Nagi Maehashi has come out swinging against Australian PR agencies who are offering her a pittance in exchange for making sponsored social media posts.
The RecipeTin Eats founder, who boasts 1.7 million Instagram followers, shared a message on her Stories on Tuesday in which she revealed that at times, she is only promised a few free items, such as chocolates or pasta, instead of a payment.
‘Dear PR agencies of Australia… Please take my personal details off your database. How did you even get my private email address?’ she began her text post.
Nagi went on to blast the requirements for social media ads – which include making video reels and Stories posts – and explained that they are not worth the exchange of free goods.
‘No, I am not interested in creating 1-3 Instagram Stories (and) an IG Reel or carousel post to promote your clients’ restaurant or product in exchange for a FREE packet of Reese’s or a FREE bowl of pasta,’ she said.
Nagi concluded: ‘It’s 2025. Spray-and-pray-copy-paste email blast outs aren’t a strategy anymore.’
Nagi Maehashi (pictured) has come out swinging against Australian PR agencies who are offering her a pittance in exchange for making sponsored social media posts
Maehashi has recently been embroiled in a high-profile controversy.
In April, she accused baker Brooke Bellamy, the founder of Brooki Bakehouse, of plagiarising her caramel slice and baklava recipes for use in her best-selling cookbook Bake With Brooki.
The claims sparked weeks of online scrutiny, with Bellamy forced to issue a series of statements defending her work.
In a video posted to her followers, Bellamy admitted her recipes were not wholly original but insisted that they were still personal.
‘While all of these recipes are personal to me, I cannot say that I have invented the cookies, cupcakes, brownies or cakes in the recipe book. They are all inspired from somewhere and someone before me,’ she said.
She also revealed her biggest inspiration had always been close to home.
‘I have been so inspired by bakeries and bakers the world over but the biggest inspiration in my life is my mum, because I learnt to cook and bake with her in the kitchen growing up.’
Bellamy rejected the suggestion that her work was stolen, pointing out that many recipes inevitably share similarities.
The RecipeTin Eats founder, who boasts 1.7 million Instagram followers, shared a message on her Stories on Tuesday in which she revealed that at times, she is only promised a few free items, such as chocolates or pasta, instead of a payment
Nagi went on to blast the requirements for social media ads – which include making video reels and Stories posts – and explained that they are not worth the exchange of free goods
‘While baking has leeway for creativity, much of it is a precise science and is necessarily formulaic.
‘Many recipes are bound to share common steps and measures: if they don’t, they simply don’t work.’
The controversy drew further attention when American baker Sally McKenny added her voice, claiming her vanilla cake recipe had also been used without permission.
Bellamy, however, pushed back against what she described as a narrative ‘pitting women against each other,’ saying, ‘I think there’s room for everyone, especially more women in business.’
Despite the uproar, her Fortitude Valley bakery in Brisbane continues to thrive, with queues snaking down the street on weekends and her online community rallying in support.
She is also expanding beyond Queensland for the first time – with a six-month pop-up inside Sydney Airport’s busy T2 Domestic terminal.
