Starting a business with nothing sounds impossible. Audrey Finocchiaro and Sam Lancaster proved otherwise. They maxed out a credit card for $1,500, built a coffee cart in a basement, and nearly quit after making just $20 a day. Today, The Nitro Bar brings in $4.5 million annually across three Rhode Island locations, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Their secret weapon wasn’t fancy advertising or a big budget. It was social media.
From Cart to Viral Sensation
The Nitro Bar started in 2016 as a homemade wooden cart with bicycle tires. Finocchiaro and Lancaster hauled it around Providence, serving nitrogen-infused cold brew at farmers markets and random events. Business was brutal. Some days they made $20 after eight hours of work. They were ready to walk away.
Everything changed when they rolled the cart up to Brown University. College students loved it. The cart sold out for the first time, bringing in $400 in just 30 minutes, according to Finocchiaro in an interview with CNBC. They found their audience. From that day forward, they showed up at Brown every single day, building relationships with students one cold brew at a time. Those connections became the foundation for what happened next.
Nitrogen-infused cold brew: Cold coffee infused with nitrogen gas through a pressurized valve, creating a smooth, creamy texture with a foamy head similar to draft beer.
Winter threatened to shut them down, but they adapted quickly. They partnered with local restaurants and breweries to get their cold brew on tap. By 2018, they opened their first brick-and-mortar location. Still, growth was slow. For seven years, they worked 80-hour weeks with minimal recognition. Then TikTok changed everything.
The Social Media Strategy That Generated Millions
The Nitro Bar quadrupled their TikTok following starting in October 2023, and sales jumped 60% as a direct result of their viral content, according to Resplendent Agency’s analysis of the brand’s growth. They didn’t hire expensive marketing agencies or spend thousands on ads. They created simple, entertaining content that people actually wanted to watch. Now they have over 500,000 TikTok followers and 130,000 Instagram followers, as reported by Fortune.
The breakthrough came from developing signature content series that viewers could recognize instantly. Their most popular format? Asking baristas about the weirdest drink orders. A barista shares something outrageous, like a chocolate orange espresso Coke with cream. They make it on camera. Audrey tries it and rates it. Simple, visual, and endlessly entertaining.
They built on this success with other series. “What’s your most controversial coffee take?” gets viewers debating in the comments. “In another universe, we’re two lattes” showcases creative drinks in a dreamy, aesthetic way. “If I was Beyoncé, what would you make me?” turns drink recommendations into a personality game. These original content pillars consistently perform well because they’re uniquely associated with The Nitro Bar brand.
Content pillars: Core themes or topics that a brand consistently creates content around to build recognition and maintain focus in their social media strategy.
What Made Their Content Actually Work
Throwing random posts online doesn’t build a business. The Nitro Bar succeeded because they understood what made content stick. First, they mastered the hook. Instead of posting “Come try our new spring menu,” they ask “What’s the weirdest drink order we’ve gotten lately?” That question grabs attention in the first three seconds. It makes people curious enough to keep watching.
Second, they kept it organic. Most of their videos don’t try to sell anything. They’re not begging you to buy a latte or pushing a new menu item. They’re just creating fun content that happens to feature their coffee. The cafe focuses on entertaining viewers rather than constantly promoting products, which makes the content feel authentic rather than like an advertisement. People can smell desperation. They appreciate authenticity.
[Quick Tip]: Audiences scroll past ads. They stop for stories. Make content people want to watch, not content that screams “buy this.”
Third, they made their brand feel human. Finocchiaro credits their success to what she calls “the Ben and Jerry’s effect,” treating The Nitro Bar as almost its own person that customers want to befriend. Every employee interview and behind-the-scenes video adds personality. The baristas become characters viewers recognize and love. It’s not just a coffee shop. It’s a community.
The Real Business Benefits Beyond Brand Awareness
Building a social media following does more than get people talking. The Nitro Bar now generates $4.5 million in annual revenue across three locations and employs 80 people, according to Fortune. That growth came directly from their online presence. When you have hundreds of thousands of followers, you create multiple revenue streams most businesses never access.
Merchandise sales became a significant opportunity. The Nitro Bar sells branded hoodies, bucket hats, and other items through their online shop. Their “Come See Me Again” hoodie retails for $87. When you have a loyal community, they want to wear your brand. That’s not possible without social media building that emotional connection first.
Platform monetization through TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program also generates income, with creators potentially earning between $0.40 to $8 per 1,000 qualified views according to industry reports compiled by Bluehost. For accounts posting multiple times daily with millions of views, that adds up. YouTube offers similar opportunities through ad revenue sharing. These platforms essentially pay you to market your own business. The content promotes your locations while generating direct income from the platforms themselves.
