Slapfish’s new deal with investment firm Mac Haik Enterprises Ltd.’s restaurant division gives it a capital injection and franchise expansion.
However, even with the aspirations to grow, the Fountain Valley-based restaurant operator’s marketing is decidedly driven by a startup mentality—with the founder and his wife still handling most of the social media.
“A lot of our marketing is still very grassroots,” said Andrew Gruel, head chef and founder of the sustainable seafood concept. “We still run all of our own social, me and my wife.”
“Advertising in the traditional sense, frankly, I believe is dead. I think we’re going to continue to invest in digital and trying to look for what the next Instagram is going to be.”
Houston-based Mac Haik’s partnership, with the investment total not being disclosed, means a minimum of 30 Slapfish concepts in Texas and Arkansas.
The company, which Gruel started as a food truck in 2012, currently works with three location designs: an 800-square-foot limited menu outpost, 2,000-square-foot fast-casual style and full-service, raw bar concept. The company ended last year up 50% to $25.6 million in sales. It now has 21 locations, including 5 in Orange County.
Outsourcing Fears
Keeping marketing close to the vest as the business scales maintains the integrity of the brand, with just a few people who assist in optimizing ads.
“I think once you start outsourcing stuff like that, you lose focus and you lose the voice of the brand,” the restauranteur said.
The company leverages Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and Twitter, using a combination of posts that are at times educational and other times much more instinctual to turn heads.
In stores—which includes a London location that bowed about a month ago—Gruel thinks there’s still opportunity to target consumers through direct mailers, and he also stresses engagement in local communities.
And then there’s the company’s work with the seafood industry, Gruel pointed out, which is seen as key in its push to woo more consumers to understand the benefits of sustainable seafood.
He weighs all of that when he thinks about his digital strategy.
“We’re in an interesting time,” Gruel said. “There’s a huge gap between say and do. [Consumers] want sustainable and they want green and eco-friendly, but they’re not willing to pay for it.”
There’s a lot of education that needs to be done there, but it’s visceral. It might be food porn photos [posted on social media] and then use that as the bait for selective messages about the product. So it’s very surface level sometimes. It’s guttural and we let the food do that messaging.”
