When Creator Businesses Fail [Lessons We Can Draw]

Failed Creator Businesses and What We Can Learn

Sometimes you launch something new and it doesn’t go as planned. This has been the case for many creator-led brands.

Below, we’ll dive into a few examples and the lessons we can take away from these creators.

We want to preface this section by saying that taking the leap to launch a business and it not going as planned isn’t a failure. It’s more than what 90% of people will ever do. “Failed” just flows better than “Creator businesses that didn’t go as planned or work out as they hoped.” 🙏🏼

Arii’s T-Shirt Line

Arianna Renee, an Instagram creator with over 2M followers at the time, wanted to start a clothing brand. She needed to sell 36 t-shirts in order for the company producing the shirts to move forward with a formal launch.

She couldn’t meet the sales quota…of 36 t-shirts.

The main feedback from her audience was that the t-shirts didn’t match her style and she didn’t promote them enough. There’s several things we can learn from this.

Lessons:

1. Build a community, not a following. Marketing experts gave a common critique—out of 2 million followers, there’s no reason 36 shouldn’t have bought the product. The lack of sales shows a lack of buy-in and engagement.

2. Align your brand with your vibe. If there’s a disconnect between who you are the product you launch, your audience will see right through it. Stay true to your authentic vibe/aesthetic/look.

3. Promotion is key. If you’re not committed to promoting the heck out of your product and integrating it into your content, maybe you’re not launching the right product. You need to talk about your product if you want people to buy it.

Hyram and Addison’s Beauty Lines

Hyram, a skincare creator with 12+ million followers, launched Selfless—a line of gentle skincare products.

The products launched exclusively in Sephora, at the $20 to $30 price point. Yet his young audience felt the products were too expensive for what they were and questioned whether Hyram actually used the products.

Similarly, Addison Rae, a dance and lifestyle creator with 88+ million followers, created Item—a clean makeup line. After an initial bout of excitement on her social media, she failed to continue posting about it.

Both brands initially earned spots on Sephora shelves but didn’t last long. Sephora dropped both brands in 2023.

Lessons:

1. Understand your audience and their shopping behaviors. You need to price products high enough to profit, but not so high your audience doesn’t want to buy. Depending on your product and audience demographic, it might be tricky to find a happy medium.

2. Look for less competitive markets. A product might align with your brand, but not be sustainable as a company.

3. Promotion is key. You’ve got to promote your brand and show that you use/love it if you want your audience to buy it.

Mr Beast’s Chocolate Bars

While Feastables is now successful, Mr Beast faced a few challenges at the beginning that almost ended his brand:

• He was brought to court over his Deez Nuts flavored chocolate bar. He lost a legal battle to a snack company called Dee’s Nuts because the name was too similar.

• His audience felt the chocolate bars were too expensive, so he launched a 10-minute giveaway. Any online sales during that time would be free. The chocolate sold out completely, costing him over $1 million.

• His audience was upset the initial launch only offered dark chocolate.

• Once he launched milk chocolate bars, they were later recalled due to a possible peanut contamination.

Lessons:

1. Check trademarks beforehand. Even if you think there’s no way something will be trademarked, check. Look for businesses and products with similar names to avoid potential legal disputes.

2. Be careful with giveaways. Giveaways can be a solid short-term strategy to get some hype around the product, but they might not generate the results you’re looking for.

3. Be careful with consumables. If you’re launching a consumable product, do your due diligence when it comes to allergens. Recalls are expensive as a brand.

Creator’s Viral Negative Review Gets CEO’s Attention - Ends Up With Collaboration

“I am the youngest person in Canada to graduate with an MBA in Marketing”, is the phrase that can be heard before leading you to a brutal review of some of your beloved celebrities and brands.

The creator behind the viral TikTok account Bee Better has weaponized his master’s degree in the hopes of exposing the downfalls of celebrities and companies alike.

His videos, which average over 3 million views, showcase a brutally honest product review followed by a breakdown of the celebrity or company’s ‘downfall’, from Red Lobster to Addison Rae - no one is safe!

Since February of this year, the account has transitioned from videos on honey-based product reviews from the Bee Better Company, which the user co-owns, to controversial reviews. Starting off with the 'Downfall of the D'Amelios,' an in-depth look at the declining brand of Charli D'Amelio.

However, after posting three viral videos about the infamous Crumbl Cookies, which he has labeled as “the worst cookies he’s ever tried” and the company “a scam,” the CEO, Sawyer Hemsley, decided to chime in to defend his brand.

Claiming no hard feelings, the CEO extended an invite to Crumbl HQ and offered the opportunity for a collaboration, allowing Bee Better to create their own cookie. The creator accepted, hoping for full creative control and for the proceeds to go to a charity that helps save the bees.

Quick Links

😬 Meta receives warning from the EU.

💰 IL becomes first state to require parent influencers to pay children featured in their content.

💍 Internet bashes creator for vlogging creator friends’ wedding.

💄 TikTok launches new support program for beauty creators.

👀 New study shows this creator-led channel is more effective than TV advertising.

See ya next week,

Karat