Did I specifically want to write about this because I'm a foodie and a longtime Grandma Loves You fangirl? Heck, yes. But as someone who has spent a decade working in social and content marketing, there are real lessons here that go well beyond a really good sandwich.
Brands spent millions on influencer marketing last year alone. And creator collaboration works. But there's been a shift over the last several years that I think a lot of brands are still underestimating. People trust real people more than paid partnerships.
Your best marketers are already eating at your restaurant and telling everyone they know about it. They've been doing it for years.
The Example Worth Talking About: Grandma Loves You
Grandma Loves You grew because people couldn't stop talking about them.
Artin and Sarah Davoodi, a couple from Germany, opened what started as a small counter serving gourmet hotdogs and sandwiches in Toronto. They built a brand on comfort food, nostalgia, and community.
By 2026, they have multiple locations across the city and a social media following that most brands would spend a pretty penny to build. Accounts like TasteToronto and blogTO feature them regularly. The hashtag #grandmalovesyou has thousands of posts and a life of its own on TikTok and Instagram, fed almost entirely by regular people who just really love their sandwiches.
Seriously, check them out. But beware: you may end up in a social media sandwich rabbit hole.
(Full disclosure: Grandma Loves You is a DataCandy client — but they were building all of this long before we came into the picture.)
What That Visibility Is Actually Worth
We're living in a world where people are constantly being sold to, and they know it. Tack on a social feed flooded with AI-generated content, and suddenly real human moments, like someone genuinely excited about a sandwich, stand out more than ever.
The data backs this up:
- Only 5% of consumers trust influencer content completely (and that trust has been dropping)
- 70% of consumers feel deceived when they discover a partnership that wasn't disclosed
- 88% of people trust peer recommendations above any other form of advertising
- 60% of consumers say UGC is the most authentic content when making a purchasing decision
- 69% of Gen Z rely on social media for restaurant discovery, but only 1 in 10 consumers use influencers for recommendations, signalling a shift away from influencer-driven discovery
An organic post from a real customer, or even a micro-creator who genuinely loves the brand, costs nothing and often outperforms what you're paying for. And if you can manage to scale that, it adds up to some serious impressions.
This feels like a no-brainer to consider, especially in light of the rising ad costs we’re seeing.
Why This Is Happening Now
Three things are converging, and none of them seem to be reversing anytime soon:
- Trust in paid content is eroding. Audiences have gotten good at spotting the transaction behind the post. The content that used to feel organic increasingly doesn't.
- AI is raising the noise floor. As AI-generated content floods every feed, anything that feels genuinely human carries more weight by contrast. A real person who just really loved their lunch might actually be more effective than an overproduced AI video.
- The volume of UGC is catching up to paid reach. When someone posts about a brand they genuinely love, it just hits differently. It always has. The difference now is that enough of those posts together can rival a paid campaign.
Grandma Loves You didn't engineer any of this. They just built something genuinely good and let Toronto do the rest. And we all know Torontonians love to get behind something.
What Happens When You Build a System Around It
Grandma Loves You created something really special with their community: a UGC machine. And they’ve spent years making it. That's entirely theirs. Built by them, earned by them.
The reason I keep coming back to their story is that it proves the opportunity is real. Most brands just don't know how to operationalize a system that actually incentivizes social sharing.
For brands that want to start building this kind of momentum intentionally, DataCandy's Social Rewards is one way to do it. Social Rewards takes a behaviour that’s likely already happening and then recognizes and rewards it.
- Snap a photo? Earn points.
- Leave a review? Earn a free item.
- Tag the brand? Get something back.
You're not inventing behaviour that doesn't exist. You're making it worth doing more often, and making every post trackable in the process.
And just so we’re clear: none of this replaces a smart paid strategy, reviews, or local SEO. Influencer campaigns, targeted ads, and launch partnerships still work and they still have a role depending on what fits your business.
The Same Pattern Shows Up Everywhere
Grandma Loves You is one of my favourite examples of the moment, but this dynamic plays out all over the industry (and across other industries).
In early 2024, Burger Factory's influencer campaign generated over 75 million views and 100,000 new followers. A paid campaign, yes. But it worked because it tapped into something real: people love watching other people discover great food. The brands that turn that temporary campaign-driven lift into something lasting are the ones that build a community around it. People who keep posting, keep tagging, keep coming back long after the campaign ends.
Edo Japan (also a DataCandy client) ran a smart play when they opened three new locations a few years ago, working with an agency to partner with local food influencers to generate early momentum. But the longer-term result was the everyday customer who posts about their bubble tea or tofu sukiyaki rice bowl in their monthly photo dump.
Paid and earned aren't competing strategies. The best brands use both and strategically layer.
So If You Already Have Loyal Customers… Why Do You Need a Loyalty Program?
This is a question I see a lot. And honestly, it's a fair one.
If customers are showing up, posting, and telling their friends without being asked, why would a business pay to set up a digital loyalty program? Not to mention, the time cost of maintaining something that feels overwhelming.
The answer: the benefits from user-generated content are real, but like many things in life, they can be seasonal and fleeting. The spotlight moves. A new spot opens down the street. Another snowstorm hits and nobody wants to leave their house. The virality that carried you through your best quarter doesn't just show up on demand.
A digital loyalty program gives you data. And data is powerful. Or at least it can be, if you know what to do with it.
A list of emails on its own won’t bring customers back in. But an email tied to a loyalty account with automated offers set up? Now we’re talking. Now you have a tool that creates engagement and repeat visits at scale, running in the background while you focus on everything else.
As a life-long lover of loyalty programs, I have a soft spot for a birthday reward in particular. But working at DataCandy and getting to see all the bells and whistles on the back end—Lights Out offers, SKU-based loyalty, automated triggers—is genuinely exciting. Anything that keeps the queue of customers full without you having to manually lift a finger every time is a win.
The Takeaway
The Grandma Loves You story isn’t just interesting because it’s wholesome. It also happens to be a masterclass in building a cult following that started with a sandwich experience designed to feel like a home cooked meal and turned into a social media sensation.
Real people, real content, real reach, and a brand that built something worth talking about. In a world of rising ad costs, eroding trust, and AI-generated everything, that kind of earned attention is increasingly rare, and increasingly valuable.
Curious about the latest loyalty trends we’re seeing? Check out our Loyalty and Gift Card report (it’s free and filled with some interesting insights on the macro-trends impacting what people spend on). Or learn more about Social Rewards and the benefits of UGC.