SpudBros Express

About SpudBros Express

London gourmet jacket potato business Spud Bros has its roots in 1950s Lancashire, having started out as a potato cart run by Ernie Rhodes in Preston’s Flag Market in 1955. The company has been a family-run business since, with Jacob and Harley Nelson taking it over in 2020 and rebranding it as Spud Bros.

At the start of 2025, Propel revealed that the company had developed a Spud Bros Express format to help it grow through franchising and partnered with Seeds Consulting to find the right partners to expand with. As of June 2026, it has nine active sites, with a mixture of forecourt and high street locations, and a pipeline to reach 2024 by the end of 2026. Its high street sites are in London, Liverpool, Sheffield and Portsmouth, while its forecourt sites, in partnership with EG On The Move, are in Barnstaple, Blackburn, Wakefield, Cobalt and Wyberton.

In April 2025, Spud Bros partnered with Taster, the delivery-only kitchen concept which has more than 30 franchise locations across the UK. Jacob Nelson said: “With Spud Bros Express, we’re bringing the legacy of the Preston Flag Market jacket potato, something that’s been iconic to our town since 1955, to the world. We’re buzzing to partner with the country’s most ambitious and community-minded franchisees to bring the greatest spuds on earth to high streets across the UK.”

Bertrand Peyrat, chief executive of Taster, added: “Spud Bros Express is not just about food, it’s about redefining the British takeaway. Their story is an example of how social media is transforming our industry, attracting a new generation hungry for entertainment, connection and food with heart.”

The company’s first franchise location opened in Sheffield in 2025. “We want to be in all the city centres in the UK,” said James McCree, head of UK networks for Taster. “There’s really good scope for places this business can go - a potato is a vessel essentially, and you can put whatever you want on it. It will be very much bricks and mortar led - we want to have fun, cool stores that people want to come to. The growth will be very spread out geographically, and while a lot of our deposits are for London and southern cities, we’ve got interest in most UK cities.”

As well as its low capex, moderate investment levels and the absence of heavy extraction, other factors that have made SpudBros Express an exciting prospect include its social media reach and pull with influencers. “We are very much looking to create and co-create brands with influencers,” McCree said. “We’re predominantly a French company, and in France we have Pepe Chicken, and Starsmash, which we have co-created with Youtubers in France, so we know we can do it successfully. This is our playbook; we know how to create, grow and maximise brands with influencers.

“When we first spoke to SpudBros, they had maybe 3.5 million followers across all their networks. Fast forward a year, and it’s nearly eight million. As their influence grows and you have people like Will Smith and Mr Beast coming into the stores, it really amplifies what we’re doing. Apart from the jacket potato being a staple British favourite, which is never going to go anywhere, the boys have made it cool - and having that history and story behind it is why people love it so much.

“They’re a normal family from Preston trying to create a global brand, and people see that as a hero story - you’ve got the history and the Britishness of it, which all works really well together. We will very much be the main player in the jacket potato market going forwards.”

Speaking at the Propel Franchisor Showcase in November 2025, Andreas Holmsen van Stalsberg, chief operating officer at Taster, said: “We have great expectations going forwards - a multi format roll out into major UK high streets, food courts and shopping centres. Our hub and spoke model will see big cities become a foundation to grow brand presence before expansion to secondary locations.”

Van Stalsberg also said Taster is exploring smaller format stores for SpudBros Express and is having international conversations. He added: “We’re exploring now if we can go into slightly smaller formats as well and how we can optimise the equipment at each site in the best way possible. We definitely want to take this brand international as well.” The following month, SpudBros partnered with EG On The Move to bring the concept to petrol station forecourts.

At the end of 2025, SpudBros Express had 8.1 million followers across all social media channels and had attracted praise from celebrities including Will Smith, Liam Neeson, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman - but van Stalsberg said food businesses that go viral must have the quality to back up the “noise”.

He said: “There are examples out there when viral food trends have worked well and examples where it has worked badly. For us at Taster, the food that sits behind it needs to be really, really good. If the quality is not there, you can have the most viral thing in the world, but it will die.”

In March 2026, Propel revealed that Suhail Reham, co-founder of Black Sheep Coffee franchisee Sur Coffee, is planning to launch SpudBros Express in Scotland, while the following month, it launched its first breakfast menu.

SpudBros Express hit double figures with an opening in Nottingham in July 2026 and said it is on course to reach 20 stores this year. That same month, it made its Welsh debut, at a service station on land south of junction two of the M40 in Chepstow, and followed that with its Welsh debut, in Edinburgh. The summer of 2026 saw a second Liverpool location launch, alongside a Doncaster site.

Why franchise with SpudBros Express

• ✓SpudBros Express’ franchise growth is led by Taster alongside Seeds Consulting, with a partnership with EG On The Move for forecourt sites and a target of 24 UK locations by the end of 2026. These are a mix of forecourt and high street formats, while the site pipeline includes company-operated and franchised locations
• ✓Franchise consultant Matteo Frigeri said: “We have just started working with Spud Bros Express and the response from the franchise community has been mind-blowing. Small uncomplicated sites, no extract, massive demand and very low competition nationwide. Spud Bros Express takes the beloved British baked potato and reimagines it for a global audience, with quick-service, customisable gourmet meals.
• ✓“From its humble origins in 1955, with Ernie Rhodes’ food truck at Preston Flag Market, to its rebranding by Jacob and Harley Nelson, Spud Bros has grown into a vibrant business with more than five million social media followers. Spud Bros provides a nutritious yet indulgent alternative to traditional fast food. This business offers a unique franchise opportunity, with simple skill requirements and low capex. Adding to this, extraction is not required, making Spud Bros Express accessible to new and seasoned entrepreneurs alike, and perfectly positioned for rapid growth and scalability in the quick service restaurant market.”
• ✓Franchise fee is £10,000, with minimum investment £60,000 and £60,000 liquid capital required. The brand offers a simple and scalable business model with no extraction required. Franchisees get comprehensive marketing support, an efficient business model, extensive training and ongoing support, established brand recognition and low Investment with high potential. The company offers a turnkey store set up and will help recruit the right people.

Investment breakdown