From Nut to Notable - How TikTok turned a Peshawar shopkeeper into a global star

 

It all began in a small dry fruit shop in Peshawar’s Rail Shopping Plaza, nothing fancy, just a regular place with shelves full of nuts and a passionate man behind the counter. That man is Gulwali Khan, who never imagined a single walnut and a tiny key would turn him into a TikTok star. But that’s exactly what happened. His quirky “Chabi Wala Akhrot” video didn’t just crack open a nut, it cracked the internet and cracked open a whole new chapter for his business. His videos went viral, racking up millions of views, and within weeks, customers started flooding in. What was once a family-run shop quickly became the destination with the help of TikTok.

“About 20 years ago,” Gulwali recalls, “I found a walnut that couldn’t be broken, not by hand, teeth, hammer, or even under a car. It came with a special key. Any duplicate failed.” That strange walnut stayed with him for years, until one day, he picked it up not for snacking, but for storytelling. He filmed a short video and posted it on TikTok. It was odd. It was fun. It was different. And it went viral.

“When I first posted, my brother, my nephew, even nearby shopkeepers laughed at me,” he says. “They thought I’d lost it.” But the internet thought otherwise. Soon, Gulwali wasn’t just a shopkeeper, he was a sensation.

His TikTok account, Nayab Dry Fruits, quickly exploded. Today, it has more than 831,000 followers and over 25.5 million likes, turning his once-quiet shop into a digital landmark. With every upload, his business gained new eyes, and new customers. “Before TikTok,” he says, “we were operating at just 10%. Now we’ve grown by 90%.”

Now, he smiles, “Those same people proudly say, ‘We’re relatives of Gulwali Khan of Nayab Dry Fruits.’” Locals started visiting. Then people from other cities. Then came tourists from the UK, Canada, and Switzerland, all eager to meet him.

Dry fruits run in Gulwali’s blood. His father and brother were both in the trade. But he added something new, a phone, internet, and creativity. He didn’t hire a social media team. “No strategy. Just me, my son, and sometimes our staff,” he says. “I try to make our work fun and meaningful.”

When asked what he’d tell small business owners, his advice is refreshingly simple: “Even if you’re selling something as simple as ice cream, show it online.”

To Gulwali, the medium doesn’t matter, it’s the message, the sincerity, and the willingness to try that makes the difference. “Don’t be afraid,” he says. “Start with what you have. You don’t need a big team. Just faith and creativity.”

With fans abroad, he hopes to open branches in Europe. “People tell me, ‘We came to Pakistan just to visit your shop. That’s the power of TikTok,” he says. What began with a walnut and a key has turned into a key to the world. And Gulwali, once laughed at for filming dry fruits, is now inspiring small business owners everywhere to post it online, even if it’s just ice cream.