When I was working for a client in the logistics industry, I stumbled upon a case study of one of their clients that turned TikTok virality into 9-figure sales in just a few short years. That client was Bloom Nutrition. As I read through their story, I was thoroughly impressed at how the founder, Mari Llewellyn, managed to capitalize on her fitness journey to build a $100 million brand.
Taking a closer look at how Bloom Nutrition markets the brand with TikTok creators and wellness trends, I’ve put together a comprehensive breakdown of the brand’s marketing strategy. This post digs into the strategies that make Bloom Nutrition “bloom” on TikTok and beyond.
Mari Llewellyn has always been open about her mental health struggles. She regularly shares the story of how in college, she took to drinking and partying to numb the pain from her childhood.
All those unhealthy habits compounded into weight issues that further contributed to her struggle. At over 200 pounds, Mari was overweight and at her lowest point mentally.
It was when she hit rock bottom that she decided it was time for a change. She started taking her health seriously. She was eating healthier, moving more, working out, and making small but consistent changes that ultimately helped her lose 90 pounds.
In November 2017, Mari posted her transformation photo when she only had 900 followers and it blew up.
As her story went viral, her inbox was flooded with DMs about how she did it. Then she started making products that people were asking her for, such as workout guides and nutrition guides. Mari’s influence in the wellness community grew and she became a prominent fitness influencer.
She now has over 264k followers on TikTok and 1.4 million followers on Instagram.
Despite the significant improvement in her physical and mental health, Mari still had one problem. Between unpronounceable ingredients, low nutritional value, and revolting flavors, she just couldn’t find supplements that effectively supported her health journey.
This led to the birth of Bloom Nutrition. Mari and her husband and co-founder, Greg, made their own supplements that were as nutritious as they were delicious. With the influencer’s personal journey and social media presence to back it up, the brand took off on TikTok and eventually went viral.
Bloom Nutrition didn’t become a viral sensation on accident. If we dig deeper, we can actually break down some actionable marketing strategies that contributed to the brand’s success. Let’s take a look.
The brand was directly tied to an influential face, which was a major reason for its success. With an influencer building the brand, it created the perfect opportunity for founder-led marketing.
Founder-led marketing is highly effective for putting a human face to the brand. This makes your brand more relatable while the founder’s personal experiences add emotional resonance and credibility.
Mari uses her social media presence to promote the brand and the supplements. She documented her weight loss journey and then sold the solution.
Even now, she’s still heavily involved in marketing the business. Bloom Nutrition’s social media is mostly filled with Mari explaining what the products are, what’s in the supplements, and what benefits people can get.
She regularly talks about how the supplements were formulated to address her specific nutritional needs—something that addresses the pain point of others on a similar journey.
For example, the following TikTok shows her explaining how the supplement contains veggies, probiotics, and digestive enzymes to benefit gut health because she needed all her “greens” to fit into a single supplement.
Brands gain a standing in the market when people can emotionally connect with them. There’s a reason Nike is the preferred sports apparel brand for many, even among other companies selling similar quality products. People choose the brand that they feel an emotional connection with.
Sprout Social even found that 76% of consumers will choose a brand they feel connected to over a competitor. And 57% will increase their spending with them.
Bloom Nutrition leans into real stories to build the emotional resonance needed to earn connection and loyalty. In particular, the founder’s story helps people relate to the persona and, in the process, the brand. That’s why Bloom continues to share the story of how the brand was founded, with Mari and Greg prominently featured in the videos.
This simultaneously humanizes the brand while building an emotional connection through the story. The Sprout study even found that 70% of consumers feel connected to a brand whose CEO is active on social media.
Mari’s story not only helps people connect to the brand but also serves as proof of what the supplements can do. She consistently shares her fitness journey, being open about everything from her mental health struggles to her methods.
What’s great about her approach is that she doesn’t position her supplements as solutions for weight loss. Instead, she gets real about the time and hard work that goes into getting fit and losing weight. Bloom Nutrition’s products only enter the picture as supplements to complement her fitness journey.
This honesty further reaffirms the brand’s credibility, helping them earn the trust of the Bloom community.
Mari may be Bloom Nutrition’s first influencer, but she’s definitely not the last. The brand continues to maximize reach through strategic partnerships with relevant TikTok creators.
Influencers will share content where they prominently feature the brand’s products. They’ll share reviews, give updates about new flavors and products, or incorporate it into their daily routines. So Bloom is highly visible across TikTok and other social media platforms.
In fact, these creators are instrumental for the brand’s continued success. One Reddit user analyzed the top-performing content from four creators the brand has worked with.
These TikTok creators averaged 670k per view for each video, surpassing the performance of the brand’s official videos by 8x. These are impressive numbers especially when you consider that these creators have a significantly less following than the brand.
