In 2025, Fuku had plans to open their First South FLorida location and reached out to us for help.

Fuku started off as a secret menu item at David Chang's Momofuku NYC that grew too popular to be kept a secret. in 2015, they branched off to become a dedicated chicken sando restaurant, and 10 years later started plans to open a Coral Gables location, with future plans to expand into West Palm Beach and beyond. 

The pandemic had shifted a lot of their focus to stadiums and venues around the country, so it was important that they had a successful comeback story that respected foodies and honored their culinary roots while maintaining their East Village brand identity.

Paid and organic social

I worked on a fully integrated campaign (print, social, OOH, digital, experiential activations) to bring awareness to Fuku in Miami and increase their online presence. I wrote and owned their paid and organic social channels, being tasked along with my Senior Art Director, Laura Suescun, to create a monthly schedule and develop content/captions for 3-5 posts per week. Fuku has more than doubled their following on Instagram since we took over their page.

Fuku x Coral Gables Art Cinema Collab

They wanted to engrain themselves into the local culture as a welcomed guest; not pretending to be from Miami, but not feeling like a stranger either. I brainstormed ideas for local collaborations and pitched the idea to host a movie series with Coral Gables Art Cinema, which came to fruition as a 4 film series every Saturday in March 2026 known as the Fuku Sweet and Spicy Cinema Takeover. I suggested making weekly ticket giveaways for each film on IG, which quickly became their most engaged with posts.

We handed out custom pins and lanyards to those who purchased a series pass for all 4 films. Guests could also order Fuku to the theater for each movie, and we had Fuku flavored popcorn seasoning, the same seasoning they use in their kitchen. I wrote copy to explain more about the seasoning to guests.

As the creator of the idea and copywriter on the campaign, I was tasked with making a trailer that could be filmed and edited on a tight deadline. As we had trailer rights for that month, it was important to increase our visibility to guests of our series as well as other moviegoers at the cinema. The following trailer took 5 hours to film with a stop-motion camera app, and I took about as long in the shower after. You'll see what I mean.

Not So Secret Society

Fuku wanted a quirky and clever idea for their loyalty program. I thought about their history as an off-menu item that couldn't be kept a secret, so I created the idea of a Not So Secret Society loyalty program that emulated the feel of an Illuminati/Freemason type of society, but if it were for foodies. We collaborated with the legendary blockprint artist Brian Reedy for the visuals and aesthetic of the brand, and I worked on the tone and messaging this society would entail.

Grand Opening and expansion

I was also tasked with thinking of ideas for the Coral Gables grand opening. One of my ideas that they implemented was to offer free sandos to the first 135 guests to honor their new location: 135 Miracle Mile. In addition, we also had a photobooth, live vinyl DJ, and free screenprints for shirts and totes on the day they opened.

1(833)-EAT-FUKU

One of the first things I noticed was that Fuku's previous agency had labeled all kinds of merch with 1(800)-EAT-FUKU. I had asked if that was a working number, to which I received a big shrug gesture. I called, and received an answer from Dan at Aquatic Solutions. I wasn't very thrilled that he didn't know much about chicken sandos. So I brought this up and asked them to find a functional number we could use. Introducing 1(833)-EAT-FUKU.

I was tasked with coming up with ways to make the phone number more engaging than just a place to complain about getting an extra fry or finding hours and locations. I came up with the idea to have a messaging tree that starts normal, but slowly goes off the rails while having a little shoutout to Miami:

For hours and locations, press 1.

Para Español, oprima 2.

For Spanglish, press 3.

To hear a dad say, "I love you," press 4.

To leave us a message and leave us your own Fuku jingle, press 5.

To speak to the kitchen, press 6.

I gave my voice for the introduction/option menu and for option 5, and used friends and coworkers to diversify the other voices. By the way, the kitchen is just a bunch of chickens clucking.

Website, Landing Pages, & Emails

I worked on copy for new South Florida locations pages on Fuku's website. See below for examples or visit the Coral Gables and West Palm location landing pages

I wrote the franchise page for Fuku to encourage business owners to invest in opening up a new Fuku store. See below for examples or visit the franchising page here. 

Results

The result was a successful launch on March 11, 2026, with the West Palm Beach location already in the works. Fuku is in talks with multiple franchisees, and expanding their presence around the country in airports, stadiums and venues. Fuku's social media continues to gain engagement and following, reaching over 65,000 followers, with multiple influencers and social media users alike sharing their positive experiences with all things Fuku.