Partnership opportunities multiply when you have reach. The Nitro Bar has secured brand partnerships, including a creative collaboration with AT&T where they shared their success story while making drinks. Companies pay influencers and viral brands to reach their audiences. Your social media becomes a business asset that generates income independent of your main product.
Applying These Lessons to Your Business
You don’t need a coffee cart to use this strategy. Any local business can apply what The Nitro Bar learned. Start by identifying your content pillars. What makes your business interesting? What questions do customers always ask? What problems do you solve in unexpected ways?
Create series that people recognize. Consistency matters more than perfection. Finocchiaro’s advice for new creators, shared in a Fortune interview, is straightforward: make a running list of ideas in your notes app, post multiple times a day, and stick to a routine to build momentum. You’re testing what works. Most posts won’t go viral. That’s normal. Keep posting until you find your format.
Make your team the stars. Feature employees. Ask them questions. Show their personalities. The Nitro Bar’s baristas regularly appear in videos, and some have even created their own TikTok accounts, producing what’s known as Employee-Generated Content that further promotes the brand, as noted by PLANOLY’s marketing analysis. Your team members are more relatable than your logo. People connect with people, not businesses.
Focus on entertainment over promotion. Show behind-the-scenes moments. Share customer stories. Explain your process. Talk about what makes your product different. Save the hard sell for one out of every ten posts. The other nine should make people smile, think, or feel something. That’s how you build an audience worth having.
How Digital Marketing Charlotte Helps Businesses Succeed on Social Media
Building a social media strategy sounds simple. Executing it consistently is hard. Most business owners get stuck in the daily grind. They know social media matters but can’t find time to create content, analyze what works, or stay on top of platform changes. That’s where we come in.
At Digital Marketing Charlotte, we help businesses develop custom social media strategies based on their unique strengths and audience. We start by understanding your business. What makes you different? Who are your best customers? What stories do you have that competitors can’t tell? From there, we build content pillars and posting schedules that actually work with your resources.
We handle content creation if you need it. Photography, video editing, caption writing, hashtag research. Some clients prefer doing the creative work themselves but need guidance on strategy and optimization. We offer both full-service execution and consulting-only options, depending on what makes sense for your business and budget. Our approach stays flexible because every business has different needs.
Full-service execution: A service model where an agency handles all aspects of social media marketing, from strategy to content creation to posting and analytics, rather than just advising.
The key is consistency and iteration. We help clients post regularly, track what content performs best, and refine their approach based on real data. Social media algorithms reward accounts that show up daily with engaging content. The Nitro Bar didn’t gain traction overnight. In fact, according to Fortune, it took seven years before they really started gaining a significant following online. Most businesses give up too soon because they don’t see immediate results. We keep you on track through the slow periods until you find what works.
We also stay current on platform changes and emerging trends. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube all operate differently. Each platform rewards different content types and posting frequencies. What works on TikTok might flop on Instagram. Understanding these nuances makes the difference between wasted effort and real growth. We handle that complexity so you can focus on running your business.
The Future of Local Business Growth
Traditional advertising costs money every time you want to reach someone. Social media is different. Create good content once and it works for you indefinitely. A viral video from six months ago still brings customers through your door today. That’s the power of building an audience instead of renting attention.
Finocchiaro points out in her Fortune interview that starting a business today requires almost no money because you can start a TikTok or Instagram account for free. The barrier to entry has never been lower. What matters now is creativity, consistency, and understanding what your audience wants. Those are skills you can learn. Those are strategies you can implement.
[Author’s Note]: Every business has a story worth telling. The challenge isn’t finding interesting content. It’s making time to share it consistently.
The Nitro Bar started with nothing. They built something extraordinary by showing up every day, trying different approaches, and connecting with their community through screens and coffee cups. Their success isn’t magic. It’s strategy, consistency, and authenticity. Any business can follow this path. The question is whether you’re willing to put in the work.
Ready to Build Your Social Media Strategy?
You’ve seen what’s possible when social media is done right. The Nitro Bar went from a failing cart to a multi-million dollar business. Your Charlotte business has that same potential. You need the right strategy, consistent execution, and expert guidance to cut through the noise.
Digital Marketing Charlotte specializes in helping local businesses grow through smart social media marketing. We’ll help you identify your unique story, create content that resonates, and build an audience that converts into customers. Whether you need full-service content creation or strategic consulting, we have solutions that fit your goals and budget.
Don’t wait another year hoping organic reach magically happens. Social media success requires intentional strategy and consistent effort. Let’s build your roadmap together. Contact us today at Digital Marketing Charlotte to schedule a free consultation and discover how we can turn your social media presence into a powerful business asset.
