Who needs mainstream marketing and advertising when you have a cell phone, a TikTok account and a personable CEO to be the face of the brand? That’s exactly what went through Sammy Nussdorf’s mind when he launched his TikTok page, aka Brokeback Contessa (which he says his friend came up with because he describes himself as the gay Ina Garten, so the username was Brokeback Mountain meets Barefoot Contessa), to promote his soon-to-be-opening gourmet grocery store, Meadow Lane, in New York City.
Though Nussdorf initially looked into teaming up with a marketing agency, he quickly realized it wasn’t going to be a good fit. “I didn’t like what they had to say. I didn’t like their strategy. I didn’t like their price point. I didn’t like what they were selling me on, so I started looking at TikTok,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Meadow Lane
Meadow Lane
The Meadow Lane founder isn’t the first business owner to turn to social media for self-marketing, as it gives brands the opportunity to directly connect with consumers rather than through a third-party agency. And in this day and age, when people crave genuine, human connection, a popular app like TikTok seems to be the perfect place to do just that.
“People love to see how things are made, and so many people have aspirations and dreams to start their own business. I was like, why not document this entire process and let people join me on this journey of launching a business, especially around food and beverage and flowers,” he says of his initial goals with his content.
And he’s not wrong. Nussdorf has gained millions of views and nearly 130,000 followers, even with Meadow Lane not open yet. He says people specifically enjoy his food tasting videos as well as the founder’s transparency regarding the store’s months-long delays.
“Really, the delays took on a life of their own and a lure of their own on TikTok, which thank God because it ended up becoming a whole bit and ends up being really funny, even though it still is and was very stressful for me as the founder,” he admits.
Meadow Lane
Meadow Lane
While Nussdorf has slowly offered more peeks into his personal life through the TikTok account, he asserts that “the brand came before the influencing.” And though putting yourself online can be intimidating, he jumped right in knowing it was “either gonna be really cringe or it’s either gonna do well,” and thankfully for the CEO, the latter happened.
Now, as Meadow Lane is set to officially open its doors this fall, Nussdorf is just excited for people to finally try the food, especially after more than a year of teasing his TikTok followers. “[We’re going to be] turning these parasocial relationships into real relationships,” he says, “and I think it will just be nice to see people finally get to enjoy the store.”