The Grand Opening Cohort
Get a $1,500 white-glove influencer campaign. Free.
We select 10 restaurants each month. We DM, brief, schedule, and pay the influencers. You host.
What it is
A free influencer campaign for 10 restaurants a month.
4
Creator collabs
Across 2 waves over ~3 weeks. 2 reels + 2 stories per wave.
50K+
Local views
Guaranteed by make-good policy. Hyper-local ad amplification on every reel.
0h
Coordination on you
We DM, schedule, brief, and pay. You just host.
Cohort gets Momentum for free
Marketing is just the start. We close the loop to foot traffic.
This cohort lets you test a piece before going all-in. Try one part of the loop before committing to the full Splash package.
Patient
Pulse Pro
$700/mo
Full white-glove. 2 to 3 influencers/mo. No ads.
Momentum
$1,500/mo
FREE
4 influencers across 2 waves. 50K+ views guaranteed.
Closes the loop
Conversion
$2,500/mo
Momentum + ordering, CRM, feedback devices.
Party house
Splash
$10K+/mo
Conversion + white-glove Splash Party + quarterly consulting.
Is this for you?
You’re a fit if all three sound like you.
Already paying for marketing.
Up to $2,500/mo on social or agencies, unsure if it works.
Done with coordination.
Worked with influencers before. Exhausted by the back-and-forth.
Great at hosting.
You love welcoming guests. The in-store experience is your edge.
Not a fit if: you’re not ready to host influencers warmly at your restaurant. This isn’t your cohort yet.
Proof
1.7M+ views. 7× weekend sales.
Rice Junky Katsu went from a few thousand views per reel to 1.7M+ views and 7× weekend sales after their Upswell Grand Opening.
KoStop, My-Oh-My, and Kimchi Garden became top student-club destinations in Berkeley. 1M+ social views across Upswell clients to date.
Why we’re doing this
We’re a white-glove premium service. Before asking you to commit to us, we’re committing to making you happy first.
We believe you’ll see the impact and then want to do the business with us.
If you’re not satisfied after the free cohort, you walk away. We learn.
Premium, white-glove. Literally.
We mean it. You just host.
Most “white-glove” services still need you to brief, schedule, comp, and chase. Here’s the actual split.
We do
- DM influencers on your behalf
- Ideate content themes for you
- Manage scheduling, instructions, Q&As
- Coordinate synchronized reel drops
- Pay influencers directly
- Run hyper-local ads at our own expense
- Send you the performance report
You do
- Show up
- Host them warmly
- Comp the meal at the door
vs. creator marketplaces
A marketplace is a great tool if you have time. Upswell is for owners who don’t.
| Marketplaces | Upswell Momentum | |
|---|---|---|
| Browsing influencers | You do it | We do it |
| Content ideation | You do it | We do it |
| Scheduling | You do it | We do it |
| Brief & management | You do it | We do it |
| Payment management | You do it | We do it |
| Conflict management | You handle it | We handle it |
- Is it really free?
- Yes. Selected restaurants pay $0 for the full Momentum cycle. We cover creator comp and ad spend.
- What does Upswell get out of it?
- We’re an underdog. We have to earn your trust before we earn your business. We’re confident you’ll see the impact and choose to keep working with us.
- How are restaurants selected?
- 10 per month. Owners committed to hospitality, restaurants whose organic creator traction is weak, and a diversity of cuisines and neighborhoods. Decisions go out the 1st week of each month.
- What if I’m not selected?
- We add you to Upswell Collab, our partner database that local influencers browse. If they’re interested, they apply to you directly. Your campaign listing is auto-generated by AI from your public restaurant info and your application. Need white-glove service right away? Start any paid tier at any time.
- What happens after the free cycle?
- 30-min review call. Stay at Momentum ($1,500), simplify to Pulse Pro ($700), scale to Conversion ($2,500), or cancel. No questions asked. Default is Momentum. Change anytime.
- What’s required of me?
- Host the influencers well. Be available on the confirmed day. That’s it.
Apply
Why wait? Just 3 minutes.
Tell us about your restaurant. We’ll respond on the 1st week of next month with cohort decisions.
Don’t want to wait? Email Founder to start any paid tier today.