The short versionBloom Nutrition co-founder Mari Llewellyn built a fitness audience online before she built a product, and that audience became Bloom's first customers. Since 2021, Bloom has worked with 5,600 creators whose Bloom content has reportedly drawn 12 billion TikTok views. The lesson: an audience that trusts the founder is the best first customer list, and creators can multiply it.
Most brands launch and then go looking for customers. Bloom Nutrition had its customers before it had a product.
The audience came first
Co-founder Mari Llewellyn had been posting fitness content online, including her own weight-loss journey, since 2017. She started Bloom using money she earned selling a $5 workout guide, Modern Retail reported.
When Bloom launched, she didn't need to find buyers. "The community that I had built and gained trust with on my platform were all of our customers," Llewellyn told Modern Retail.
Llewellyn launched Bloom in 2019 with her husband and co-founder, Greg LaVecchia, according to Inc.
Then creators multiplied it
Once the founder's audience proved the product, Bloom scaled through other people's audiences. Since 2021, the company has collaborated with 5,600 influencers, who have generated a reported 12 billion views on Bloom-related TikTok content, according to Net Influencer. The influencer program takes about 75% of Bloom's marketing budget.
The playbook, for any brand
- Build trust before you sell. An audience that already trusts the founder is the warmest first customer list there is.
- Let the founder be visible. People followed Llewellyn, not a logo. That trust transferred to the product.
- Prove it, then scale it. Bloom didn't start with thousands of creators. It started with one audience that was already buying.
- Give creators room. Content that feels native to each creator travels further than a script.
You don't need millions of followers to use this. A local business owner with a few thousand people who trust them has the same advantage at a smaller scale.
Sources
- Modern Retail: How an influencer founder helped Bloom (Apr 11, 2023)
- Inc.: How an army of TikTokers drove 12 billion views
- Net Influencer: Bloom's 12 billion TikTok views
- Bloom Nutrition: About us
FAQ
Who founded Bloom Nutrition?
Mari Llewellyn and her husband, Greg LaVecchia, launched Bloom Nutrition in 2019.
How did Bloom get its first customers?
Llewellyn told Modern Retail that the community she had built and gained trust with on her own platform became Bloom's customers.
How big is Bloom's influencer program?
Since 2021, Bloom has worked with 5,600 influencers who reportedly generated 12 billion views on Bloom-related TikTok content. The program takes about 75% of Bloom's marketing budget, according to Net Influencer.
