‘We want to make jacket potatoes sexy again!’: how the humble spud became a fast food sensation

They were once a lunch option that inspired little excitement – but the jacket potato’s time has finally come. After decades in epicurean exile, the humble spud has made a roaring comeback in the UK and piqued the interest of foodies across the world. A-listers, tourists and trend-hopping teenagers are queueing for hours to get their hands on them. For Jacob Nelson, who sells loaded spuds that have gone super-viral on social media, this was all part of the plan. “We thought: how can we make the jacket potato sexy again?” he says.

The 30-year-old, who runs SpudBros with his brother Harley and dad Tony, was among the first crop of social-media savvy spud vendors to give the jacket potato a much-needed makeover. After a slow start in lockdown, the brothers spoke to some youngsters in Preston Flag Market, where they had set up shop, to find out why they were shunning spuds. “It was an absolute ghost town,” says Harley. “We spoke to one student walking past us. He said to get on social media.” The pair listened, filming their interactions with customers while showing off their mouthwatering loaded spuds, and subsequently went stratospheric on TikTok in 2023.

View image in fullscreen Jacob and Harley Nelson, the founders of SpudBros. Photograph: Garry Cook/Alamy

Now, they have nearly 5 million followers on TikTok, nabbed a sponsorship deal with Preston North End FC, and have teamed up with celebrities including Will Smith, Liam Neeson and Mr Beast to show off their spuds. “It’s just crazy,” says Jacob. Their success is part of a spud renaissance. One of the world’s oldest street foods, yaki imo, for example, has been sold on the streets of Japan since the 1600s. So the rebirth of jacket potatoes is a reinvention for modern times.

View image in fullscreen An image of baked potatoes being sold on the streets of London, c. 1840.