Turning a Viral Favourite Into a Real-Life Treat: Deli di Bossi x Hercules Noble

What happens when New Zealand’s self-proclaimed king of sourdough teams up with an Italian culinary icon? You get a sandwich that takes over Instagram, is the most sold item at the deli everyday and lands coverage across Denizen, Urban List and Heart of the City, and a PR Value of $240,000+. In short, you get the collaboration everyone wanted a bite of.

To celebrate World Sandwich Day earlier this month, Rise and Shine brought together Hercules Noble and Deli di Bossi for a collaboration that blended online creativity with real-world flavour.

Hercules, known for his “Will It Sourdough?” series and followed by more than 400,000 people across Instagram and TikTok, had already created a wave of excitement with his now-famous Carbonara Sourdough. The video reached more than 5 million people on TikTok and received over 300,000 likes on Instagram.

Ahead of the collaboration, Herc invited his audience to vote for which of his sourdoughs they most wanted to try in real life. The response was huge, and the Carbonara Sourdough came out well ahead.

Working alongside Bossi’s Executive Chef Shaun Dowling, their creation was transformed into the Carbonara Pane Fritto: a thick slice of sourdough that was lightly egg-washed and toasted, then topped with mascarpone, pecorino and ricotta cream, crisp maple guanciale and a drizzle of maple syrup.

For the first time ever, Aucklanders could purchase Herc’s sourdough, either as the open sandwich or as a whole loaf to take home.

Herc joined the team at Deli di Bossi on launch day to serve the Carbonara Pane Fritto in person. The response across the week was incredibly positive, with fans making special trips to try the dish.

To extend the experience beyond the deli, we invited a selection of foodie creators to try the Carbonara Pane Fritto and share their reactions with their audiences. Their content created a layer of authentic visibility and captured the excitement of the collaboration in a way that felt natural and highly shareable.

This collaboration also demonstrated the strength of an influencer-led hook when it is built on an idea that audiences are already invested in. Herc’s existing cultural momentum created a clear news angle right from the beginning, which helped drive strong earned media pick up across Urban List, Denizen, Heart of the City and more. It showed how a creator’s relevance, combined with the right partner, can create a moment that feels timely, newsworthy and genuinely worth talking about.