To the majority of readers, the brand sexypenggrubgals might not ring any bells. Right now, it’s a humble food review page on Instagram run by two young women. One of these is Sophie Nielsen, a 22-year-old media undergraduate student in London, who has managed to turn a simple interest into a brand in her spare time. Read below to find out how she manages her life as a content creator and a student.
How did sexypengrubgals come about?
sexypengrubgals is a satirical but sometimes serious food Instagram page, where I share recipes and restaurants I have been to. So me and Ciara (co-creator) had been procrastinating for a while but had been privately creating and collecting content and one day last summer it just got too much so we created the brand.
What was the inspiration for your food reviews and how do they compare now you are based in London?
The main inspiration was TikTok, the rise in food blogging content, mukbang’s etc. There is definitely a larger culture pot in terms of cuisine in London, so I have been fortunate to try food from all over.
What has been the most challenging part of being a food reviewer?
Trying to take it seriously as the brand Is also a little silly, we have had a micro viral reel that was humorous in nature so maybe that’s not a bad thing.
Do you find it challenging to manage your food reviews whilst being a full-time student?
No, although if it became bigger that would potentially be the case. Right now, it’s just a bit of fun.
Does the cost of living crisis affect your ability to do your food reviews and if so how?
Definitely if I don’t have a lot of money I’ll be living off oats and packet ramen which won’t get posted because who wants to see that over and over again.
From all of your reviews which is your favourite and why?
Definitely the ones from Spain last summer as that’s when the account gained attention outside of our humble following that consists mainly of close friends.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChDQYYgssUr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Which experience was the worst and why?
So far nothing has been particularly negative as we do it for ourselves and I feel like the problems arise when collaborators and business become involved.
Do you plan to do your reviews as a career or is it more akin to a hobby?
Right now, it’s a hobby. However I feel like it could be turned into something bigger and in turn become something more profitable.
You post your reviews online. What has been your experience with handling that aspect?
As the platform is Instagram, it’s been easy! However problems do happen when you need to take social media breaks because of school or general mental health which can affect engagement.