Pop-Up Marketing in London: Lessons from Higgidy

On 15 January, food brand Higgidy is opening a pop-up pie shop in London. That sounds like a nice PR moment (and it is), but it’s also a sharp reminder of something most UK startups and solopreneurs forget when they obsess over online funnels: real-world attention is still available if you give people a reason to show up.

January is the hardest month to market almost anything. People are back at work, budgets feel tight, and the novelty of “new year, new me” wears off fast. So if a brand chooses January for a physical activation, it’s rarely accidental. The point isn’t just footfall. The point is content, conversation, and a clear brand story you can reuse across your online marketing.

This post breaks down Higgidy’s pop-up as a practical experiential marketing case study, then translates it into steps a UK solopreneur can copy without a big budget—especially if your growth plan relies on social media, content, and automation.

Why pop-ups still work (especially in London)

Pop-ups work because they compress trust-building into minutes, not months. Online, you need repeated impressions, reviews, and retargeting to get someone comfortable. In-person, a single great interaction can do the job.

London is competitive, but it’s also ideal for pop-ups because:

• Dense foot traffic means you can test quickly.
• Culture of trying new things (food, experiences, limited runs) is strong.
• Content behaves differently: a physical event is inherently “shareable” because it gives people something to point a camera at.

Here’s the stance I’ll take: pop-ups aren’t “offline marketing.” They’re content engines with a till. If you plan them properly, you get sales and assets for weeks.

The hidden advantage: you get real objections

When people hesitate in person, they often tell you why. You hear things like:

• “I’m not sure what’s inside.”
• “Is it vegetarian?”
• “How big is it?”
• “Is this meant to be lunch or a snack?”

Those are conversion-killing questions online too—you just don’t hear them. A pop-up is live customer research you can turn into clearer web copy, better FAQs, and more persuasive product pages.

What Higgidy’s pop-up signals as a marketing strategy

A pop-up pie shop is a simple format with strong brand mechanics: familiarity, comfort, and urgency. You don’t need the full CampaignLive article to see the playbook.

Higgidy is selling pies—warm, comforting food—right in the middle of winter. That’s seasonal alignment. And by choosing a pop-up shop (not just a sampling stand), they’re also choosing a theatrical container: a place that looks like the brand, smells like the product, and gives journalists and customers a neat story.

From a startup marketing UK perspective, there are three strategic choices worth copying.

1) Limited-time availability creates natural urgency

A pop-up is a built-in reason to act now. Online, brands often fake urgency (“Only 3 left!”) and customers can smell it. A pop-up’s urgency is real:

• It’s only open for a short window.
• It exists in one place.
• If you miss it, you miss it.

That makes your social posts and emails easier to write because you’re not inventing a hook.

2) Physical experiences generate disproportionate earned media

Media (and creators) like things that are:

• visually distinct
• easy to summarise
• timely

A “pop-up pie shop opening on 15 January” checks every box. Even small local newsletters and London TikTok creators can turn it into a quick piece of content.

If you’re a solopreneur, don’t roll your eyes at “earned media.” You’re not pitching national press. You’re aiming for:

• neighbourhood Instagram accounts
• local Substack writers
• community WhatsApp/Facebook groups
• micro-creators who cover London food/retail

Those channels often outperform big publications for actual conversions.

3) It creates reusable creative assets

A well-shot pop-up yields:

• UGC (customers filming)
• product close-ups in context
• reactions and testimonials
• behind-the-scenes prep
• team/founder story moments

And here’s the real win for one-person businesses: you can schedule this content for weeks and let automation do the distribution.

How a UK solopreneur can copy this (without renting a shop)

You don’t need a storefront to run pop-up marketing. You need a “bounded experience” people can attend. The format can be tiny.

Below are pop-up models that work for UK solopreneurs and early-stage startups.

“Pop-up” formats that cost less than you think

Pick one that matches your audience and product.

