"This is becoming a familiar pattern. Brands explode onto social media with fairy-tale success. Then the clock strikes midnight, and they are gone. I run Tony Roma's, a 54-year-old brand ranked No. 2 in Newsweek's Excellence Index, after Starbucks. Our unit count is not what it was in the 1980s, but we continue to serve customers profitably across five continents. Here's the tension: Social media has genuinely democratized entrepreneurship."
"But we have also made it easier than ever to build brands without staying power that disappear as quickly as they appeared. Algorithms change. Trends shift. Influencers move on. Customers who came for Instagram do not come back for substance. There's no question that social media has brought enormous benefits to emerging brands. The question is whether we are using these tools to build something lasting or just staging fairy tales that end at midnight."
Social media has lowered barriers to entrepreneurship, enabling creators and communities to build brands directly and rapidly reach large audiences. This dynamic fuels explosive, viral growth for many new restaurant concepts and consumer brands, but often lacks staying power when algorithms shift, trends fade, or influencers move on. Established brands like Tony Roma's continue to operate profitably across five continents despite smaller unit counts than in prior decades. Some investors chase viral moments, while others revive legacy brands, as shown by Mukesh Ambani’s 2022 purchase of Campa Cola for INR 220 million, betting on enduring brand equity rather than temporary virality.
Read at Fortune
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