The secret behind Emma Chamberlain's success

Things I need right now: $4.6 million.

Things I don’t have right now: $4.6 million.

Things Emma Chamberlain just secured in funding for her DTC coffee brand: $4.6 million.

LORD, I see the things you be doing for others….😆

All jokes aside, Emma is one clever lady. Over the last four years, she's utilised her audience to build a thriving coffee brand.

And she's not the only influencer who's done very well for herself.

Direct-to-consumer sales in the US are forecasted to reach $212.9 billion in 2024. So it’s no surprise that there's been no shortage of influencer-founded DTC brands in the last few years.

Let's be real, they're popping up quicker than celebs on Ozempic.

From Kylie Jenner to the D’Amelio sisters, influencers are converting their fame into lucrative business opportunities. And it makes total sense. The brands they build grow their following. This directs customers to their brand. And so-on and so forth.

A feedback loop for hot, wealthy, young people to continue being hot, wealthy, and young, if you will.

It's a smart play, pivoting from making money for other ecommerce brands to leveraging their personal brands to create their own success.

They're cutting out the middleman and engaging with their audience directly.

But not all that glitters is gold. We’ve mentioned before how brands like Prime Hydration and Feastables started off strong and quickly withered away.

Not Chamberlain though. She aims to raise a total of $7 million in the latest round of funding, according to a securities filing Wednesday.

So, what sets her apart from other influencers who have tried and failed in the DTC space?

She understands how to create a personal connection with her audience.

As a creator, Chamberlain gained popularity due to her conversational style of video editing. The New York Times wrote that she, ‘Invented the way people talk on YouTube now, particularly the way they communicate authenticity.’

Her vlogs always included her daily cups of coffee. So when she launched Chamberlain Coffee, it felt like a natural extension of her brand.

Her love of cold brew perfectly aligns with Gen-Z's unnatural obsession with coffee. Since Gen-Z's her target audience, and they watched her drink her coffee every day, the product made perfect sense.

Her brand has its own social media presence.

Chamberlain Coffee has always done the bulk of their marketing on Instagram and TikTok. The brand has a combined following of 978,000.

However, a spokesperson for the brand told AdAge, 'We’re trying to create a brand that can live on its own but is deeply tied to Emma.'

This is why Emma doesn't just post about Chamberlain Coffee. And it's why she doesn't appear too often on the Chamberlain Coffee social channels.

It's smart. Because this strategy means the brand can attract consumers on top of people who follow Emma. This can be helpful in times of personal brand crises. But it also means the brand has its own ecosystem that's not dependent on its founder.

Emma uses clever partnerships and collabs.

She teamed up with Deux, a ready-to-eat cookie dough brand, and took over an LA coffee shop. She’s paired with Swoon to create a speciality line of matcha lemonade drinks.

But what piqued my interest is her movements outside the food space. She collaborated with IGK to create matcha dry shampoo. Emma also partnered with Bliss to create a limited edition orange cream blend coffee based on their best-selling eye cream.

Her product's on point for her audience.

Because Emma is so in tune with what her generation wants, she knows what to give ‘em. So you know she’s got matcha and chai options up in there. And, of course, the packaging is cute as hell and totally ‘grammable.

Influencers often cop a lot of sh*t when they try to move into business-owner status. But I love to see another lady win. I also believe Chamberlain Coffee is a damn good brand, with great foundations to last.

So if you’re a brand, or an influencer thinking of utilising your audience to start one, I would suggest taking a page from Emma’s book. 

-Sophie, Copywriter