KATY, Texas — A Rosenberg woman's beef jerky business has been overwhelmed with orders after a Katy man's social media video went viral, generating more than 33 million views on TikTok.
From slow sales to 2,200 orders overnight
Dawna Thompson, owner of Dawna's Jerky, said the sudden attention has transformed her small business.
"We have plenty of orders coming in," Thompson told KPRC Channel 2. "It helped us a whole lot. I didn't even know what was going on."
Thompson and her husband woke up one morning to continuous alerts on their phones.
"We hear our phone just like ding, ding, ding, ding, ding," she told KPRC Channel 2. "It was crazy."
Initially fearing their website had been hacked, the couple discovered the alerts were legitimate orders from customers across the country and internationally, all sparked by the viral video.
Video reaches viewers in Philippines, UK and Canada
The video features Thompson offering free samples of her thinly sliced beef jerky at a farmers market in Rosenberg. The clip has spread across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, attracting viewers from the Philippines, the United Kingdom and Canada.
Thompson stll has more than 22-hundred orders to fulfill.
The surge in sales marks a significant change for a business that typically spends weekends traveling across Texas to farmers markets and gun shows.
Katy content creator helps small businesses through social media
The viral moment came from David Dominguez, a Katy-based content creator who travels to farmers markets across Texas highlighting small businesses with low foot traffic. Dominguez said he met Thompson while shopping for Christmas gifts.
"I honestly didn't think much of it," Dominguez told KPRC Channel 2. "I posted the video one night, and the next day I woke up and she was global."
Dominguez began creating content in 2025 after being laid off according to the TV report, using his time to support local vendors through social media.