How “Weird Little Sushi Muffins” Propelled Victoria Minell Into the Social Media Stratosphere

Victoria Minell, who runs the wildly popular Recipes by Victoria Substack and social media empire, knows a lot of people don’t take her job as a content creator seriously. “They don’t realise I’m driving some of the biggest marketing campaigns for companies in Australia,” she tells Broadsheet. Minell isn’t “just an influencer”, she says. She’s her own salesperson, an accountant, a creative, a whiz in the kitchen – and a damn hard worker.

Putting together each video for her millions of social media followers is a huge effort that involves keeping on top of food trends (and starting new ones), daily trips to the grocery store, cooking in her own kitchen – and the endless cleaning that comes with it – plus hours of editing and other business admin. And it’s all thanks to those “weird little sushi muffins”, the first of her recipes to “truly blow up”.

When that first-of-its-kind recipe made headlines across the globe, alongside her viral sushi rice waffles and “Big Mac wrap”, Minell realised her love for cooking wasn’t just a hobby. So, backed by a decade of experience in marketing, she set out on her own. She’s since amassed more than three million followers on social media (and counting), and her Substack subscriber list is well into the six digits. “It’s never ending, but it’s my passion,” she says. “It’s really nice to see people jumping on board and recreating my recipes at home. That positive feedback and response from the community is why I do it.”

Through the lens of social media, Minell’s life might seem perfectly put together, but the reality of being a sole trader is far from it, she says. “The day-to-day of running a company, being director and founder with no staff, has its challenges. I know it sounds cliché, but it can get lonely. I miss the camaraderie of a team, as I’ve had in previous jobs.”

There’s also inconsistency, which can make life harder to plan, she says. “As a content creator, every month is different. You might have one month with multiple brand launches, then the next month it changes.” What doesn’t change, however, is the never-ending round-the-clock work: sales, marketing, accounting, updating rate cards and brainstorming new content ideas.

As a sole trader “you’ve got to wear many hats”, Minell says. “From pitching your ideas to figuring out how to price yourself, then figuring out how much time something may take you – basically the full end-to-end of a campaign. There are just so many variables; it’s all learning as you go.”

Despite the stresses of running a business, Minell’s attitude is unwaveringly positive. The only thing that gets to her (though it’s happening less and less), is the “stigma around content creation and influencers”, she says. “Sometimes when people meet me and ask what I do for work, you can tell what they’re thinking. But I do think the world is changing.”

Unlike a bunch of online personalities, Minell doesn’t gatekeep. “People, especially foodies that are just starting out, DM me all the time and ask for advice, like what tripod I’m using or how I started. I always give recommendations,” she says. “There’s no tall poppy syndrome in the world of food content creation. We all like each others’ videos and comment “Yum”, and at work events we all get along. It’s nice.” Minell is especially passionate about supporting other women; “I want to be involved in conversations about driving change and working with other female founders,” she says.

For budding entrepreneurs and anyone keen to build an online profile, Minell has one key piece of advice: “Find a problem and solve it. Then run with it”. For her, that’s creating recipes that are not only healthy, but delicious too – a formula that defines every piece of content she produces, and is central to her success and growing online community. “I’m still homing in on that problem people have: how to eat better without giving up flavour or fun. I don’t think you need to be a genius to be a marketer. You just need to think, ‘What would make me buy this product?’ I put myself in the position of the buyer.”

Also, “stick to your niche”, she says. “Don’t try and do everything at once.” Minell isn’t one for a five-year plan; her approach is “reactive” rather than proactive. “If you have an idea of where you want to be in five years, you could run into roadblocks that throw you off course. But if you take things as they come, and use information and data along the way to inform your strategy, you’ll get results.”

Her flexible approach to business doesn’t mean Minell doesn’t have goals. “My next focus is to grow my community; to encourage people to cook dinners, share photos, and create a community outside of Instagram and Tiktok,” she says. She’s also bringing out a cookbook next year. No biggie.

“Beyond that it’s continuing to solve the problem,” says Minell. “And enjoying myself along the way.”

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with F5 Collective. La Femme, F5’s first activation, blends shopping with storytelling, design and innovation to put the spotlight on the next breakout women-owned brands. It takes place on November 13 in Melbourne – get more details here.