The Smokey Carter has been producing world inspired BBQ Rubs, Seasonings and Sauces in the UK since 2013. Owner and CEO of The Smokey Carter is Howard Carter, who is a Food Blogger & BBQ Content Creator based in Cheshire UK.
Their award winning range is stocked in over 100 independent butchers, delis & farmshops around the UK. They also have a few gift products available in Selfridges.
The Smokey Carter has been creating barbecue content since 2013 and creates content for various social channels such as You Tube, TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram. Creating UGC (User-Generated Content) and Influencer style content. They have built up a large barbecue following on socials with a combined following of over 40K followers with one of their reels hitting over 300K views on TikTok.
Howard – We’ve worked with numerous complementary brands, creating content including other brands products as well as our own. Selling a lifestyle and a product is important. Cross brand promotion can be as simple a product placement to using products in recipes.
Reels can then be followed up with Giveaways to help build brand awareness including both The Smokey Carter’s products and third party brands.
We’ve worked with various drink brands such as Budweiser Budvar, Brothers Cider, Bush Rum and even created bespoke hot sauces for Thornbridge Brewery and Brew York Brewery. Along with creating content for BBQ brands like Weber, Kamado Joe, Gozney, Masterbuilt and Grillstream. We have also worked with complementary food brands creating content for JD’s Hot Honey, Babadoh, MySpike and East at Home.
Most of our content creation takes place in our outdoor kitchen (aka The Smokey Shack). Our covered outdoor kitchen is used throughout the year come rain or shine. It’s equipped with plenty of lighting and more importantly the BBQ gear to help us create our content.
The barbecue gear;
Weber Mastertouch
Kamado Joe Classic III
Gozney Arc XL
Masterbuilt Gravity Series XT
🔥 How We Create BBQ Content, UGC Content & Influencer Reels
Behind the Scenes of High-Performing Social Content
Creating content that looks great, feels authentic, and drives engagement is both an art and a strategy. Whether we’re capturing slow-motion BBQ sizzles, producing scroll-stopping UGC clips, or crafting influencer reels that convert—our process is built around intention, storytelling, and social-first thinking.
Brands We Have Worked With
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how we do it.
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1. Crafting Mouth-Watering BBQ Content
BBQ content is all about flavor, texture, and atmosphere. We don’t just film food—we tell a delicious story.
Our Process
1. Concept & Flavor Story
We start by deciding the hero: Every BBQ shoot needs a sensory theme. Incorporating a product into a recipe or through product placement.
2. Prep Like Pros
We prepare dishes that look as good as they taste. Lighting is everything—warm tones, outdoor setups, and plenty of natural shadows.
3. Cinematic Shot Structure
Close-ups of rubs being applied
Slow-motion flames
Sizzling audio
Knife cuts revealing juicy interiors
Final plated shots
4. Editing That Enhances Flavor
We use crisp sound design, colour-grading for warmth, and pacing that makes viewers hungry in seconds.
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2. Creating Real UGC Content That Converts
UGC (User-Generated Content) works because it feels honest and effortless—but behind the scenes, it’s intentionally designed to look that way.
Our Process
1. Script the Idea
2. Shoot in Everyday Environments. Our barbecue shack is where most of our filming takes place.
3. Editing for Authenticity
Minimal polish. Quick cuts. Raw sound. Hand-held camera movement. It’s about trust, not perfection.
🌟 Why Our Content Strategy Works
Across BBQ shoots, UGC content, and influencer reels, our approach stays consistent:
We design for engagement.
We prioritise storytelling over selling.
We focus on authenticity, emotion, and high-quality visuals.
We combine creativity with data.
This blend allows us to create content that doesn’t just look great—it performs.
If you want, I can also:
✅ Format this as an SEO-optimised blog on our website with keywords
✅ Share discounts or special offers
✅ Create social captions, hashtags, or a content calendar including reels and a giveaway
Get in touch to discuss our rates, see how we can working together and boost your business to our community and beyond. Email Howard@thesmokeycarter.com Tel: 07736033118
Case Study – Budweiser Budvar
Budvar got in touch to collaborate with us on some BBQ content. They wanted to tap into a new audience and saw The Smokey Carter as a gateway into the BBQ community on Instagram. We came up with a few recipes and ideas for them to choose from, which included using their products in the reels. We suggested the best way was to create two reels, posted within a few days of each other, shortly followed by a joint giveaway which lasted 1 week.
Born in the Czech Republic we first researched some classic Czech food. Cooking a goulash on the barbecue seemed like the perfect fit, using their Dark Lager. The video was shot and edited in perfect time to celebrate Czech Independence Day and posted across our social media channels in collaboration with Budvar.
The second recipe was a bit more simple with some product placement and using their Original Czech Lager in some braised onions for hotdogs.
We created recipe blogs for both posts, using stills from the shoot.
For the giveaway we agreed on the prize which included various products from Budvar and The Smokey Carter. The giveaway was posted as a still image which we shot and approved with Budvar.
We wrote the copy for the giveaway and set this running for 1 week. This gained over 1,200 entries, 400 likes and had over 13,000 views over the course of the week.
We managed everything from the timeline, copy, content and blog posts for Budvar.
