Influencers overtake traditional brands in product sales

Surely you’ve ever bought something because your favorite influencer recommended it on their platform. And with the rise of social media commerce, buying directly through platforms like Instagram or TikTok is becoming easier and easier, as well as for content creators to launch their own products with guaranteed success. It’s no longer just about promoting products, they are now launching their own!

More and more influencers, whether content creators, celebrities or renowned professionals with a strong presence in networks are deciding to launch a brand to sell beauty, fashion or food products, replicating the formula that one day Kylie Jenner created with her Kylie Cosmetics lip kits, and continued to scale the empire to create Khy or Sprinter. Following in her footsteps, we have found the cases of the entire Kardashian clan with their brands, Harley Bieber, owner of Rhode or even the case of the American Youtuber Mr.Beast, and his brand of burgers, the only one in the food and beverage industry within the top 10 of content creators.

In Spain, many content creators have also replicated this formula by creating their own businesses, as is the case of Scrapworld by ByCalitos or Milfshakes by Nil Ojeda, or Two Jeys, by Biel Juste and Joan Margarit.

The number of content creator brands is endless, that’s why Billion Dollar Boy has issued a report analyzing consumer perception of influencer-founded companies. The majority of consumers are from the younger generations. If you’re Gen Z or millennial, chances are you’ve already filled your cart: 91% of 16-24 year olds and 84% of 25-34 year olds are high on influencer-created brands. This is especially true in the US, where 71% of consumers have bought products from creators, compared to 58% in the UK. But why do we love influencer-founded brands?

According to the report data, we love supporting small businesses and startups (35%) because we believe the quality they offer is superior (31%). In addition, creators are always up to date with the latest trends (31%), and we trust them more than traditional brands (30%). We also feel part of their communities (29%), which makes us part of something bigger, and if we have followed a creator for years, loyalty weighs in, we want to see them succeed! (26%).

Becky Owen, Global Director of FiveTwoNine, explains why this is so important: “Makers have what traditional brands can’t replicate: the ability to build trust and connect with communities on a human level. With social media, we are no longer passive consumers: we are – or feel – part of a community, we support the creators we love because we connect with their story, and their products feel personal and unique, tailored entirely to our worldview and lifestyle.