The jacket potato invasion: How the likes of Spudman and Spud Bros reignited Britain’s love affair with the humble tater

Ben Newman still wakes up every morning and pinches himself to make sure this is all real.

He’s rubbed shoulders with Hollywood stars over the past few years and even met the Queen recently. That’s quite a lot for a guy selling £5 jacket potatoes from a caravan.

The 40-year-old father of nine is better known for his pink mohawk and nickname Spudman than his real name.

The son of a potato merchant, Ben never imagined that he would become the country’s most famous potato seller when he bought a caravan with his grandmother’s inheritance at the age of 18.

He has his son Dylan (Little Spud) to thank for that. As the country was just emerging from the depths of its first Covid lockdown, it was the teenager who suggested his father start using TikTok.

Ben scored his first viral hit on his third post: A video showing him “making potatoes,” he told me, was viewed half a million times.

It has snowballed to today, where it boasts 4.2 million followers, with people from all corners of the world hopping on jets to fly to Tamworth to snap a viral sensation photo.

Ben’s heartwarming moments also captured the hearts of millions of fans, but he’s at pains to emphasize that he’s not doing it for publicity.

He randomly hands out baked potatoes to customers old and young and is hosting a ‘free day’ to raise money for Kidney Research UK. It recently announced that anyone over the age of 70 will not be charged for baked potatoes this December.

Ben isn’t the only person who found fame selling potatoes. The Spud Bros – brothers Jacob and Henry Nelson – have also attracted a multi-million following of their own, whose fan base includes Oscar-nominated star Liam Neeson, Will Smith and YouTube sensation Mr Beast.

They recently released Christmas charity single Brighter Than The Night featuring Line of Duty star Vicky McClure’s Dementia Choir.

Coincidence or not, the jacket potato is back on family dinner plates in Britain.

He’s not the only one who found fame selling acorns. The Spud Bros – brothers Jacob and Henry Nelson (pictured) – also have millions of followers

Fancy nosh purveyors Waitrose recently noted that searches for ‘jacket potato’ on its website had increased by 178 per cent in the past year.

Maybe it’s what the supermarket calls “the great comeback of carbs,” but either way, Ben is excited to see the potato making a comeback.

“Potatoes are the original street food in this country, they’ve been around since Victorian times,” he told the Daily Mail.

‘With the street food revolution that has occurred in this country over the last fifteen years, the humble jacket and trousers are gone. We did not innovate, we did not progress. We didn’t shout about it.

That’s what I did. That’s what social media does. ‘It means we’re really getting people excited about it and reminding people how good it is and how modest everyday food it is.’

Since then, potato street food traders have popped up across the country, with Spudman and Spud Bros taking the vegetable to new heights.

Young entrepreneur Evie Capps, 20, has shelved plans to open a cafe to launch Spud Stop in Lincoln.

‘I was actually thinking of opening a coffee shop,’ he said. ‘But after seeing how popular jacket trousers had become on TikTok, I thought: Why not try it? Everyone loves potatoes; It’s filling, comforting and versatile.’

Over the last few years Ben has rubbed shoulders with Hollywood stars and even recently met Queen Camilla.

The viral sensation has 4.2 million followers and people from all corners of the world are hopping on jets just to get to Tamworth

The humble food vendor hung out with US singer Teddy Swims, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman last year.

Ben sells £5 jacket potatoes from his caravan, which food critic Tom Parker-Bowles described as “the best baked potato that has ever passed his lips”

Ben thanked his son Dylan (Little Spud) for his fame after he suggested his father start using TikTok.

Ben is delighted to see as many potato trailers popping up as possible and would rather help grow their popularity rather than gain ground in their field.

He most recently teamed up with Liverpool’s John The Spud and the collaboration helped his social media following grow from 3,000 to 25,000 in two weeks.

‘My father (Michael Newman) was a potato merchant. “He did something that no one else was doing at the time and wrapped the potatoes in tin foil and at one point he supplied probably ninety percent of the Baker Boys in the country – a really successful business in supplying people just like me,” Ben said.

‘I know if I were to drive into a town in that big car I have and come face to face with a local man who’s been there for twenty or thirty years, he’d turn in his grave knowing that I’d come face to face with one of my father’s old clients.

“So whenever we go somewhere, I make sure we team up with the local guy instead of going up against him like Liverpool.

‘I know how I would feel if my wagon rolled a hundred yards from my field. I would be devastated. That’s why we don’t do this.’

