
Duke's
"Hot Tomato Summer"
Tomatoes and Duke's Mayo.
Name a more iconic duo.
These days there are lots of “holidays” that seem ready-built to pad out social content calendars. National Squirrel Appreciation Day, anyone?
But in the South, summertime is officially Tomato SZN, as people from Virginia to ‘Bama bust out the mayo and maters and go to town. As THE mayo of the South, we decided Duke’s should own the season.
And so, “Hot Tomato Summer” was born.
For the event, we partnered with 13 restaurants across Richmond, VA to create specialty mayo and tomato dishes ranging from the classic BLT to mayo ice cream (sidenote: it was delicious).
The goal was to show Duke’s love and appreciation for the RVA restaurants that love and appreciate them.
Tasty, right? The results were even tastier.
Duke’s Hot Tomato Summer landing page received over 1,300 pageviews and their Instagram engagement rate for that week rose to over 17% which is … insane. #HotTomatoSummer was used on Instagram 135 times, and Duke’s gained 290 followers in one week. We even received requests from fans to buy merch and swag that we created specifically for the restaurants. So that was cool too.
The Internet loved it, and so did the press. Hot Tomato Summer got pickups from Richmond Mag, BizSense, WTVR and BusinessInsider.
Spreading the mayo-love.
Most importantly, restaurants in Richmond had more people coming through their doors and eating their food—and each said they’d love to participate again.
...
2022 UPDATE:
And it turns out, they did participate again!
In fact, Hot Tomato Summer expanded in its second year to include 50+ restaurants in RVA and 13 restaurants in Greenville, SC. Resulting in more tasty tomato and mayo meals and even more consumer engagement.
Check out some of our coverage below. We'll continue to grow the event even more in the coming year.
Earned Coverage:

The Ultimate Slab BLT from Chef Michael Lindsey
Virginia This Morning

'Hot Tomato Summer' is back for more
CBS 6

Born Over a Blunt, a Growing Dinner Series Captures Prime Tomato Time in Virginia
Eater DC

Duke's Hot Tomato Summer Returns for 2022
Alt 102.1

How Mason Hereford Makes the Ultimate Tomato Sandwich
Garden and Gun

Duke’s Hot Tomato Summer returns to local restaurants in Richmond
ABC 8

Time for Richmond to celebrate the tomato
Axios

Heat Wave. Grab your Duke’s, it's a hot tomato summer.
Style Weekly

Dukes Celebrates Local Restaurants with Hot Tomato Summer
Mix 98.1

They Go Together
Richmond Magazine

Duke’s Mayo launches event to drive traffic to Richmond restaurants
Richmond BizSense

Butcher & Bee, The Daily ringing in tomato season with Duke’s Mayo
Charleston City Paper

Duke’s Mayo launches 'Hot Tomato Summer' to help Richmond restaurants
CBS 6

Duke’s Mayo Hot Tomato Summer Being Served Up this Week
RVA Hub

Butcher & Bee and Redheaded Stranger Team Up With Iconic Southern Mayo for Special July Treats
Nashville Scene

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