The London Brunch Festival ran from 1-2 September this year at the Old Truman Brewery in Shoreditch.
The event was the brainchild of Ian Carpenter, who launched it with money he’d been saving for a flat deposit after returning from a spell of travelling. He then spent three months sleeping on friend’s sofas and in hostels, while working a bar job in the evenings and the business plan in the day.
Carpenter secured some angel investment, but spent only £1,000 on marketing the event, which attracted 4,000 attendees in its first incarnation. The event’s marketing consisted of a quarter-page advert in a magazine and few hundred pounds of Facebook ads.
The majority of the event’s marketing came from word of mouth on Instagram, where a network of unofficial brand ambassadors ran ticket giveaways and contests. 127 ‘influencers’ with over 10,000 followers attended the festival, helping to further drive visibility.
Carpenter commented: “We are looking to grow in a big way next year! Our goal is to have over 150 exhibitors and approximately 10,000 attendees.”
See below for a selection of photos from 2018’s London Brunch Fest.