Ben said he is ‘honoured’ by the opportunities he has been able to get since he started documenting his work.

The humble food vendor was hanging out with US singer Teddy Swims, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman last year, serving potatoes at a screening in London to promote the duo’s new Deadpool and Wolverine movie.

In November, Queen Camilla joined him in his caravan to serve jacket potatoes to visitors at Clarence House.

His son, food critic Tom Parker-Bowles, has already given Ben a rave review, declaring his potatoes ‘the best cooked potatoes that have ever passed his lips’.

Spud Bros has been announced as the front shirt sponsor of Championship club Preston North End for the 2025-26 season.

Spud Bros sources their potatoes from local farmers with their most popular choice of garlic butter, cheese, beans, ‘famous trolley sauce’ and crispy onions

However, there is also a serious side to his work. I He was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2010.

Because of his illness, he underwent three transplants, all of which failed and required dialysis five times a week.

‘I have a lot of followers and a lot of kidney patients and dialysis patients follow me because I show a positive side of this and show you that you can live a normal life, have a job and have a family while still having end-stage renal failure and being on dialysis five nights a week,’ he said.

‘We all have fights just to get through the day’s work, right? I think a lot of people appreciate me showing a reality that’s not easy, but we can do it.’

His success allowed him to move his family out of their rented home and get a mortgage, and he put his money back into the business.

Ben tells me he’s happy with his two trailers (one for the downtown stage, the other for events) and that he wants to maintain a work-life balance rather than pursue global domination.

‘I’d probably be a much better businessman if I were a little more ruthless, but I like doing nice things,’ he said.

‘I just want to set myself up so that if I have to take a month off because I’m not very well, I can do that and not have bills and things like that on my mind.

‘What always worries me is my illness… can I work and things like that? So I do my best to be sensible and not overextend myself financially.’

The Spud Bros brothers from Preston have also reached dizzying heights, but unlike Ben, they have their sights set on global stardom.

They credit their father, known as the Spudfather, for his fame as he was the one who started the TikTok account that has amassed over four million followers.

Their first viral hit was when they were giving a free potato to a student and telling the student ‘that was the best jacket potato I’ve ever had.’

Spud Bros. it has also attracted a following of its own, with Oscar-nominated star Liam Neeson (pictured) among its fanbase.

Brothers Jacob and Harley have no plans to hang up their aprons and have ambitions of making Spud Bros. a global brand.

‘Sometimes we hand out potatoes, joke around with customers, and people seem to really enjoy these interactions. Preston is full of character and good banter and it really comes through,” Jacob told the Daily Mail.

Huge queues formed outside the tram with people, like Spudman, traveling to Preston from Japan and Australia to sample their potatoes.

Jacob said: ‘Another key moment was the couple following the lady’s fall; He had Alzheimer’s disease. I only had one potato left and I offered it to them for free.

‘This has been one of our biggest videos and is one of the reasons why we are currently running our campaign with our Dementia Choir.’

Jacob attributes his success to hard work, consistency, new ideas and ‘just being yourself’.

‘Taking care of the people around you is a great staff and creating an environment where people actually want to work,’ he said.

‘And most importantly, food. You can have all the hype in the world, but if the food isn’t good, people won’t come back. Great food, good people, good customer service and genuine interaction; These have been ingrained in us since our youth.

‘Just be kind, it doesn’t cost anything, and if you’re going to do something, do it properly.’

The brothers recently traveled to Abu Dhabi, where they sold their famous padded jackets at the F1 season finale.

Jacob said: ‘We were a bit nervous as it was outside the UK, but the support from the Emirates and everyone there has been incredible.

‘We were told we were the busiest traders with the biggest queues. The opportunities and people that came to us were crazy.

‘As long as we keep showing up, working hard, being creative, keeping the excitement going and making sure the people around us are happy and benefit from it, I think it can keep growing.’

As for the future, the brothers have no plans to hang up their aprons anytime soon and are focused on building their brand.

‘These core values, great food, good vibes and giving back are what we enjoy and are now our livelihood,’ Jacob said.

‘I couldn’t see myself going back to a different job. ‘I love potatoes and I love the people and the community we’ve created.’

As for the jacket potato revolution, Ben hopes this is just the beginning.

‘[Jacket potatoes] It should be something you can have as far as cheap food and a good daily ration. It has definitely rebounded from its popularity five years ago to where it is now.

‘The amount of arrogant potato men out there is crazy.’