- Influencer marketing is a proven strategy for brands across many industries
- The influencer marketing industry is valued at $24 billion
- Now, influencers are competing with established brands by launching their own products – which include coffee
INFLUENCER marketing has emerged as a juggernaut, with the industry valued at a staggering $24 billion.
As social media platforms proliferate, influencers—those charismatic individuals who have cultivated vast online followings—are not just promoting products – they’re launching their own brands.
This trend is also picking up in the coffee sector, where influencers like Emma Chamberlain have started to carve out a niche that could challenge established coffee brands.
Social media influencers and YouTubers have mastered the formula for turning their follower counts into successful product lines. Take MrBeast, for example, a popular YouTube creator who has ventured into the food space with his MrBeast Burger restaurant brand and Feastables line of chocolate bars. He also has apparel, gaming apps, and educational products.
Emma Chamberlain started a YouTube channel, created merch, and launched her eponymous coffee brand, which has quickly gained traction among her youthful audience. Today, she has a whopping 12 million+ subscribers on her YouTube channel and an estimated net worth of around $12 million.
Wrestler-turned-influencer Paul Logan has launched energy drinks, while TikToker Addison Rae has successfully conquered the beauty industry with her Item Beauty line that she markets to over 88 million followers.
These influencers are not merely selling products. They are building brands by first cultivating a loyal audience, and then launching products that resonate deeply with their followers.
But what makes these products so successful? The answer lies in their authenticity and relatability.
“When we talk about influencers creating and marketing their own products, it’s all about that genuine connection they’ve built with their followers,” says Ben Jeffries, CEO of influencer.com.
“They’re not just selling a product; they’re extending their personal brand – which has ultimately built them a community amongst their followers – into something tangible. This combination of authenticity and community appeals to today’s consumers who are looking for more than just a product off the shelf. They’re showing back to their creators (and others) that they’re a super-fan.”
Influencers know their audience intimately and tailor their offerings to meet the specific preferences and values of their followers. This direct connection, combined with savvy marketing strategies, allows them to dominate their respective spaces, often eclipsing established brands that may struggle to connect with younger consumers.
Influencer marketing is a magic wand for established brands
The potency of influencer marketing is evident in the billions that brands have invested in this strategy.
Companies across industries have increasingly turned to influencer endorsements to reach new, untapped audiences, recognizing their effectiveness in driving sales and brand awareness.
Coffee brands have also caught on. Starbucks identifies online influencers and engages them in creating marketing content that’s more appealing to target consumers, relying on their understanding of consumers to increase its virtual and real peer group.
Major brands like Nespresso (George Clooney instantly comes to mind) are starting to realise that online influencers can not only supplement but in some cases supersede traditional partnerships with mainstream celebrities. In order to boost the popularity of their new Azero product in the Swiss market, Nescafé partnered with 10 prominent Swiss food/lifestyle influencers.
“Influencers’ product marketing is incredibly effective on platforms like TikTok and Instagram due to their ability to reach diverse audiences, from Gen Z to older demographics (#GranTok is a thing!), by tailoring content based on follower interests,” says Ben.
For instance, beauty giant Glossier built its brand almost entirely through influencer partnerships, leveraging social media to create a community-driven image that resonates with millennials and Gen Z alike. Similarly, Nike has collaborated with influencers to amplify its messages of inclusivity and empowerment, effectively reaching demographics that traditional advertising often misses.
But why does influencer marketing work so well? Influencers speak the language of youth.
They know how to engage their audiences, leveraging humour, relatability, and authenticity to foster a sense of community. Their strength lies in their ability to create content that resonates emotionally and socially, addressing pressing concerns like sustainability and social justice—issues that are paramount for today’s Gen Z consumers.
“Influencers engage audiences with authenticity, trendy and viral content, short-form storytelling, and interactive engagement, often using eye-catching visuals that are designed to encourage participation and get audiences to join in on trends,” says Ben.
“TikTok Shop enhances this by integrating seamless shopping experiences directly into content, turning discovery into immediate purchase. This combination of targeted communication and instant commerce makes TikTok a powerful tool for influencer-driven product marketing.”
This approach not only drives engagement but also encourages brand loyalty, making influencer marketing an invaluable tool for companies seeking to stay relevant.
Now, influencers want their own piece of the product pie
Long dismissed as mere trendsetters, influencers are now harnessing the power of their platforms to launch their own products, often with explosive growth that goes largely unnoticed by the broader industry.
What they lack in expertise, they make up for with authenticity and relatability, and they are rapidly gaining market share and reshaping consumerism.
In her paper The influencer industry: the quest for authenticity on social media, Emily Hund argues that the influencer industry has positioned the quality of authenticity, the defining characteristic of influencer cultural products and labour, as the primary measure of social influence. Her analysis demonstrates authenticity has become an industrial construct and paradigm for the way people consume information and build identity.
According to Forbes, “more influencers are waking up to the power of directly monetizing their audiences, using knowledge collected over the years to move up the value chain and launch their own ventures.” In other words, instead of relying on pushing other brands’ products for their income, they are “cutting out the middleman” and applying their consumer knowledge and sway to their own products and brands.
“In coffee, figures like Emma Chamberlain are leading the charge,” says Ben. “Beyond Chamberlain, other influencers are quietly building significant empires in the coffee space. David Abrahamovitch, for instance, has turned his brand Grind into a powerhouse and becoming an Influencer off the back of this. This has allowed him to leverage his influence to expand its reach far beyond traditional coffee shops – into a globe pod player.”
“Similarly, creator Ashley Alexander is capitalising on the matcha trend by building Nami Matcha, showing how influencers can successfully tap into niche markets.”
Larger brands often hesitate to adopt the bold, experimental tactics that influencers employ, fearing potential liabilities and brand image repercussions. Influencers, on the other hand, have less to lose. Their flexibility allows them to explore unconventional marketing strategies and product offerings.
While established brands are starting to collaborate with influencers to tap into their audiences, they may be underestimating these individuals’ entrepreneurial skills. With their intimate understanding of their communities, influencers possess the unique ability to innovate and disrupt traditional markets.
“While these influencers are still emerging, their deep connection with loyal followers and ability to tap into trends suggest they could eventually rival or even overtake established coffee brands,” says Ben.
“Their success lies in their ability to blend personal branding with product marketing, making them serious competitors in the evolving coffee market.”
As the influencer coffee trend continues to unfold, it raises a crucial question: Could these new brands eventually rival the coffee giants that currently dominate the market?
For now, it may just be Emma Chamberlain leading the charge, but she has undoubtedly paved the way for a new generation of “influencer coffee” entrepreneurs.
Coffee Intelligence
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