Case Study: Pink Bellies' Crowdfunding Campaign

A Brief History

Pink Bellies is the brainchild of Charleston chef Thai Phi. Founded in 2014 as a food truck, this brand aimed to create comforting Vietnamese dishes with an experimental twist, blending SoCal and Southern cooking styles. Over the years, it evolved from a food truck to a pop-up around Charleston. In 2020, Thai decided to establish a permanent location in downtown Charleston.

The Problem

Thai’s restaurant was under construction when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, severely impacting the food and beverage industry. In Thai's words:

"Collectively, we are facing and overcoming the coronavirus. As an upcoming restaurant, the major obstacles have been rising opportunity costs and budget costs—permit and inspection delays from the city, construction delays from subcontractors, and previous government-mandated working hours."

The Solution

Thai launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for his restaurant, offering exciting rewards for backers, from exclusive cooking courses to limited edition merch. He needed a compelling video to share his story and connect with his audience—that’s where I came in.

Despite COVID restrictions, I captured footage of Thai at the construction site and combined it with earlier footage I had filmed at previous events. This allowed me to quickly create a compelling video that showcased Thai’s vision and passion.

The Result

The video was featured on the Kickstarter campaign and Pink Bellies' social media pages. The fundraising campaign raised a total of $31,431. I also assisted Thai in documenting the restaurant's construction process, building anticipation for the project. The restaurant hosted its soft opening in 2021 and is now fully open.