Lost of restaurants these days have unique items that have customers whipping out their phones to take a pic and share it with their friends. But Sugar Factory takes the cake when it comes to Instagrammable food and drinks, with a broad range of colorful, and visually stunning items to choose from on its menu. We spoke with Sugar Factory partner Tom Recine about some of their most popular items, what exactly makes them Instagrammable, and how Instagram has affected their business. Following is a transcript of the video.
Customers: "Sugar!"
Tom Recine: Pretty much every single table will have their camera out, because they see something they think is fantastic.
Sugar Factory is a restaurant, bar, retail, and many, many other things actually that's rolled into one.
In 2016, this was the number one Instagrammed restaurant in the country, if not the world.
It's a fantastic tool for us. I think it has definitely grown our business. When we create something, it's to create a "wow." And that turns into an Instagram moment. I think it's definitely the best marketing tool there is on the planet. There's no question about that.
We stay very, very relevant in everything that we do.
We have something that's called a Couture Pop. It's a blinged stem with a screw-on lollipop top. That is backed by stars like Britney Spears and Kim Kardashian and many, many others. That's one thing that helped brand Sugar Factory.
Many, many celebrities come in on their own. Some celebrities there licensee ti-ins. We do a really good job of taking care of them, making them feel comfortable here. They respond with a lot of Instagram and Tweets on their own.
One thing is it can't be kitschy or hokey. It has to be relevant. I think people obviously, they eat with her eyes first. It's appealing to the eyes. It's something that everybody associates with. And it's something that everyone just has to have.
We sell a lot of drinks. We sell a lot of goblets. The Drake goblet is a new item on our menu that has just exploded. People are loving that. We have at something called a Lollipop Passion. I think the Lollipop Passion is the number one most instagrammed food or beverage item.
We also have an insane milkshake. The Sugar Daddy. And we have rainbow sliders with colored buns. Our King Kong Sundae is probably the number one dessert. It's a sundae that has 28 scoops of ice cream. And it's garnished with all kinds of candies and Unicorn Pops. And then two sparklers go in it. And the team celebrates a guest's birthday in a way that no other restaurant does.
Sometimes it's taking something that's tried and true, something that people really understand, and taking it to 2 or 3 levels higher. When that happens, you have a winner.