We've Gone Viral Repeatedly. It's Not Luck. Here's the Formula.
Executive Summary
A Shopify Masters interview with the two co-founders of Good Girl Snacks (named Leah Marcus and Yasaman in the description and captions), best friends who quit their jobs in summer 2023 to start a pickle brand after seeing pickles trend on TikTok. They explain posting daily before having a product, building in public, how viral pickle videos drive store sales, and how their following helps them pitch retailers like Whole Foods. The live YouTube title is about going viral; the interview itself is about Good Girl Snacks. Sponsor: Shopify, which presents the show and links a free trial in the description. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the early sections on social media and the pickle trend, a middle section on pitching retailers, the closing, and the description, and does not cover every part of the roughly 49 minute conversation. All business claims and figures, including the zero customer acquisition cost claim, are the speakers' own and are not independently checked.
Key Takeaways
Quitting to start pickles
The founders say they quit their jobs in summer 2023 with no food industry experience and launched TikTok and Instagram about two months later.
Social success equals business success
One founder says their success on TikTok and Instagram is 100% correlated with the company's success because they posted before they had a product.
Building in public
They say people saw them build and wanted to support the brand, then bought the product online or in store.
Converting pickle haters
They say they reach shoppers who follow them but never bought pickles, and get messages from friends saying they hate pickles but love the product.
Why pickles go viral
They say the crunch and ASMR of eating a pickle, which they found out by accident, made viewers crave them.
An idea from TikTok
They say they saw people calling pickles their favorite snack on their For You pages, and that the trend started on TikTok.
Pitching retailers
They say their Gen Z following helps with retailers, that a category with little innovation excites buyers, and that a broker gets you a conversation but not the listing.
The Conversation Breakdown
Quitting to start pickles
⏱ Untimed topicThe founders say they quit their jobs in summer 2023 with no food industry experience and launched TikTok and Instagram about two months later.
Social success equals business success
⏱ Untimed topicOne founder says their success on TikTok and Instagram is 100% correlated with the company's success because they posted before they had a product.
Building in public
⏱ Untimed topicThey say people saw them build and wanted to support the brand, then bought the product online or in store.
Converting pickle haters
⏱ Untimed topicThey say they reach shoppers who follow them but never bought pickles, and get messages from friends saying they hate pickles but love the product.
Why pickles go viral
⏱ Untimed topicThey say the crunch and ASMR of eating a pickle, which they found out by accident, made viewers crave them.
An idea from TikTok
⏱ Untimed topicThey say they saw people calling pickles their favorite snack on their For You pages, and that the trend started on TikTok.
Pitching retailers
⏱ Untimed topicThey say their Gen Z following helps with retailers, that a category with little innovation excites buyers, and that a broker gets you a conversation but not the listing.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Build before you launch - the founders' approach
Post daily and grow an audience before the product exists so demand is ready.
Sell through the senses - their marketing view
Sound, taste and craving in a video can turn into in-store purchases.
Bring the audience to the retailer - their pitch
Lead with a loyal community that can send shoppers through a store's door.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Start posting about your product idea this week, even before it exists.
- ✓Look for a sensory detail in your product that works on video.
- ✓Write a retailer pitch that leads with your community numbers and what you can bring in.
- ✓Treat the business figures as the speakers' claims and verify them before repeating them.
Notable Quotes
“the crunch just makes you hungry.”
“It's 100% correlated.”
“you have to have the product and, you know, the following”
The One Thing to Remember
The Good Girl Snacks founders say building in public on social media before launch created demand that carried their pickles into stores like Whole Foods.