I love seeing creators who have nailed an art form and keep delivering on it. This week is a highlight of exactly that. We'll dive into who she is and what she's doing so damn well, then we'll explore a few other bits from the world of food creators.

Let's get into it.

Who's Raquel?

One series. 150,000 new followers (and growing).

Raquel of @raquels.pantry is a midwife who turns women's-health research into food people actually want to cook. Having started the year with a little more than 40k followers on Instagram, she's just broken the 300k follower mark. Breaking her content up into distinct series and delivering on content quality has landed her a great formula for growth. Check out her journey below:

The interesting part is why. By her own count, over 150k of that growth came from a single series: "Iron in Disguise" - indulgent-looking food quietly packed with the iron women are always told to get more of. And it's not a fluke. She runs "Microbiome Monday" right alongside it, plus "Bones, Baby" for calcium. Series isn't a tactic she tried once - it's how she works (and it's working).

Now - just doing a series isn't what leads to growth. She's nailing the content format too. Not to mention the fact I absolutely love the look of every recipe - it all looks vibrant, delicious and full of goodness.

On the specifics, she's doing really well:

• Food close-up in the first frame - bright, saturated, impossible to scroll past
• Quick cuts to hold attention through the whole clip
• Her face, tasting it - the same beat every time, which builds both consistency and connection
• Voiceover carrying the "why," so there's a reason to stay, not just something to look at
• A clean, recognisable font and colour palette that makes the grid instantly hers

And finally - the sunshine! I know not everybody is able to record their food with the lovely glimmers of sunlight, but if you can, do it. It just makes everything look so much better - and makes you feel happy! You can immediately picture yourself enjoying the food on a nice day.

So Raquel has not only nailed the series model that everyone in Instagram growth bangs on about at the moment, but she's backed it up with great recipes and great edits.

See it for yourself - a few from her series:

It's a format worth dwelling on. She didn't grow by posting more - she built a repeatable format and executed it well, every time. The series gives people a reason to come back; the craft is why they don't scroll past. She's set herself up well to keep executing on her themes and for people to stop scrolling and say "oh I recognise this and I like it". They'll stop and watch.

Can't wait to see Raquel keep growing! Maybe I'll even try to get hold of her to get her take on things!

So what else have we got in store this week?

Viral posts you might have missed

It's hard to miss the viral recipes - it's why they're called viral. But just in case you did, here are a few of my favourites from recent weeks. The Coconut Beef Broth from @thefitfeast is a personal favourite. Notice what it has in common with the previous section? Sunlight! 3 million views from under 50k followers. Not bad.

Biggest gains

We try to keep tabs on what's going on in the world of food creators - maybe you can learn something from them too. Below are the creators with the biggest absolute recent growth from the past 30 days.

Ones to watch

Even better to check out is who's having the biggest percentage change and who might be the next breakout creator. Below are the accounts that started under 100k with the biggest % growth over the past month. Keep your eyes peeled as they appear on your screen more often!

Now, outside of the growth league tables, there are always some creators that are just worth spotlighting - especially the ones I like to call the Foodies' Foodie. Creators with a real craft, great recipes, and ones you know other creators and recipe developers know and respect. If you're not already following them, you certainly should be. This time, it's a big personal favourite - @thehungryhobbit. I don't think I've ever looked at a recipe and not immediately thought 'I want that'.

Amy Brett

@thehungryhobbit

The Hungry Hobbit, aka Amy Brett. 100k+ on Instagram and the cook other cooks quietly study. Her line is 'fresh, unfussy, just a lil fancy', which sells it short: plant-forward food that looks like a restaurant plated it but is built for a normal Tuesday night. She gets more out of a tin of butter beans and a spoon of salsa verde than most people manage with a full fridge.

Follow on Instagram

So that's it for this issue. Be sure to subscribe and check back in for more. We've got some great content coming up!

Ben.

---