Case Study: Tabs

Why Was Tabs Unique, and What Made Them Stand Out?

Tabs didn’t try to buy fame with celebrity ads. Instead, two 21-year-old founders built a DTC “sex chocolate” around relentless short-form content and a creator army. The product itself was provocative (performance-focused chocolate), but the go-to-market was the unlock: hundreds of everyday creators posting daily across TikTok/IG/YouTube Shorts—low gloss, high output. Within ~18 months Tabs claimed ~$11M in sales and “eight-figure” annualized revenue, driven primarily by UGC rather than paid ads.

What made them pop:

• A category hook people talk about (sex + chocolate) packaged for TikTok.

• A micro-influencer model built for scale (hundreds of small creators vs. a few big ones).

• Systems, not one-offs: attribution, payouts, and a Discord hub so creators could move fast together.

Their Detailed Marketing Strategy

1) Micro-influencer network > hero influencer
Tabs prioritized dozens/hundreds of small creators (often 50k–200k followers) over a handful of celebrities. The goal was consistent daily volume, not one viral hit. They seeded products, offered modest comp, and focused on formats that felt native to TikTok (storytime, reactions, unboxings, couple skits).

2) UGC pipeline + central ops
Operationally, Tabs removed frictions: auto-generated discount codes, centralized dashboards, and one-click batch payouts via an affiliate tool (Social Snowball). Creators saw their earnings update in real time, which kept them posting; the brand saw which videos actually sold, which kept spend efficient. Result: +17% influencer-attributed revenue and 10+ hours/week saved in ops.

3) Always-on Discord “content engine”
With agency support, Tabs ran a Discord creator hub (250+ micro-influencers) to share briefs, best-performing hooks, and performance feedback—so the network learned what converted and iterated quickly.

4) Clear briefs, same spine
Tabs’ own Influencer Program page spells out the beats creators should hit (benefits, tag @tabs, #tabspartner), which keeps UGC varied in tone but consistent in sales messaging (libido/performance claims framed as benefits).

5) Organic short-form as the growth lever
The team chased sheer output: hundreds of shorts crossing 1M views, with the founder emphasizing that volume (and rapid testing) was the “secret.” Blogs and teardowns document “viral every day” momentum and month(s) hitting $500k in sales—powered by relentless posting.

How Can Other Business Owners Use/Implement This?

• Build a micro-influencer bench, not a single star. Recruit dozens–hundreds of creators in/near your niche; pay small, pay fast, and give them briefs + top-performing hooks to remix. (Start with 20–50; scale to 100+ once you’ve nailed tracking.)

• Productize attribution. Use an affiliate layer (codes/links, dashboards, batch payouts) so creators see earnings in real time—this keeps them posting.

• Operate a creator hub. A Slack/Discord with weekly prompts, best clips, and CTA tests (angles, cuts, captions). You’re building a newsroom, not one-off posts.

• Optimise the “first 3 seconds.” Teach creators to open with: pattern break, benefit promise, or credible “forbidden” curiosity. Tabs won on idea density, not production spend.

• Measure revenue, not likes. Make “posts → clicks → orders” visible; re-book creators who convert, pause those who don’t. (Tabs reported +17% revenue lift once ops + attribution were fixed.)

Takeaways

• Micro > Macro: A broad, always-on micro-influencer network can outperform a single celebrity drop—especially in categories where authenticity and repetition drive conversion.

• Ops wins the Internet: Automated codes, dashboards, and payouts turn creator chaos into a scalable growth channel (+17% revenue, 9.8× ROI)—and creators stick around because they see the money.

• Message discipline, creator freedom: Clear briefs (from Tabs’ public program) keep claims consistent while letting UGC feel native and real.

• Volume is a strategy: Hundreds of shorts + fast iteration can build to 8-figure run rates with little to no paid spend—if you operationalize it.