'SPUD Brothers' Harley and Jake Nelson, who run a jacket potato business in Preston from an old tram carriage, have become social media celebrities after their videos attracted more than 17 million likes on TikTok.
The business, which they took over three years ago, is based at Preston Flag Market. The team also 'go on the road' in the tram, taking bookings to serve at events such as birthday parties, weddings, and corporate parties.
Jake, 28, and Harley, 21, took over the business at the start of the year and renamed it Spud Brothers. It was formerly called The Hot Potato Tram and had been serving up hot potatoes and parched peas to customers in Preston since 1955, when it was set up by Ernie Rhodes.
Ernie kept the business in his family, handing over to his nephew Keith in 1978. Following his death in 2020, his friend Tony Nelson, a chef and food industry consultant, took over and ran it before handing over to Harley and Jake three years later.
The two livestream on TikTok from their hot potato tram and the videos they've posted have attracted many new customers, including international visitors.
They film videos about working on the van, how to keep customers happy and sometimes give away free food. One of their most popular videos attracted 20 million views.
"As social media is such a big thing we decided to also put out a Spud Brothers TikTok to get more of a word out there," Jake said in a recent interview with the Lancashire Post.
"When we started doing it, we got a few videos that went viral and we have currently reached 16,500 in 12 weeks but in total across all our social media platforms we are now up to 900,000."
Jake added: "Our most popular spud is cheese and beans with garlic butter, but a new contender which seems to be taking over is Tony's Tram Chilli which is made by Tony."
See the May issue of British Potato Review to read our Professional Profile on The Spud Bros. Subscribe here
