Case Study: How a Sports Nutrition Brand Broke Records on TikTok

The Brief

A European sports nutrition brand wanted to scale its presence on TikTok. Despite having an established business and a strong product line, their social media growth had plateaued. The goal was clear: capitalise on the new year/new me trends in January to drive follower growth and engagement, while retaining ad efficiency.

With TikTok positioned as a top-of-funnel channel, the focus wasn’t immediate sales, but instead building brand awareness, sparking engagement, and growing a community that could later be nurtured into loyal customers.

The Strategy

We designed a performance-focused TikTok strategy built on three pillars:

1. Repurposing Organic Wins
   Instead of relying on untested creative, we identified high-performing organic TikToks, particularly UGC-style product demos with contextual winter-related themes, repurposing them into paid campaigns.
2. Scaling Paid Reach Efficiently
   Smarter audience targeting and creative rotation helped cut CPM by 61% (from €19 to €5.65). This meant more impressions for less cost.
3. Optimising for Engagement, Not Just Reach
   The campaign wasn’t just about being seen; it was about sparking meaningful interactions. We leaned into short-form video that encouraged likes, shares, comments, and profile visits.

The Execution

• Paid reach grew 367%, expanding the brand’s visibility dramatically.
• Creative selection: Winter-themed product demos were amplified with ad spend, keeping content timely and relevant.
• Audience targeting: A balance of new audiences and retargeting ensured both reach and retention.
• Creative refresh cycles: To avoid fatigue, we rotated creatives regularly and A/B tested hooks, thumbnails, and captions.

The Results

January delivered the brand’s strongest TikTok growth to date:

• Followers doubled (+104%)
• Video views increased by 281%
• Likes went up 426%
• Shares went up 467%
• Comments increased by 28%
• Profile visits spiked 608%
• Paid profile visits shot up 408%
• CPM reduced down 61%

This wasn’t just growth in numbers, it was a clear indicator that the brand’s TikTok presence had transformed from passive posting to an active, engaged community hub, without investing more than their usual monthly budget.

The Takeaways

• Repurposing top-performing organic content saves production costs and scales results. If it works within your existing community, then it will likely work towards finding your new audiences.
• Cost efficiency matters more than budget increases. A 61% drop in CPM can have a bigger impact on your campaign than increasing your budget by 61%.
• Contextual, seasonal and platform-native content resonates with its audiences. Winter-related product demos sparked engagement because they were timely and relevant.
• With shares up 467% and profile visits up 608%, TikTok’s algorithm amplified the brand’s authentic, engaging content. Because social platforms don’t charge for actions like shares and profile visits, every piece of content that resonated created additional reach and awareness at no extra cost, as users spread the message organically within their own communities.

Final Word

For this sports nutrition brand, TikTok proved to be more than just a social media channel, it became a growth engine. In just one month, they doubled their following, quadrupled engagement, and achieved record-breaking efficiency.

If TikTok can double their following, it can do the same for you. Drop us a message! we’ll show you how to turn social media into your fastest growth channel.