Influencer
Food Creator Abi Marquez On Building Beyond Sponsored Posts With Cookbooks, Live Events, And Owned IP
Abi Marquez, known online as the “Lumpia Queen,” keeps her introduction simple.
“I’m Abi. Full name Abigail Marquez. I’m 26 years old, from a province in the Philippines called Laguna. And I’m a full-time food content creator.”
Behind that modest framing is a creator running one of the most commercially active food platforms in the Philippines. Abi works with more than 10 brands per month on average, leads a growing team, tours internationally, and is translating digital momentum from Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube into cookbooks, live events, and long-term intellectual property.
The foundation of her business traces back to childhood. “I remember throwing tantrums over my nuggets not being crispy and the rice not being fluffy and warm,” she says. “I really had standards with food from a young age.”
Food in her household was ritual. The Filipino tradition of “salo-salo” meant no one ate until everyone was at the table. “Growing up, I thought of food as something everybody relates to,” she says. “It’s a tool that brings people together.”
That belief now anchors her creator business.
A Viral Pasta and 14 Followers
Abi began posting in January 2022 while still studying hotel, restaurant, and institution management in college. She nearly accepted a corporate role at Krispy Kreme.
Instead, she filmed a tuna pasta dinner. “With my Android phone and a $10 DIY studio light, I filmed a video and did a voiceover,” she says. “That went viral.”
At the time, she had 14 followers. The video reached one million views in three days. “That was my first taste of virality,” she says. “I enjoyed the process and people appreciated the output. It just felt right.”
At that stage, she had no understanding of monetization. “I didn’t know you could get paid doing content,” she says. “I didn’t know how it worked.”
A month later, brands began emailing. Soon, sponsorship offers followed. She remembers debating whether to charge $180 or $200.
The financial inflection point came quickly. Before graduating, she had receivables totaling around $20,000.
“In the Philippines, you’re lucky if you land a job that pays $600 per month,” she says. “It was a no-brainer. This is a career.”
Learning the Business in Real Time
Early traction did not come with a manual. Abi negotiated contracts with established companies while Googling unfamiliar marketing terms.
“I had to talk to them as a college student pretending I knew their business,” she says. “I Googled every single word. What is retention? What is engagement rate?”
Pricing lacked clear standards. “Even till now,” she says, “there’s no standard.”
Her strategy was instinctive rather than calculated. “I wasn’t thinking about how to get more money,” she says. “I just did whatever felt right.”
That intuition now informs a disciplined partnership model. Abi notes that roughly 90% of her content includes paid collaborations, yet she rejects the idea that sponsored posts must underperform. “I’ve mastered the balance of giving brands what they want while still connecting to my audience,” she says.
Her advice to creators centers on boundaries. “Have your non-negotiables set before agreeing to partnerships,” she says.
Rather than arguing emotionally, she uses performance data. “Send them retention curves,” she says. “Show them what happens if you put the logo in the first second. The video will flop.”
Authenticity remains central. “You don’t want your audience to feel like they were traded for a paycheck.”
Her own boundaries are clear. She avoids products that feel inaccessible or that she cannot properly test. “I’ve never done skincare because the only way my results could be true is if I use it for a month,” she says.
She also declines concepts that compromise credibility. An insecticide brand once suggested staging a cockroach in her kitchen.
“I have to believe in the product, and I have to be myself,” she says.
The ‘Lumpia Queen’ Effect
Abi’s most recognizable brand asset emerged from failure.
After experimenting with frying marshmallows in lumpia wrappers (thin, paper-like pastry skins), she documented multiple unsuccessful attempts. Instead of moving on quietly, she invited audience input.
“After five marshmallow spring roll experiments failed, I moved on,” she says. “But people kept commenting, what if you wrap that ina lumpia wrapper?”
The running joke became a format. Eventually, followers began calling her the “Lumpia Queen.” Abi “hated” it at first. “It sounded like I was selling lumpia,” she says.
Today, she embraces it. “I’m proud to call myself ‘Lumpia Queen,’” she says. “I’ve seen how it’s impacted other people’s lives.”
Students have messaged her saying her recipes helped them complete entrepreneurship projects. “At the end of the day, being a content creator is being a community leader,” she says. “To keep that community strong, there has to be engagement, trust, and involvement.”
Abi reads comments, replies to them, and integrates suggestions into future videos.
“Whenever I put something out, it has to sound like me,” she says. “Even if it’s branded.”
From Solo Operator to Team Leader
For two and a half years, Abi handled everything herself. Hiring a team marked a shift.
“Hiring a team really changed me,” she says. “If I miss a deadline, it’s not just me who suffers.”
Her team members are mostly older than she is, which sharpened her sense of responsibility. “We never run out of projects,” she says, noting she works with more than 10 brands per month on average. “People are always surprised.”
With scale came structure. Her process now includes recipe refinement, hook planning, production scheduling, multi-angle shooting, editorial passes, and engagement-focused captions. After publishing, she spends the first hours replying to comments.
Platform strategy has been refined as well. “I start with one core idea,” she says. “Right now, I upload the same content across platforms and create variety in formats.”
Earlier, she tried customizing edits for each channel.
“It just takes so much time,” she says.
Beyond the Algorithm
Today, Abi is increasingly focused on ownership.
“Diversification and ownership are building things that can live beyond algorithms and brand deals,” she says.
She is developing a cookbook, exploring physical products, and hosting events like “The Kiddie Kitchen” and food creator gatherings. She recently blended music and food in a Christmas release and appeared in a Philippine soap opera.
“I’m intentional about turning content into assets,” she says. “Instead of just making a viral video, I ask, can this become a recurring series? A learning tool? A physical product?”
Her ambitions extend globally. This year includes appearances at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and other live engagements.
“I want people who watch me to actually taste what I make,” she says.
Perspective as Differentiation
In a saturated industry, Abi believes differentiation comes from lived experience.
“There is an abundance of content and an abundance of creators,” she says. “The only way you provide unique value is through your perspective.”
A simple adobo recipe becomes a conversation. “This is how my mom cooks it,” she says. “How do you cook your adobo?”
That question invites community participation rather than authority. For creators building cultural brands, her advice is direct. “Focus on your story and your perspective,” she says. “Encourage people to share their version.”
As she expands into books, live events, and owned intellectual property, that principle remains constant.
“The safest thing you can do, and the best way to stand out, is to focus on your story.”
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