One creator, McKenzie Wren, performed exceptionally well, hitting over 11 million views (as of writing this post) for one video. But get this…she doesn’t even have 10,000 followers. This shows just how impactful certain creators can be even with a smaller following.
Seeing how TikTok creators play such an essential role in the continued growth of Bloom Nutrition, it’s worth taking a closer look at how the brand works with influencers. Here’s a breakdown of the brand’s creator strategy.
Bloom diversifies their influencer roster to include both nano- and micro-influencers instead of relying on mega-influencers alone. These creators have varying niches, ranging from wellness to home and living. So they could cast a wider net and reach audiences across multiple segments—whether it’s the mom trying to stay fit or the busy professional trying to keep up with wellness trends.
For example, @social.nurse.stephanie is a TikTok micro-influencer who regularly shares wellness content coming from her expertise as a nurse. She often posts about Bloom’s latest product releases and shares deals that she doesn’t want her followers to miss.
TikTok creators naturally incorporate Bloom products into their daily routines. “Day in my life” videos that start with a Bloom drink help to reaffirm how the product naturally fits into a creator’s life.
Meanwhile, @athomewithbryan’s “with me” video takes viewers along as he prepares for the day before heading off to the gym. The influencer explains in the caption how his fitness and wellness journey now focus on movement, strength training, and gut health. He further elaborates how Bloom’s greens are his favorite way to improve digestion and reduce bloating.
Part of the reason why McKenzie Wren’s video from earlier got so many views is because of its visual appeal. After all, TikTok is an inherently visual platform, and the “aesthetic” of the video draws in audiences.
The creator often puts together practical recipes that feature Bloom’s products in an eye-catching setup. As users are drawn to this type of video, she manages to rack up hundreds of thousands of views.
Bloom Nutrition’s greens are positioned to help improve gut health. The brand works with experts to back up their bloat marketing strategy and further strengthen their positioning. For example, the following video features Shauna Faulisi, a wellness influencer and Certified Holistic Nutritionist, to explain the product’s benefits.
Having an expert vouch for the product’s effectiveness at targeting a specific pain point is a great way to build trust.
There’s a lot to learn from Bloom Nutrition’s success. While the strategy breakdown should already give you most of the info you need, let’s look at some more takeaways to inform your own strategy.
Founder-led marketing works. But it needs to rely on a strong personal brand. Work on building your founder’s social media presence through authentic stories and relatable experiences. Have them consistently show up on social media to help connect their face to the brand.
You could feature them in your marketing videos and share snippets of interview videos. They also need to regularly talk about the brand and products on their personal social media.
Bloom Nutrition regularly features Mari in their content. While she maintains a social media presence that’s separate from the brand, she has a strong personal brand that’s consistent with wellness and fitness to align with the brand’s image.
People don’t connect with a brand. They connect with stories. That’s where authentic and impactful storytelling makes all the difference.
In the case of Bloom Nutrition, the founder’s mental and physical struggles served as a strong foundation in their brand storytelling. The pain point of not being able to find effective and delicious supplements to complement their wellness journey is also weaved into the brand’s story.
Tell your brand story in a way that’s honest and relatable. Don’t leave out the struggles and the failures in an attempt to polish your brand image. If anything, those elements help to humanize the brand and create an even better emotional resonance with audiences.
When you’re marketing a product that transcends segments, you need to diversify your creator roster accordingly.
For instance, wellness products aren’t necessarily just for people who are into fitness. They could be relevant to the busy parent who’s trying to take care of their health while juggling multiple responsibilities. They could also be relevant to the working professional who needs a quick nutrition boost in between their long commutes.
So consider working with creators across different segments. Platforms like Influencity will even let you check the audience overlap between multiple creators. That way, you can focus on creators with a unique set of audience to help you cast a wider net.
Founder-led marketing works when your founder is your brand’s first influencer. A strong personal brand and social media presence are essential for their influence to ultimately benefit your brand. Make the most of the tips and strategy breakdown I shared above to get started.
Founder-led marketing is a strategy where the company’s founder is heavily involved in the brand’s marketing activities. In many cases, they also become the face of the brand, using their social media presence to promote the brand.
Mari Llewellyn built her brand by sharing her personal story of losing weight and guiding others on their own wellness journeys.
Bloom Nutrition pays influencers anywhere from $0 (product exchange only) up to $25,000+ per video, depending entirely on the creator's follower count, reach, and contract structure.
Bloom Nutrition’s popularity is a result of the product’s taste and quality, although the brand’s marketing efforts play the most vital role. With the brand’s founder being an influencer, her social media presence and personal story launched the brand into virality. The brand also continues to partner with TikTok creators, who further contribute to their sustained popularity.