If you’re looking for a textbook example of viral TikTok marketing, look no further than the “spin doctors” at Dee Pizza, a fast-casual UK pizzeria in Llangollen, Denbighshire, Wales, with more than 729,000 followers and 18.6 million-plus likes.
Dee Pizza, owned by Angel Angelov, puts its customers front and center on TikTok. And the results are sheer fun, especially for the first customer of the day. For Dee Pizza’s “First Eats Free” campaign, that person gets to spin a colorful wheel for a chance to win free food. Even if they land on red—the wheel’s only losing slot—they’ll probably get a freebie anyway.
In one recent video, a young boy named Walter, accompanied by his friends, gave the wheel a whirl. “Don’t get the red one, please,” Angelov told him. “You’ll make my life very easy, but I don’t like that, you know.” Walter did, indeed, strike red, so Angelov played him in a game of Rock Paper Scissors instead. Walter went with “paper,” covering Angelov’s rock.
Walter chose a pizza with chicken, ham and pepperoni.
@deepizza Everyone leaves happy 😄 #deepizza #llangollen #pizza #doner #kebab ♬ original sound – 𝗗𝗘𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗭𝗭𝗔
Various possibilities on the wheel include the Mystery Meal (Angelov picks the free pizza, with a little input from the customer as to their dislikes); the Dance Challenge (the customer has to perform a five-second dance); and the Blindfold Test (with eyes closed, guests have to name the different toppings that Angelov, wearing plastic gloves, pops into their mouths).
The pizzeria is especially popular with children, who often wait outside on freezing-cold days to get inside first and have a chance to spin the wheel. In another TikTok video, an entire busload of youngsters piled into the shop, even though they were too late for free food. But grown-ups are just as happy to stand in the queue.
“People are willing to travel from Edinburgh,” Angelov told the BBC. “We had a gentleman from Birmingham. He put his kids to bed and drove two hours just to have a pizza.”
Angelov greets each customer, chats and jokes with them, and captures the playful interactions on camera, with the most engaging ones posted on TikTok.
Dee Pizza has been in business since 2017, but when an employee set up the TikTok account last year, the pizzeria went absolutely stark-raving viral.
That employee, now the marketing manager, is Andre Daniel. He told the Denbighshire Free Press that serving high-quality food is the top priority for Dee Pizza. But he added, “The media attention has been a great achievement for us. It has brought us satisfaction and made our families proud after working so much.”
Daniel noted that tourism in Llangollen fell off dramatically during COVID-19. “My goal was always to bring it back to our beloved Welsh town. It definitely worked, and you haven’t seen it all—big things are on the way.”
Perhaps he’s referring to the team’s franchising plan, currently being promoted on Dee Pizza’s website? The pizzeria’s franchise section notes, “We’re excited to offer our first five franchises the opportunity to invest at less than 25% of the average UK franchise fee for similar businesses. Furthermore, we provide fixed charge at a mere £100 per month for the first 12 months. Join us on this incredible journey as we redefine the fast-food industry with affordability, quality and exceptional value for our franchise partners.”
