video a day for 30 days, he engaged his audience and maintained a consistent storyline. Then when he created his product, he had a huge customer base ready to buy.

• Analyse market opportunities. By doing their due diligence, Thomas and his partner Toby saw the gaps in the dairy category. Then they capitalised on those gaps, which led to a world-class product that sold by the thousands.

Thomas’s success story is a shining example of the power of combining unique yet simple concepts with the strategic use of virality to not only create, but scale, a successful business.

Plus, he’s hot. So there’s that.

-Sophie, Copywriter