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In traditional perception, accessories, soap, rings and similar products seem to have long been“stereotyped”—
Low price, practical, hard to go high-end.
But unexpectedly, a batch of brands arebreaking this perception on TikTok, selling products that cost just a few dollars for hundreds of dollars, and even achieving annual sales of over 100 million.
They haven’t relied on traditional advertising, nor have they fallen into low-price competition. Instead, by leveragingTikTok’s content ecosystem, they have successfully achieved a high-end breakthrough for their brands.
Today, let’s look at three typical cases to analyze how they usedTikTok to win the battle of value upgrading.
Image source:Google
01
Emi Jay:
Selling hair clips with luxury appeal through aesthetics and tutorials
Hair clips, in most people’s eyes, are small items worth just a few dollars, but the American brandEmi Jay sells them for $36 or even higher.
FounderJulianne started her business at age 14, initially just selling handmade hair ties at school.
But what truly madeEmi Jay go high-end was its content operations on TikTok.
Emi Jay is very good at showcasing product value through tutorial content.For example, a“viral hairdo” braiding tutorial cleverly incorporates the hair clip into the hairstyle teaching, making it both intuitive and practical, and ultimately gaining 2.7 million views and 149,900 likes on TikTok.
This type of content not only conveys beauty, but also teaches users how to use one hair clip to create multiple styles, strengthening the perception of high utility and design.
Image source:TikTok
In addition,the influencers Emi Jay works with don’t just pursue big traffic, but focus more on matching brand tone.
For example, beauty influencer@Aubrey Lobban did a 13-hour real wear test to prove the hair clip’s firmness and comfort. This scenario-based review greatly enhanced trust.
Users commented“I need this hair clip right now!”—The content directly drove inquiries and conversions.
Through high-quality tutorials+ authentic influencer reviews, Emi Jay has successfully built the image of a refined lifestyle brand on TikTok, breaking the stereotype of accessories = cheap.
Image source:TikTok
02
Groove Life:
Turning silicone rings into outdoor trendy items with scenario-based content
Even with“worthless” silicone material, Groove Life can sell a ring for hundreds of dollars, with annual sales exceeding $100 million.
Its success is also inseparable fromthe continuous penetration of scenario-based content on TikTok.
Groove Life’s account @groovelife doesn’t do hard advertising, but instead uses humorous skits + outdoor tests to showcase product usage scenarios.
For example, one video uses a drama plot to show“how popular Groove belts are among men,” with over 5.4 million views.
Image source:TikTok
What’s more noteworthy is thatGroove Life is especially good at collaborating with small and medium influencers.They have worked with over2,800 influencers, many of whom are mid- and long-tail creators with highly loyal fans.
For example,@chrisreviewsit showcased the comfort of the ring through a detailed review, with the video getting over 10 million views and directly generating $160,000 in sales.
These contents seem relaxed, but actually hit the pain points of outdoor enthusiasts precisely:Is the product really non-slip, is it comfortable, can it handle extreme environments?
Through real experiences and humorous performances,Groove Life makes the functional attributes visible, credible, and even “trendy.”
Image source:TikTok
03
Dr. Squatch:
Selling soap as identity recognition through humorous meme content
The soap industry has lacked change for years, untilDr. Squatch appeared—
It turned a bar of soap into a trendy men’s skincare product, with monthly Amazon revenue exceeding$6.6 million.
OnTikTok,Dr. Squatch’s content strategy can be summarized as humor + meme culture.
The brand account@drsquatch is good at combining internet memes to convey product features in a relaxed way.
For example, they invited celebritySydney Sweeney to star in a short skit, joking about “how simple guys’ shower routines are,” while highlighting the product’s all-in-one features. So far, the video has over 29.6 million views, successfully breaking out of its niche.
Image source:TikTok
What’s even more worth learning is thatDr. Squatch adopts a wide-net strategy for influencer collaborations.In the past30 days, they have worked with over 8,900 influencers, covering fashion, home, food and other fields, not just limited to beauty.
For example, influencer@berdealzz tried “eating soap” to emphasize its food-like appearance, sparking heated discussions among users—Even if there’s some misunderstanding, it greatly increases brand recall.
This content strategy not only reduces user resistance to ads, but also helps the brand establish its image as a men’s skincare expert through humor and interaction.
Image source:TikTok
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Summary:
Three Common Traits of TikTok’s High-End Breakthrough
Although these three brands come from different categories, their high-end paths onTikTok show a high degree of consistency:
1) Content is product:
No longer simply showcasing products, but using tutorials, reviews, and stories to let users intuitively feel the value and experience behind the product.
2) Authenticity equals trust:
Whether it’s influencer reviews or user-generated sharing, real usage scenarios and feedback are far more persuasive than flashy ads.
3) Tone over traffic:
They don’t blindly pursue viral hits or big influencers, but focus more on the consistency between content and brand tone, even preferring the highly loyal fans of small and medium influencers.
Nowadays,TikTok is reshaping consumers’ perception of value. The high-end transformation of traditional categories no longer relies on hard upgrades in materials and craftsmanship, but injects emotion, scenarios, and identity recognition through content, achieving soft premium.
Remember: No matter how traditional your category is, as long as you useTikTok correctly and tell a good value story, affordable goods can be sold at high-end prices!