When I launched the brand on TikTok, I was actually educating people along the way. Some people had heard about the African net sponge but didn’t know about all the benefits, how to use it, why it’s so special. It’s a great cleansing tool, and that’s why I think it has caught on. This one video [showing how to use the product] went viral in August of 2023, and it just took off from there. That was when I got 300 orders in one day for the first time. This growth stayed steady up until that November.
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Then, there was a Monday in November 2023 when we came in and had to pack about 10,000 orders that came in over that weekend. It was a total surprise from a few videos going viral at the same time. I remember reaching out to everyone I knew in my community. I was like, “Could you help us pack orders? Could you pack sponges? What can you do? Just show up and do it.” It was a crazy day. I mean, I started this in my basement. I had my in-laws and my kids helping me. That’s how we started, but [eventually] my kids had to go to school. My in-laws had to return to Nigeria. From there, I hired two people, and I hired some contractors who worked with me [for about six months], and after that I hired about four more people. Now we’re a team of about seven full-time employees and are at about 500 orders per day.
What I’ve heard from our customers is that they love the way we work directly with suppliers back home in Nigeria. I bring them along in that supply chain process and show how the brand’s growth impacts them. Our supplier had two employees when we first started, and as our business has grown, he has gone up to 100 employees. That’s a huge impact. I think our audience has loved seeing our growth, all that we’re able to achieve, and how we’re able to impact our community, both at home and abroad.
[I would say] about 85 percent of my business is driven by TikTok Shop. The Shop component makes it easy for customers to shop directly on the video. There’s a call to action, it doesn’t take you to another platform. It’s easy to stay there and do your shopping and entertainment.
[On TikTok, it’s about] just being real, being organic. There are no frills. That’s what I love. I don’t have a background in business, but I was able to go on this platform and grow a business and become this CEO, and I’m just learning as I go. TikTok is a place where you can do that.
