Bombay Mahal
Bombay Mahal has been one of Montreal's institutional Indian restaurants for decades, with four locations. The food and reputation were already there. What was missing was a digital presence that matched. Over 12 months we built a content engine and ran video production across all four locations, with Meta Ads layered on top. The result: 412% Instagram community growth, a 5.1x Meta Ads ROAS, and 8.4M reach.
THE CHALLENGE
Bombay Mahal has spent decades building one of Montreal's most respected Indian restaurant institutions: four locations across Parc-Extension, NDG, Mont-Royal Ouest, and Mont-Royal Est, each with its own crowd and regulars. Butter chicken, lamb korma, garlic naan, fragrant pulao, and thalis served with the consistency that earns multi-generation loyalty.
The reputation was already there. The food was already there. What was missing was the digital storytelling to match. Instagram was inconsistent. Video content was sparse. The four locations operated with fragmented social rhythms. In a city where the next generation learns about restaurants through Reels and tagged Stories, an institutional brand can quietly become invisible to anyone under 35.
They needed a content engine that ran across all four locations on a consistent cadence, ongoing video production, and Meta Ads layered on top to introduce decades of authentic Indian cooking to a generation that hadn't yet walked through their doors.
THE NUMBERS, AFTER 12 MONTHS
- +412% Instagram community growth
- 5.1x Meta Ads ROAS (blended FB + Instagram)
- 48+ cinematic videos produced
- 8.4M total content reach across Facebook + Instagram
An institution, now built for a new generation.
Heritage translated into modern content: Bombay Mahal's institutional reputation was already there. The content engine put that heritage into modern visual language without diluting what made the original four restaurants feel like Montreal institutions.
Four locations, one voice: a content rhythm covering Parc-Extension, NDG, Mont-Royal Ouest, and Mont-Royal Est, with location-specific moments under a unified brand voice.
Meta Ads paid back the content investment: 5.1x blended ROAS over 12 months. The video creative produced for organic feeds doubled as the highest-performing ad creative. $4.20 average cost per new diner.
A new generation found Bombay Mahal: 412% Instagram community growth on a brand that already had nothing to prove in person, putting it in front of younger Montrealers who discover restaurants through Reels and saved Stories.
THE TIMELINE, month by month
- Month 1-2: discovery and content foundation. Brand voice workshop, content pillar framework, location audit, first onsite shoots across all 4 restaurants. Meta Ads architecture built in parallel.
- Month 3-4: engine running. Daily Instagram at full cadence. First Reels live. FB and IG Ads launched with creative from initial shoots. First conversion tracking calibrated.
- Month 5-7: all-locations coverage. Monthly video rotation locked across all four. Meta Ads scaled with proven creative. Engagement rate past 4%.
- Month 8-10: scale phase. 30+ videos in the library. Lookalike audiences driving paid scale. Engagement at 5.4%. Cost per new diner under $5. Reach past 5M.
- Month 11-12: mature engine. 48+ videos, 8.4M total reach, 5.1x Meta Ads ROAS, 6.2% engagement, $4.20 CPA.
"Four locations. One name. Decades of reputation. Popnest gave us the content engine to introduce that to a new generation of Montreal diners, on the channels they actually watch."