itsu - From Scroll to Sold Out: How Lasting Lemons Engineered a Viral Sell-Out for itsu’s Soup’Dumplings

Turning a Frozen Food Launch into a Viral Moment 

When Asian-inspired food retailer itsu set out to launch its new Soup’Dumplings range, they didn’t just want to show up on TikTok - they wanted to take over. Partnering with creative agency Lasting Lemons, they set out to create a culturally fluent, creator-led campaign that would win the hearts, clicks, and stomachs of Gen Z.

The goal was to build mass awareness for the product among TikTok’s 18–24-year-old audience, generate tangible hype, and drive real sales in-store. 

A Campaign Built for the “Everyone’s Talking About It” Effect

The campaign hinged on a key TikTok insight: users love a shared moment. That’s why Lasting Lemons orchestrated a “media bomb” tactic, seeding Soup’Dumplings to a hand-picked crew of food, lifestyle, and pop culture creators who all posted within the same 24-hour window. The result? A wave of content that gave the illusion of everyone on TikTok talking about the same dumpling drop at once.

But this wasn’t just a numbers game. Each creator was carefully selected for high engagement and cultural credibility, not just reach. Every video leaned into trending formats, authentic tone, and lo-fi charm that felt native to the platform and not like ads.

Organic-Led, Creatively Free, and Culturally Tuned

On itsu’s own TikTok channel, which is managed by Lasting Lemons, the campaign followed a fast-paced, three-phase strategy. The first: to build hype with over-the-top, out-of-the-box announcements (ever seen a soup dumpling thirst trap edit? Well, now you have). Then build desire with mouthwatering prep and taste-test videos and aid further discoverability by hijacking trends, filters, and user comments to fuel shares and recreate-ability.

https://www.tiktok.com/@itsuofficial/video/7426776872920337696​

Paid media also played a supporting role in amplifying the top-performing organic content through Spark Ads, ensuring spend went where it would drive maximum ROI.

The content leaned into TikTok’s love for chaos and lo-fi realism. Fan comments became the content inspiration, and scarcity (from real-time sell-outs) became part of the campaign story. Soup’Dumplings were seen included in uni fridge hauls and even featured in meme-led skits about FOMO and food envy.

According to Lasting Lemons, success wasn’t defined by views alone. “We weren’t trying to win with polish, we were trying to win with platform fluency,” said a spokesperson from the agency. “We trusted creators to lead, gave them freedom, and made sure every post felt like something Gen Z would actually want to watch. That’s what made the difference.”

The Soup’Dumplings campaign shows what happens when influencer marketing meets cultural understanding, and when brands lean into the chaos of TikTok rather than trying to tame it. It’s proof that with smart creator partnerships, bold strategy, and fearless creative, virality doesn’t have to be luck. It can be engineered.