Smashing Burgers, Smashing Marketing
The power of a strong social media presence in culinary | Why Brash tell a story we want to hear
If you’re Capetonian and I say the words smash burger to you, there’s one place I’m certain will immediately come to your mind. If the one you’re thinking of lives in that one stretch of Seapoint, then we’re on the same page. If you’re not Capetonian (or perhaps you are and just live under a rock), Brash is a smash burger eatery not only dominating their respective market, but also smashing their social media presence and giving us a taste of what connecting with your consumer authentically really looks like. Puns intended.
As much as we live in the real world, so much of our time is spent online that social media can be considered a world of its own in which we all reside. In the digital space, everything is shouting at us — we are being fed ad after ad, scrolling past images generated by AI, and reading captions of a cafe’s Instagram post that you can tell were 99% ChatGPT’d. Synthetic content is all over our feed, over-saturating the digital space we spend so much time in. It’s boring. It’s exhausting. It’s all the same. Sometimes it feels like, where is the human element in this? The popular format of a get-ready-with-me on the FYP can hardly be watched through without a sliver of skepticism and a check for the “sponsored” label below the video: is this someone actually sharing themselves getting ready or is it just another brand who has hired a random creator to infiltrate this space? Your Pinterest board is littered with URL links disguised as outfit inspiration, too.
Consumers are craving the real on social media. In a space with hundreds of pieces of content shouting all at once (and the attention span of the average consumer dwindling) people want something that feels different amidst the screaming-match of digital marketing. People want the grit of a digital camera. The photo dump is now a favoured medium for a more ‘raw’ look at the every day. Big names are moving away from hyper-polished feeds and employing an approach that feels more off-script. People want to feel connected with brands in a manner that feels authentic.
In the culinary space of social media marketing particularly, it’s easy for a place to fall into the pattern of putting all of the attention on product: the beautifully photographed food, and then the beautifully photographed food again, with the accompanying narrative sticking to only one train of thought: look at how good our stuff looks, you should come and eat here.
And the thing is, this formula does work. Plenty of successful establishments in the food industry boast full tables every night with a social media identical to what I’ve just described — I mean, if you’re making good food and translating that on your Instagram feed, and I’m a consumer looking for good food, it’s going to work, right? If your food tastes as good as it is photographed on your page, it’s almost as simple as that. To market with this in mind is important! I mean, that’s really the whole point after all; you’re advertising your establishment with the end goal being to get feet through the door. But this style of marketing online is prone to feeling repetitive or copy-paste, and at times, devoid of anything that evokes an emotional reaction in your viewer (the potential customer). How different is it really from the hundreds of establishments following the same copy-paste narrative?
There’s a reason that Brash has tides of eager patrons spilling out of their doors on the daily — a huge part of it is because the product is good — but what I think has played an enormous roll in their success is the winning combination of different + authentic in their social media presence.
Let’s get into Brash.
They’re real from the get-go. Two best friends, not trying to feign experience in the realm of cooking, showing up with only love and passion for their business. Amy Gajjar (award-winning designer/trend forecaster/my very good friend) described the presence of Brash on social media as being just like “a pair of boets you went to uni with” who you could easily imagine yourself sharing a beer and laugh with. It’s a really apt take, and evident throughout their Instagram presence all the way. Not only does it feel like there are real people behind everything they share, but their personality feels relatable and close-to-home, and their faces are at the forefront of who Brash is.
I was recently a guest on Amy’s podcast Girl of The Future, where we talk more about Brash and how a brand can feel like a friend. Find it here :-)
I’ll be using their Instagram page as my reference point for the Brash story.
So we have a real story about a place run by two guys who, plainly, look like a lot of fun. How many eateries really embody a feeling of fun, at their core? Brash are never taking themselves too seriously: from pouring milk over themselves after taking a shot of hot sauce for a promo, to short skit of the pair accepting their award for burger joint of the year in tank tops that read who’s your mac daddy. From the beginning to the big wins, Brash remains the same: two “boets” who started a burger joint with relentless passion at the heart of it. And it’s all part of the story we get to follow. It’s never forced. It’s never put on. There’s no bullshit or pretension — just two best friends (who aren’t cooks, and own it) who love a smash burger.
Even though we know this duo as the face and personality behind Brash, they don’t forget to shine the spotlight on the in-store team behind the burgers themselves. A powerful black and white shot of the staff team cuts through the red and beige Instagram feed, introducing a carousel of equally-striking moments of the grill, the rush, the first bite, the orders pouring in over the phone.
Alongside these captures is the next post of a smiley team, paired with the simple caption:
CLOSED MONDAY 5 MAY FOR STAFF PARTY
This post in particular left a long-lasting impression on me around who Brash is at heart. When have you EVER seen a business announce their closure on social media, for a day, for a staff party?? Maybe you have, but I certainly haven’t; and I certainly haven’t seen such a celebratory and public acknowledgement of the hardworking force who are the ones pushing out the product every day. It’s so appealing to feel that your choice spot treats their staff team well, and would even go as far as to give them their flowers on main. After hearing Brash’s name all over town, this is the post of theirs that sold me when I first checked out their social media.
If I had the time I’d talk some more, but I’ll leave it here as to how Brash ticks all the boxes when it comes to marketing themselves online:
Their narrative remains authentic and down-to-earth to the beginnings of Brash. It’s not common to see business owners as forthright about their lack of experience, Brash stating their claim as two guys with no cooking experience is striking and boldly honest — and part of what makes their story so personable.
Well-edited skits, fun reels and expressive photography makes the journey of Brash exciting to follow: from the launch to the pop-ups, and a BTS look at the opening of their flagship store on Regent Street, we get to feel like we’re there for every step. A good story is one thing, well-crafted assets to tell the story with will go an incredibly far way.
An emphasis on showcasing the team makes a HUGE difference — and it’s not merely a small feature, they have themselves a photoshoot. Again I say, how many times do you come across content like this from your local cafe in quite the same way?
Let’s not forget the role that superb branding plays in the big picture: simple, bright, bold, no frills, and beautifully illustrated assets — translated into merch you can even get on-site. A bulky red sans-serif is really the one, these days.
Blend (smash) these all together and what you have is a recipe for a cult clientele.
In a world of noise, Brash is a breath of fresh air, and an example of how strong yet simple assets can be used to market your business successfully. Authentic story told with beautiful photography, bold branding and a no-frills tonality that is, well, brash, is the recipe to the duo’s incredibly effective social media presence. I love when you can tell that a brand’s digital presence conveys the personality of those behind it. Especially in the culinary space online, it really can feel like everyone is doing the same thing in their marketing, and that the human element is missing. Food is your product, and the most universally-connective medium between people of all time: think about how wonderfully potent this is — or perhaps risk an Instagram feed that feels hollow and repetitive. In 2025, overheads of your dish shot on a professional camera will still likely get you feet in the door, but are far, far less likely to evoke emotion, build a story, and excite people. And it certainly isn't going to make you stand out. The heat is higher, the competition is louder, the quick-changing nature of social media means that one has to think faster and more creatively if they really want to differ from the masses.
If I can drive home my justification for Brash in one sentence: I haven’t even eaten a smash burger before — but when I do, I already have reason to head to That One Smashburger Place In Seapoint.
P.S: tell me what you think about this format. I didn’t study communication for three years to sit on my thoughts ;)