This article is part of Narcity's Upload series, supported by Narcity Media Group brands Boulevard and Rally. These conversations with creators peel back the digital curtain, revealing the real people, passions and stories behind the uploads.
Toronto travel and food content creator Rupica Sudan is making five figures with social media as a side gig. If you ever need to know what Toronto restaurants to book for dinner at or where to spend your next weekend away, you may want to do yourself a favour and follow her.
The influencer, who launched her content pages in 2019 at 28 years old, has amassed a following of over 94K across Instagram and TikTok. She started by posting photos of her meals just for fun, and without really trying, she's built it into a side hustle that she's passionate about.
Sudan went to school for marketing, and if you asked her as a kid if she ever would have pictured herself posting her life on social media, the answer would have been no. Now she's had several videos hit over a million views on TikTok.
She grew up in the Durham region but moved to Toronto a few years ago, where you can find her shooting content while working a full-time job in the city. She's now a creator with Narcity's talent division Rally, and next week, she'll be sharing a behind-the-scenes look at her content creation career as a panelist for Food Station, a Toronto networking event hosted by Narcity's events division, Boulevard.
Here's everything you need to know about Rupica Sudan, from her top Spotify song to what she wishes people knew about life as a content creator.
What do you wish people knew about content creation?
Being an influencer isn't always as glamorous as it seems, according to Sudan.
"It's exhausting. I think there's a lot of backend work in it that people don't see," Sudan shares.
"A lot of the time we don't eat our food hot. A lot of the time whoever comes with us has to sit for like 30 to 40 minutes prior to anyone even touching the food," she says. "While everyone at the table is enjoying their meal and loving the night, the entire time I'm just thinking about, 'Did I get enough content?' 'Did I get the right shot?' 'What would make this place appealing?' It's not as enjoyable."
Sudan also thinks people should know that there isn't one magic formula to success in the industry.
"You see a lot online where people give their formulas on how to grow 200,000 followers in three months and all this stuff. But the truth is, it's constantly changing, and I don't believe that there's any one person who knows exactly how every one of these apps works."
Sudan says there's a lot of adaptability required in the field, and sometimes you just need to scroll through TikTok to see what's working for other creators and hop on trends.
The hardest part of her career so far hasn't been staying on trend though — it's been finding people to work with.
"I think the hardest part has been finding community in Toronto and collaborating with other foodie content creators or lifestyle influencers," said Sudan.
What's the biggest impact your platform has had on someone or a community?
Food Sudan handed out to unhoused folks.
Sudan says that her platform has allowed her to work with restaurants and help them distribute leftovers and donated meals to charity.
"A lot of people would tell me, 'Oh, restaurants have lots of leftovers at the end of the day. Why aren't we doing stuff with that?' I've been able to work with restaurants and help them find ways to use that food. Whether it's to help homeless people or work with a charity," Sudan says.
"I think that part has been really good — just to have a bigger reach and network and be able to help."
How much money do you make a year with content creation?
"Content creation is my part-time job, I still work full-time, but in a year, it's around [five figures] now."
Sudan explained that her income from social media comes from brand deals and managing certain clients' social media pages.
When it comes to possibly moving to content creation full-time in the future, she says she's happy with keeping it as a side gig to keep her passion alive for content creation.
"I never want to say never, but I think the reason that it's still fun for me is because it's not my sole income," she says. "If I want to say no to a deal, or I don't feel like working or posting on a certain day, I have that flexibility, which keeps me passionate for it. I'm kind of worried if I make it my full-time thing, it'll lose the spark. You see a lot of creators having burnout online."
What was/will be your 'I made it' moment?
"Oh my gosh. I think the 'I made it' moment is when your video hits a million."
If you want to meet Sudan in person and learn more about her creator journey, she'll be at Boxcar Social Harbourfront in Toronto on March 20 as a panelist at Food Station, a networking event for local current and aspiring content creators.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
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