1. In-store residency (1–3 days)

   • Partner with a café, salon, gym, farm shop, coworking space
   • Offer revenue share or a flat fee

2. Ticketed workshop (10–25 people)

   • Great for service businesses (coaches, designers, fitness, creators)
   • Sell seats, record clips, gather testimonials

1. Sampling table + QR journey

   • Works for food, beauty, and physical products
   • QR code leads to a landing page with an “event-only” offer

2. Mobile pop-up

   • One table, one banner, one card reader
   • Do it at a weekend market or community event

I’ve found that the best “starter” version is a 2-hour micro-pop-up inside someone else’s venue. You borrow their footfall and only have to be excellent for a short burst.

The must-have landing page (don’t skip this)

If your goal is LEADS, you need a simple capture path:

• A dedicated landing page (not your homepage)
• One clear offer: “Get the London pop-up menu / discount / free guide”
• A form that collects email + one segmentation question
• Automated follow-up sequence (even just 3 emails)

A physical event without a digital capture step is just vibes.

A practical pop-up marketing plan (2 weeks to launch)

A pop-up succeeds when you plan distribution first, not décor first. Here’s a simple timeline you can run as a solo operator.

Week 1: Build the offer and the story

• Choose a single hook: limited menu, limited slots, limited product drop
• Write one sentence that explains the experience clearly
• Create the landing page + email automation
• Draft 10 short posts (Reels/TikTok scripts count)

Snippet-worthy rule: If you can’t explain your pop-up in one line, customers won’t explain it to friends.

Week 2: Distribution and partnerships

• Secure 1–3 partners who already have your audience
• Give partners a ready-made promo pack:
  • 3 images
  • 2 caption options
  • 1 story script
  • your landing page link
• Invite micro-creators (5k–50k followers) with a clear trade:
  • free product / free seat
  • specific time slot
  • permission to repost

Pop-up day: turn interactions into assets

Bring:

• a simple backdrop (brand colour works)
• printed QR codes (big enough to scan)
• a consent-friendly way to film (signage helps)
• a quick question script for testimonials (“What made you try this today?”)

Aim to capture:

• 10 customer clips
• 20 photos
• 5 short testimonials
• 1 founder “why we did this” video

The week after: the follow-up that makes it profitable

Most solopreneurs stop at the event. Don’t.

• Email #1 (same day): thanks + recap + offer
• Email #2 (48 hours): social proof + FAQ
• Email #3 (5–7 days): deadline + next availability

And retarget anyone who hit the landing page with a small paid budget if you can (even £5–£15/day for a week).

Metrics that actually matter for pop-up marketing

Footfall is a vanity metric unless you tie it to leads and repeatable growth. Track these instead:

Core metrics (simple and useful)

• Email capture rate = signups / visitors
  • Target: 10–30% depending on incentive and friction
• Cost per lead (CPL) = total costs / signups
  • Compare to your paid social CPL
• Content yield = number of usable clips/photos
  • Target: 30+ assets from a single activation
• Post-event conversion = purchases/bookings within 14 days
  • Pop-ups often sell later, not just on-site

What to write down during the event

These notes improve your online marketing immediately:

• top 5 questions people asked
• top 5 hesitations
• exact phrases customers used to describe the product
• which offer got the most scans

Those phrases become your next ads, headlines, and product descriptions.

People also ask: quick answers for first-time pop-up planners

How long should a pop-up run?

For solopreneurs, 2–6 hours is enough to validate the idea and capture content. Multi-day pop-ups only make sense if you’ve proven demand.

Do pop-ups work for service businesses?

Yes—often better than for products. A “pop-up clinic”, mini audit booth, or ticketed workshop creates instant trust and gives you warm leads.

What’s the biggest mistake with experiential marketing?

Running the event first and thinking about leads later. If you don’t design the email capture and follow-up sequence upfront, you’re paying for attention you can’t reuse.

Where this fits in “UK Solopreneur Business Growth”

Pop-ups look like a detour from online marketing. They’re not. They’re a way to manufacture proof—photos, testimonials, FAQs, and customer language—so your online content converts better.

Higgidy’s London pop-up pie shop is a clean example: a limited-time experience that creates urgency, earned media, and a stack of assets you can repurpose. If you’re building a one-person business, that combination is gold because it multiplies your effort.

Your next step is simple: design a tiny pop-up you can run in two weeks, then treat it like a lead-generation campaign—not a day out. What experience could you host this month that your audience would genuinely want to film and share?