Potato salad Kickstarter ends with 500,000 percent mark up

By David Nield August 3, 2014

potato salad kickstarter ends 500000 percent mark — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Predicting the next viral hit is an almost impossible task, and few would have nominated a tongue-in-cheek potato salad Kickstarter to capture the imagination of the Internet at large. We reported on the project last month and the campaign just closed with a final funding total of $55,492 — quite a long way ahead of the original $10 goal.

6,911 backers have got behind the project and its creator Zack Brown is using the extra money to fund a PotatoStock festival on the Columbus Commons in Ohio. The original idea of putting together a potato salad is still on the cards — an industrial kitchen will be used for the purpose — though logistical issues mean backers will have to turn up at PotatoStock to get a taste of the recipe rather than getting a bite through the post.

Proceeds from PotatoStock will go towards charities in Ohio. “We are going to contribute a significant portion of the remaining money to the fund at the Columbus Foundation,” says Brown on the campaign page. “This will create a permanent fund to help Central Ohio’s non-profits end hunger and homelessness. These types of funds gain interest every year and grow over time, so, while our little Internet joke will one day be forgotten, the impact will be felt forever.”

“We believe that humor plays a big role in making the world a better place,” continues the campaign’s creator. “We plan to use some of the profit from this campaign to start an LLC, pay Web hosting and buy/rent production equipment to continue making content. Our LLC will be a for-profit venture and its goal will be to spread humor and joy around the world.”

Part of the appeal of the potato salad Kickstarter was its gently satirical tone, which has continued throughout the update videos posted on the campaign site. Now the joke is over, it’s good to see that the additional money raked in from a humble potato salad idea is going towards a worthy cause.

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Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…

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