Viral tweet restores Tropical Hut to public awareness causing delivery shortages and hiring expansion

Only up to a few months ago, homegrown hamburger chain Tropical Hut has been relegated to a has-been, overran and overwhelmed by more popular competitors with a lot of marketing muscle, like all-time Filipino favorite Jollibee and global brands McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King. Tropical Hut was the king of the burgers in the Philippines up to the early 1990s, frequented by families during weekends---and many thought those days were over. But all it took was one viral tweet from one loyal customer to bring about an online tsunami of nostalgia that soon had the hamburger-loving public ordering from and visiting their nearest Tropical Hamburger branch.

The result:  outlets have been experiencing temporary food shortages because of the increasing orders; to keep up with the demand, Tropical Hut is now hiring more staff.

The trigger was stock analyst  J.P. Tanyag’s Tweet that he was the sole customer in Tropical Hut’s Escolta branch. The online post of the old exterior and his tray of burgers and fries unexpectedly became viral. The seemingly simple but heartfelt post was like calling attention to a lonely friend, one who had stood by your family for decades (Tropical Hut is more than 50 years old).

The public responded. Soon enough, other tweets and digital posts surfaced, showing dozens of Grab riders lining up in various branches to take deliveries, as well as customers flocking to different branches for the chain’s signature clubhouse sandwiches and breakfast meals aside from the trademark burgers. One Makati branch had to turn away customers because its staff was swamped accommodating incoming requests.

Tropical Hut posted a sincere thank-you note to its fans on Facebook, while asking them for more patience as it continued to keep up with the orders. Then its next waves of posts had to do with recruitment, saying they were hiring service crews and accounting clerks ASAP.

None was happier with this turnaround than Tropical Hut’s followers, some of whom wanted the burger chain to build on the viral momentum. As “Arya Stark” commented on its Facebook page, “Guys, don’t let this be a temporary trend. Now is the time to hire a social media manager, graphic artists, influencers, and make a heartfelt commercial.”