Creators’ Kitchen As Seen on TikTok will offer dishes that go viral on the app, like baked feta pasta. It is Virtual Dining Concepts’ second attempt at a TikTok-themed brand.
Ever wanted to order the wild and wacky food that goes viral on TikTok? Now you can.
Creators’ Kitchen As Seen on TikTok, a new virtual brand from the company behind MrBeast Burger, will offer a rotating menu of dishes that gained popularity on the social media app. The debut menu has an Italian focus, with baked feta pasta, a chopped Italian sandwich, fried lasagna and more.
The menu also highlights the TikTok users, or “creators,” who popularized each dish. And the brand is encouraging other creators to apply to become “affiliates” who will help create new menu items and promote them in exchange for a share in the sales they generate.
The strategy underscores the unique cultural impact of TikTok, where videos can rack up hundreds of millions of views and drive consumer trends in the real world. Restaurants have even begun to look to the app for menu inspiration.
Unveiled Thursday by Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC), Creators’ Kitchen is already live in more than 100 locations across 32 states. As a virtual brand, it has no brick-and-mortars of its own and is instead produced within the kitchens of existing restaurants. It’s available for delivery and pickup via delivery apps and its own website.
VDC first aired plans for a TikTok brand in late 2021. It was to be called TikTok Kitchen and offer a rotating menu of viral dishes from the app. But the brand stalled after TikTok fired marketing chief Nick Tran in early 2022, in part because it didn’t approve of the restaurant idea.
VDC had been tight-lipped on the future of the TikTok brand until Thursday, when it announced Creators’ Kitchen. It’s using the TikTok name under a licensing agreement with TikTok, according to a press release.
“Working with TikTok creators to develop and market the menu of this brand has been an exciting endeavor,” said VDC co-founder Robbie Earl in a statement. “We believe Creators’ Kitchen As Seen On TikTok has set a new standard. With creators steadily producing new recipes and content, Creators’ Kitchen As Seen On TikTok will always be relevant and inspiring.”
VDC, founded by restaurateurs Robert Earl, Trish Giordano and Earl’s son Robbie, also owns MrBeast Burger, Pardon My Cheesesteak, Man Vs. Fries and other delivery-only restaurant brands. Restaurants can add these concepts as additional revenue streams, with VDC taking a portion of the sales.
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